Performance of an Electroencephalography-Measuring Headband or Actigraphy Compared with Polysomnography in Older...

In older adults, self-reported sleep measures may be inaccurate, but polysomnography (PSG) is burdensome. We assessed the performance of an electroencephalography-measuring headband (HB) or actigraphy (ACT) compared with PSG in older adults with sleep disturbances.

Sixty-three adults aged ≥60 years who reported symptoms of insomnia and/or daytime sleepiness ≥once/week completed a week-long, home-based protocol during which they wore the HB for seven nights, an actigraph for seven days and nights, and completed a one-night level II unattended PSG. For the current analysis, we compared total sleep time (TST) and wake after sleep onset (WASO) from all three devices on the PSG night. We calculated absolute differences and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for TST and WASO between HB and ACT, respectively, vs. PSG. We also evaluated the performance of the HB among subgroups of the poorest sleepers according to the presence of sleep apnea, insomnia, poor sleep quality, and periodic limb movements of sleep. Feasibility of the HB was assessed by measures of adherence (i.e., ability to use the HB over seven nights) and usability (i.e., ratings of items from the WEarable Acceptability Range [WEAR] scale).

The average age was 72.8 [standard deviation 6.6] years, 63.5% were female, and 63.5% identified as non-Hispanic White. On PSG, averages for TST and WASO were 370.1 [93] and 88.9 [63] minutes, respectively. For the HB vs. PSG, mean differences and ICCs were -11.9 minutes and 0.83 [0.74, 0.89] for TST; and -15.5 minutes and 0.65 [0.48, 0.77] for WASO. For ACT vs. PSG, mean differences for TST and WASO were larger, and ICCs showed lower levels of agreement. The HB performed well among the poorest sleepers, with ICCs >0.65 for TST and WASO. On average, participants wore the HB for 6.5 [0.8] nights, and usability was rated highly.

The HB demonstrated good agreement with PSG, outperforming ACT, including among the poorest sleepers. Devices like the HB might provide feasible measures of sleep that are more accurate than ACT and enhance the management of sleep health in older adults with sleep disturbances. Future research should focus on further validation of these devices in habitual sleep environments.