When you think about measuring sleep, you might picture a lab full of wires and electrodes. But actigraphy, a non-invasive method that uses a small wrist-worn device to record movement over days or weeks. Also known as motion logging, it’s how doctors and researchers get real-world data on sleep and activity without keeping you hooked up to machines. Unlike a sleep study that captures one night in a clinic, actigraphy follows you through your normal life—on workdays, weekends, during travel, or while dealing with shift work.
This tool doesn’t just count how long you’re in bed. It measures movement patterns to estimate when you’re asleep, awake, or in restless states. That’s why it’s so useful for spotting problems like circadian rhythm disorders, when your internal clock is out of sync with the day-night cycle, or insomnia, a condition where you struggle to fall or stay asleep despite having time and opportunity. It’s also used to track how well treatments for sleep disorders, including jet lag, delayed sleep phase, or restless legs syndrome are working over time.
Doctors use actigraphy to spot trends you might not even notice—like sleeping too late on weekends, moving too much at night, or having long gaps between sleep cycles. It’s not perfect—sometimes it misreads stillness as sleep—but when combined with sleep logs and other data, it gives a clearer picture than a single night in a lab ever could. And because the device is small and quiet, you can wear it while showering, working, or even exercising.
The posts below dive into real-world cases where movement tracking helped uncover hidden sleep issues, improved treatment plans, or even revealed connections between daily activity and other health conditions. You’ll find stories about how actigraphy exposed nighttime restlessness in people with chronic pain, showed why someone kept waking up exhausted despite sleeping eight hours, and helped adjust medication timing for better sleep quality. These aren’t theoretical guides—they’re practical examples of how a simple wristband can change how we understand sleep.
