THE ROLE OF ACTIGRAPHY IN THE EVALUATION OF SLEEP DISORDERS

This paper, which has been reviewed and approved by the Board of Direc tors of the American Sleep Disorders Association, provides the backgro und for the Standards of Practice Committee's parameters for the pract ice of sleep medicine in North America. The growing use of activity-ba sed monitoring (actigraphy) in sleep medicine and sleep research has e nriched and challenged traditional sleep-monitoring techniques. This r eview summarizes the empirical data on the validity of actigraphy in a ssessing sleep-wake patterns and assessing clinical and control groups ranging in age from infancy to elderly. An overview of sleep-related actigraphic studies is also included. Actigraphy provides useful measu res of sleep-wake schedule and sleep quality. The data also suggest th at actigraphy, despite its limitations, may be a useful, cost-effectiv e method for assessing specific sleep disorders, such as insomnia and schedule disorders, and for monitoring their treatment process. Method ological issues such as the proper use of actigraphy and possible arti facts have not been systematically addressed in clinical research and practice.