Actigraphy is a noninvasive method of monitoring rest and activity in humans and is used to estimate patterns of sleep and wake. Actigraphy is increasingly used not only to assess sleep-wake behavior in healthy sleepers but also to assess clinically patients with sleep disorders, such as insomnia and circadian rhythm sleep-wake disorders, to evaluate the efficacy of treatment options for improving sleep and to identify excessive daytime sleepiness.

Monitoring and Analysis Process

Actigraphy uses a small watchlike device (actigraph), most commonly worn on the nondominant wrist, which records gross motor activity over extended periods of time. Specialized algorithms can then be used to estimate sleep-wake patterns from the recordings of motor activity based on periods of rest and activity.

Each actigraph contains a piezoelectric sensor that registers and ...

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