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Assessing Night-to-Night Sleep Variability as a Hallmark of Chronic Insomnia Using Longitudinal, Contactless, Mobile
Devon A Hansen1, Mary E Peterson2, Myles G Finlay1
1Department of Translational Medicine and Physiology, Sleep and Performance Research Center, Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University, 412 E. Spokane Falls Blvd., Spokane, WA, 99202, United States, 1 5093587750.
JMIR Formative Research
|March 18, 2026
Summary
Objective sleep monitoring using radio frequency technology accurately identified chronic insomnia. The study found persistent night-to-night variability in sleep patterns is a key characteristic of insomnia.
Area of Science:
- Sleep Science
- Medical Devices
- Digital Health
Background:
- Chronic insomnia affects over 30% of US adults, disproportionately impacting women and older adults, and is linked to adverse health outcomes.
- Current sleep assessments for insomnia are largely subjective, lacking objective, long-term data on sleep patterns and variability.
- There is a need for objective, ecologically valid sleep measurements to aid in insomnia diagnosis and management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effectiveness of a contactless, radio frequency (RF)-based device for objectively characterizing sleep in individuals with chronic insomnia.
- To evaluate the device's utility over an extended period in a naturalistic home setting.
Main Methods:
- Eighty-three adults with chronic insomnia and 29 healthy controls participated in 8 weeks of home-based sleep monitoring.
- A contactless, RF-based device objectively measured sleep parameters including sleep efficiency, latency, intermittent wakefulness, time in bed, and total sleep time.
- Data were analyzed for daily means and standard deviations (SDs) to assess variability.
Main Results:
- Individuals with chronic insomnia showed lower sleep efficiency, longer sleep latency, and more intermittent wakefulness compared to healthy controls.
- Insomnia patients exhibited significantly higher night-to-night variability (SDs) in sleep efficiency, sleep latency, and intermittent wakefulness.
- The RF device successfully differentiated between individuals with and without chronic insomnia.
Conclusions:
- A contactless RF-based sleep monitoring device can objectively distinguish individuals with chronic insomnia from healthy sleepers in their home environment.
- Persistent night-to-night variability in objective sleep measures is a significant characteristic of chronic insomnia.
- This technology offers a promising tool for objective, long-term sleep assessment in clinical and population health settings.
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