The measurement of sleep by actigraphy: Direct comparison of 2 commercially available actigraphs in a nonclinical population

Study Objectives: To compare 2 commercially available actigraphs. Design: Subjects wore the Actiwatch(R) L and the Basic MiniMotionlogger(R) for 2 nights. Setting: Naturalistic. Participants: 20 healthcare workers aged 24 to 64 years. Measurements: Measures included sleep latency, total sleep time, wake after sleep onset, and sleep efficiency. Actiwatch(R) L data were analyzed at 3 sensitivity settings. Results: The Mini-Motionlogger(R) reported more total sleep time, less wake after sleep onset, and greater sleep efficiency than the Actiwatch(R) L set at high sensitivity. It also reported more wake after sleep onset than the Actiwatch(R) L set at low sensitivity. Conclusions: Both devices achieved similar overall performance when the Actiwatch(R) L was set at medium sensitivity.