Objective sleep parameters of healthy subjects by actigraphy for the evaluation of sleep medication

摘要

Peterson et al. reported the validity of two activity monitors, named Actiwatch? and Armband?, for the assessment of zolpidem prescription to the eleven healthy subjects [1]. They used sleep polysomnography in the clinical research unit as a gold standard of sleep parameters. They used total sleep time (TST), wake after sleep onset (WASO) and direct activity by using Actiwatch? and Armband?, and direct activity by Actiwatch? can be recommended as a useful parameter for the assessment of sleep medication. Actiwatch? is needed to set sensitivity using the Actiware-Sleep software (Mini Mitter Co. Inc. Version 3.4, OR, USA), and the appropriate cut-off value is considered to be different from person to person. The lower sensitivity setting (80 counts/min) requires a greater number of movements for the assessment of wake than the high sensitivity setting (20 counts/min). In other words, a longer TST is recorded when the lower sensitivity setting is adopted. Peterson et al. adopted the medium sensitivity setting (40 counts/min), which was initially set as the standard threshold. But among the references quoted by Peterson et al., Kushida et al., found the best overall accuracy and ability to detect wakefulness using Actiwatch? and PSG, when the higher sensitivity setting (20 counts/min) was used [2].