Wearable technology in sleep medicine: state-of-art of current clinical applications in people with sleep and circadian rhythm disorders

Wearable devices that enable continuous monitoring of behaviors and physiology during daily life have a long and consolidated history in sleep medicine. Over the last few decades, the tremendous advances in biomedical technologies, micro and nanotechnologies and materials engineering, coupled with the "internet of things" revolution, have drastically and rapidly reshaped the core technology behind wearable health devices and, consequently, their application in clinical practice and research. Indeed, from the earliest uniaxial activity trackers (early 1970's) to now, many sleep clinics utilize highly sophisticated wearables among their standard equipment. Nonetheless, despite the widespread use of wearable technologies, the know-how to comprehensively analyze information collected is still rather limited and global guidelines remain broad. The proposed session aims at filling this gap by providing sleep clinicians and researchers practical insights into the interpretation of data collected through these devices within the clinical management of people with sleep and circadian rhythm disorders. The symposium will provide a critical overview of: (i) research that has assessed the validity of wearables in detecting unique sleep/wake patterns associated with specific sleep disorders; (ii) research that has correlated measures collected using wearables with clinical/psychopathological features; and, (iii) how wearables can assess clinical efficacy and adherence to pharmacological and behavioural treatments and the prospective monitoring of clinical trajectories of sleep disorders. We propose examining: Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence (Narcolepsy Type 1 and Type 2, Idiopathic Hypersomnia and Klein-Levin Syndrome), Insomnia, Parasomnias (REM sleep behavior disorder) and Circadian Rhythm Sleep Disorders. Finally, in light of the unprecedented rise of commercially available consumer wearable devices and the introduction of ad-hoc online services to analyze data from the latter, we will critically discuss the rationale and use of consumer wearable devices and their role in research and clinical sleep medicine