A study in the July issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine simultaneously compared the Sleep Time iPhone app with in-lab polysomnography in 20 adult volunteers. Epoch-by-epoch comparison found that the app has high sensitivity for detecting sleep and apparent accuracy in sleep-wake detection. However, the absolute parameters and sleep staging reported by the Sleep Time app for iPhones correlate poorly with PSG. According to a commentary on the study, the results emphasize the need to align user expectations, marketing content and validation data for consumer sleep apps.

Read the study in JCSM: Is There a Clinical Role For Smartphone Sleep Apps? Comparison of Sleep Cycle Detection by a Smartphone Application to Polysomnography

Read the commentary in JCSM: Consumer Sleep Apps: When it Comes to the Big Picture, it’s All About the Frame