Dr Ciro della Monica

Background: Contactless sleep technologies (CSTs) hold promise for longitudinal, unobtrusive sleep monitoring in health and disease at scale, particularly in older people where the increased incidence of sleep abnormalities with aging is considered a risk factor for several neurodegenerative disorders. However, few CST have been evaluated in older people. Objective: To evaluate the performance of three contactless sleep technologies (a bedside radar [Somnofy] and two under-mattress devices [Withings Sleep Analyser and Emfit-QS]) compared to polysomnography (PSG) and actigraphy [Actiwatch Spectrum] recorded during a first night in a sleep laboratory, 10-hour time in bed protocol, which induced mild sleep disturbance. Methods: Thirty-five older men and women (70.8±4.9 years; 14 women) several of whom had comorbidities and/or sleep apnoea, participated in the study. Devices were evaluated by estimating a range of performance metrics for classification of sleep vs wake, and NREM and REM sleep stages (sleep summary and epoch by epoch concordance) and comparing to PSG metrics. Results: All three CSTs overestimated total sleep time (bias [mean]: > 90 min) and sleep efficiency (bias: > 13 %) with an associated underestimation of wake after sleep onset (bias: > 50 min). Sleep onset latency was accurately detected by the bedside radar (bias: 16 mins). CSTs did not perform as well as actigraphy in estimating the all-night sleep summary measures. The bedside radar performed better in discriminating sleep vs wake (MCC [mean and 95% CI]: 0.63 [0.57 0.69]) than the under-mattress devices (MCC: =0.41 [0.36 0.46]; Emfit-QS =0.35 [0.26 0.43]). Accuracy of identifying REM and Light sleep was poor across all CSTs while deep sleep was predicted with moderate accuracy (MCC: >0.45) by both Somnofy and Withings Sleep Analyser. The deep sleep duration estimates of Somnofy was found to be significantly correlated (r2=0.6, p

Study Objectives To compare the 24-hour sleep assessment capabilities of two contactless sleep technologies (CSTs) to actigraphy in community-dwelling older adults. Methods We collected 7–14 days of data at home from 35 older adults (age: 65–83), some with medical conditions, using Withings Sleep Analyser (WSA, n = 29), Emfit QS (Emfit, n = 17), a standard actigraphy device (Actiwatch Spectrum [AWS, n = 34]), and a sleep diary (n = 35). We compared nocturnal and daytime sleep measures estimated by the CSTs and actigraphy without sleep diary information (AWS-A) against sleep-diary-assisted actigraphy (AWS|SD). Results Compared to sleep diary, both CSTs accurately determined the timing of nocturnal sleep (intraclass correlation [ICC]: going to bed, getting out of bed, time in bed >0.75), whereas the accuracy of AWS-A was much lower. Compared to AWS|SD, the CSTs overestimated nocturnal total sleep time (WSA: +92.71 ± 81.16 minutes; Emfit: +101.47 ± 75.95 minutes) as did AWS-A (+46.95 ± 67.26 minutes). The CSTs overestimated sleep efficiency (WSA: +9.19% ± 14.26%; Emfit: +9.41% ± 11.05%), whereas AWS-A estimate (−2.38% ± 10.06%) was accurate. About 65% (n = 23) of participants reported daytime naps either in bed or elsewhere. About 90% in-bed nap periods were accurately determined by WSA while Emfit was less accurate. All three devices estimated 24-hour sleep duration with an error of ≈10% compared to the sleep diary. Conclusions CSTs accurately capture the timing of in-bed nocturnal sleep periods without the need for sleep diary information. However, improvements are needed in assessing parameters such as total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and naps before these CSTs can be fully utilized in field settings.

