Actigraphy in older adults: comparison of means and variability of three different aggregates of measurement.
Actigraphy has emerged as a valuable method for measuring natural sleep patterns; however, it is unclear how many consecutive nights should be measured and what sleep parameter values are typical of older adults. This study examined sleep in relatively healthy community-based older adults for 14 consecutive days. The findings present comparison values for Actiwatch-L actigraphy in older adults, and can be used to determine an appropriate length of measurement. When using means of the aggregate period, a 3-day aggregate is comparable to the values obtained over 7- or 14-day aggregates. However, if variability of the sleep parameter is of interest, a minimum of a 7-day aggregate is needed, and 14-day aggregates are better when measuring sleep onset latency.
Rowe
Meredeth
M
Department of Adult and Elderly Nursing, University of Florida, College of Nursing, Gainesville, FL 32606, USA. mrowe@ufl.edu
McCrae
Christina
C
Campbell
Judy
J
Horne
Claydell
C
Tiegs
Tom
T
Lehman
Brandy
B
Cheng
Jing
J
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D004594:Electrophysiology / Q000295:instrumentation; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017286:Polysomnography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012894:Sleep Stages; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D014851:Wakefulness / Q000502:physiology*