Study record · narrative review · 2003

The role of actigraphy in the study of sleep and circadian rhythms

Ancoli-Israel S, Cole R, Alessi C, Chambers M, Moorcroft W, and Pollak CP

Sleep, 26(3), 342-392 · 2003

Why this study matters to CircaTest

Foundational actigraphy review from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Establishes the ~90% accuracy figure for distinguishing sleep from wake using motion alone, which CircaTest cites in the 'how sleep trackers work' guide as the empirical floor that all consumer wearables build on.

Abstract

Although actigraphy is not as accurate as PSG for determining some sleep measurements, studies are in general agreement that actigraphy, with its ability to record continuously for long time periods, is more reliable than sleep logs which rely on the patients' recall of how many…

Read the full abstract on the source →

Source: PUBMED · Excerpt for fair-use commentary; full abstract via the source link

Population

Age

across many included studies

Reference standard

psg

Comprehensive review of the actigraphy literature, including sleep disorders, circadian rhythm disorders, insomnia, and treatment-effect monitoring.

Cite this study

Ancoli-Israel S, Cole R, Alessi C, Chambers M, Moorcroft W, and Pollak CP (2003). The role of actigraphy in the study of sleep and circadian rhythms. Sleep, 26(3), 342-392. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleep/26.3.342

AI-assembled record · errors are possible

This page was built and is maintained by AI working from the published abstract and PubMed metadata for the cited study. CircaTest does not have access to the full text of every paper in its corpus. Categories of error that have happened on this site and could happen again include:

Per-device metric values inferred when the abstract reports only an aggregate range
Stage-specific accuracy figures pulled from secondary sources rather than the primary paper
Sample size or population characteristics missing from the abstract
Editorial framing in the curatorial note that overstates the study's actual scope
Year typos and author-name transliteration errors

Where a metric value reads see source, the published abstract did not contain that value and CircaTest deliberately left it null rather than guess. For any decision that depends on the underlying numbers, please consult the linked PubMed, PMC, or DOI source directly. Corrections are welcome via the about page.

Source links

Added to the CircaTest meta-analysis on 2026-04-06. How CircaTest evaluates studies →