Background Nocturnal disturbance is frequently observed in dementia and is a major contributor to institutionalisation. Unobtrusive technology that can quantify sleep/wake and determine bed occupancy during the major nocturnal sleep episode may be beneficial for long-term clinical monitoring and the carer. Such technologies have, however, not been validated in older people. Here we assessed the performance of the Withings Sleep Mattress (WSM) in a heterogenous older population to ensure external validity. Method Eighteen participants (65 – 80 years, 10M:8F) completed 7-12 days of sleep/wake monitoring at home prior to an overnight laboratory session. WSM performance was compared to gold-standard (laboratory polysomnography [PSG] with video) and silver standard (actiwatch [AWS] and sleep diary at home). WSM data were downloaded from a third party API and the minute-to-minute sleep/wake timeseries extracted and time-ordered to create a sleep profile. Discontinuities in the timeseries were labelled as ‘missing data’ events. Results Participants contributed 107 nights with WSM and PSG or AWS data. In the laboratory, the overall epoch to epoch agreement (accuracy) of sleep/wake detection of WSM compared to PSG was 0.71 (sensitivity 0.8; specificity 0.45) and to AWS was 0.74 (sensitivity 0.77; specificity 0.53). Visual inspection of video recordings demonstrated that 20 of 21 ‘missing data’ events were true ‘out of bed’ events. These events were always associated with an increase in activity (AWS). At home, all 97 WSM ‘missing data’ events that occurred within the major nocturnal sleep episode defined by sleep diary data, were associated with an increase in activity levels in the AWS data and 36 of these events were also associated with an increase in light levels, indicating that the participant had left the bed. In several participants, data recorded by the WSM during daytime coincided with reported naps in the sleep diary. Conclusion Although WSM cannot reliably distinguish between sleep and wake, the presence/absence of data in WSM seem to be an accurate representation of whether older people are in or out of bed (bed occupancy). Thus, in dementia, this contactless, low-burden technology may be able to provide information about nocturnal disturbances and daytime naps in bed.

Electroencephalography (EEG) recordings represent a vital component of the assessment of sleep physiology, but the methodology presently used is costly, intrusive to participants, and laborious in application. There is a recognized need to develop more easily applicable yet reliable EEG systems that allow unobtrusive long-term recording of sleep-wake EEG ideally away from the laboratory setting. cEEGrid is a recently developed flex-printed around-the-ear electrode array, which holds great potential for sleep-wake monitoring research. It is comfortable to wear, simple to apply, and minimally intrusive during sleep. Moreover, it can be combined with a smartphone-controlled miniaturized amplifier and is fully portable. Evaluation of cEEGrid as a motion-tolerant device is ongoing, but initial findings clearly indicate that it is very well suited for cognitive research. The present study aimed to explore the suitability of cEEGrid for sleep research, by testing whether cEEGrid data affords the signal quality and characteristics necessary for sleep stage scoring. In an accredited sleep laboratory, sleep data from cEEGrid and a standard PSG system were acquired simultaneously. Twenty participants were recorded for one extended nocturnal sleep opportunity. Fifteen data sets were scored manually. Sleep parameters relating to sleep maintenance and sleep architecture were then extracted and statistically assessed for signal quality and concordance. The findings suggest that the cEEGrid system is a viable and robust recording tool to capture sleep and wake EEG. Further research is needed to fully determine the suitability of cEEGrid for basic and applied research as well as sleep medicine.

Quantification of sleep is important for the diagnosis of sleep disorders and sleep research. However, the only widely accepted method to obtain sleep staging is by visual analysis of polysomnography (PSG), which is expensive and time consuming. Here, we investigate automated sleep scoring based on a low‐cost, mobile electroencephalogram (EEG) platform consisting of a lightweight EEG amplifier combined with flex‐printed cEEGrid electrodes placed around the ear, which can be implemented as a fully self‐applicable sleep system. However, cEEGrid signals have different amplitude characteristics to normal scalp PSG signals, which might be challenging for visual scoring. Therefore, this study evaluates the potential of automatic scoring of cEEGrid signals using a machine learning classifier (“random forests”) and compares its performance with manual scoring of standard PSG. In addition, the automatic scoring of cEEGrid signals is compared with manual annotation of the cEEGrid recording and with simultaneous actigraphy. Acceptable recordings were obtained in 15 healthy volunteers (aged 35 ± 14.3 years) during an extended nocturnal sleep opportunity, which induced disrupted sleep with a large inter‐individual variation in sleep parameters. The results demonstrate that machine‐learning‐based scoring of around‐the‐ear EEG outperforms actigraphy with respect to sleep onset and total sleep time assessments. The automated scoring outperforms human scoring of cEEGrid by standard criteria. The accuracy of machine‐learning‐based automated scoring of cEEGrid sleep recordings compared with manual scoring of standard PSG was satisfactory. The findings show that cEEGrid recordings combined with machine‐learning‐based scoring holds promise for large‐scale sleep studies.

