Theoretical construct into blocks of actigraphic-derived sleep parameters

ABSTRACT

Actigraphic parameters can provide indication of people’s sleep quality during their daily lives. However, there is a need for clear guidelines on the understanding of the different actigraphic parameters. The present study aims to propose a conceptual and theoretical framework for known actigraphic-derived parameters, which is able to describe the alternation between rest and wake phases during the nocturnal sleep, explaining their main characteristics and interrelations that can be replicated in future studies. Forty Sport Sciences students at the University of Milan (20 males; mean age ± SD, 22 ± 3 y) completed the validated Italian version of Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) and wore an actigraph (Motion Watch 8®, Cambridge Neurotechnology, Cambridge, UK) for seven days. A framework was developed to depict the interactions between the actigraphic parameters and how they objectively describe sleep, according to which the parameters are organized into three different functional blocks related to different aspects of sleep. Correlations analyses were conducted to explore the relationships among the primary actigraphic parameters within and across the functional blocks. The proposed framework is a purely theoretical construct that provides a simple interpretation of known actigraphic parameters guiding researchers and practitioners in the use of these parameters either for research or clinical purposes.

KEYWORDS:

• Theoretical construct
• actigraphy
• sleep
• actigraphic parameters
• sleep-wake cycle
• sleep parameters

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/07420528.2022.2157737

Additional information

Funding

The authors reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.