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Actigraphy (Wrist, for Measuring Rest/Activity Patterns and Sleep)

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Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

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Synonyms

Accelerometry; Actimetry; Activity monitor

Definition

Actigraphy is a method of objective sleep assessment in which sleep/wake status is estimated from bodily movements, typically of the wrist.

Description

Background and Use

Actigraphy is a common alternative to laboratory polysomnography (PSG) for the objective assessment of sleep/wake patterns, based on the observation that the amount of bodily movement differs between sleep and wakefulness. Although initially developed in the 1970s, there has been an exponential increase in the use and development of actigraphy over the past 15 years. Due to technological developments, actigraphs are now unobtrusive (similar in size and weight to a wrist watch) and inexpensive, capable of collecting data for multiple weeks, and able to provide rapid feedback on sleep patterns due to automated software algorithms. In addition, many actigraphs now record ambient light exposure and have the ability to mark the timing of specific events (e.g.,...

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References and Readings

  • Ancoli-Israel, S., Cole, R., Alessi, C., Chambers, M., Moorcroft, W., & Pollak, C. P. (2003). The role of actigraphy in the study of sleep and circadian rhythms. Sleep, 26, 342–392.

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  • Martin, J. S., & Hakim, A. D. (2011). Wrist actigraphy. Chest, 139, 1514–1527.

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  • Morgenthaler, T., Alessi, C., Friedman, L., Owens, J., Kapur, V., Boehlecke, B., et al. (2007). Practice parameters for the use of actigraphy in the assessment of sleep and sleep disorders: An update for 2007. Sleep, 30, 519–529.

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  • Sadeh, A. (2011). The role and validity of actigraphy in sleep medicine: An update. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 15, 259–267.

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  • Stone, K. L., & Ancoli-Israel, S. (2011). Actigraphy. In M. H. Kryger, T. Roth, & W. C. Dement (Eds.), Principles and practice of sleep medicine (5th ed., pp. 1668–1675). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, 3811 O’Hara Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA

    Dr. Christopher Kline

Authors
  1. Dr. Christopher Kline
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christopher Kline .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc D. Gellman

  2. Cardiovascular Safety, Quintiles, Durham, NC, USA

    J. Rick Turner

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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media, New York

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Kline, C. (2013). Actigraphy (Wrist, for Measuring Rest/Activity Patterns and Sleep). In: Gellman, M.D., Turner, J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_782

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_782

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1004-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1005-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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