Ambient Teens Sleep Study: Protocol for a co-produced feasibility study in adolescents using a contactless...

Area of Science:

• Adolescent Health
• Sleep Science
• Technology in Health Research

Background:

• Adolescent sleep is vital for development, but chronic sleep deprivation is common.
• Adolescence involves significant shifts in sleep patterns, like later bedtimes.
• Current technology limits long-term, detailed sleep pattern studies in young people.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility, acceptability, and performance of a novel contactless sleep sensor in adolescents.
• To compare contactless sensor data with accelerometry and sleep diaries.
• To inform future large-scale longitudinal studies on adolescent sleep and health.

Main Methods:

• The Ambient Teens Sleep Study involved 45 adolescents (aged 8-18) over 4 weeks.
• A contactless sleep sensor was evaluated against accelerometry and sleep diaries (2 weeks concurrent data).
• Participant feedback was gathered via online calls, questionnaires, and citizen science activities.

Main Results:

• The study aims to evaluate data completeness, participant experience, and sleep timing accuracy.
• Acceptability will be assessed across diverse demographic cohorts (age, sex, gender, location).
• Performance metrics of the contactless sensor will be compared to established methods.

Conclusions:

• Contactless sleep sensors offer a potential solution for long-term adolescent sleep data collection.
• This research will guide the implementation of scalable sleep monitoring in future adolescent health research.
• Understanding adolescent sleep patterns is key to improving long-term health outcomes.