Sleep and its sub-states are assumed to be important for brain function across the lifespan but which aspects of sleep associate with various aspects of cognition, mood and self-reported sleep quality has not yet been established in detail. Sleep was quantified by polysomnography, quantitative Electroencephalogram (EEG) analysis and self-report in 206 healthy men and women, aged 20–84 years, without sleep complaints. Waking brain function was quantified by five assessments scheduled across the day covering objectively assessed performance across cognitive domains including sustained attention and arousal, decision and response time, motor and sequence control, working memory, and executive function as well as self-reports of alertness, mood and affect. Controlled for age and sex, self-reported sleep quality was negatively associated with number of awakenings and positively associated with the duration of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, but no significant associations with Slow Wave Sleep (SWS) measures were observed. Controlling only for age showed that associations between objective and subjective sleep quality were much stronger in women than in men. Analysis of 51 performance measures demonstrated that, after controlling for age and sex, fewer awakenings and more REM sleep were associated significantly with better performance on the Goal Neglect task, which is a test of executive function. Factor analysis of the individual performance measures identified four latent variables labeled Mood/Arousal, Response Time, Accuracy, and Visual Perceptual Sensitivity. Whereas Mood/Arousal improved with age, Response Times became slower, while Accuracy and Visual perceptual sensitivity showed little change with age. After controlling for sex and age, nominally significant association between sleep and factor scores were observed such that Response Times were faster with more SWS, and Accuracy was reduced where individuals woke more often or had less REM sleep. These data identify a positive contribution of SWS to processing speed and in particular highlight the importance of sleep continuity and REM sleep for subjective sleep quality and performance accuracy across the adult lifespan. These findings warrant further investigation of the contribution of sleep continuity and REM sleep to brain function.

Background: Sleep disorders are common among the ageing population and people with neurodegenerative diseases. Sleep disorders have a strong bidirectional relationship with neurodegenerative diseases, where they accelerate and worsen one another. Although one-to-one individual cognitive behavioural interventions (conducted in-person or online) have shown promise for significant improvements in sleep efficiency among adults, many may experience difficulties accessing interventions with sleep specialists, psychiatrists, or psychologists. Therefore, delivering sleep intervention through an automated chatbot platform may be an effective strategy to increase the accessibility and reach of sleep disorder intervention among the ageing population and people with neurodegenerative diseases. Objective: This project aims to: 1) Determine the feasibility and usability of an automated chatbot (named MotivSleep) that conducts sleep interviews to encourage the ageing population to report behaviours that may affect their sleep, followed by providing personalised recommendations for better sleep based on participants’ self-reported behaviours; 2) Assess the self-reported sleep assessment changes before, during, and after using our automated sleep disturbance intervention chatbot; 3) Assess the changes in objective sleep assessment recorded by a sleep tracking device before, during, and after using the automated chatbot MotivSleep. Methods: We will recruit 30 older adult participants from West London for this pilot study. Each participant will have a sleep analyzer installed under their mattress. This contactless sleep monitoring device passively records movements, heart, and breathing rates while participants are in bed. In addition, each participant will use our proposed chatbot MotivSleep, accessible on WhatsApp, to describe their sleep and behaviours related to their sleep and receive personalised recommendations for better sleep tailored to their specific reasons for disrupted sleep. We will analyse questionnaire responses before and after the study to assess their perception of our proposed chatbot; questionnaire responses before, during, and after the study to assess their subjective sleep quality changes; and sleep parameters recorded by the sleep analyzer throughout the study to assess their objective sleep quality changes. Results: Recruitment will begin in May 2023 through UK Dementia Research Institute (UKDRI) Care Research and Technology Centre (CRT) organised community outreach. Data collection will run from May 2023 until December 2023. We hypothesise that participants will perceive our proposed chatbot as intelligent and trustworthy; we also hypothesise that our proposed chatbot can help improve participants’ subjective and objective sleep assessment throughout the study. Conclusions: The MotivSleep automated chatbot has the potential to provide additional care to older adults who wish to improve their sleep in more accessible and less costly ways than conventional face-to-face therapy. Clinical Trial: N/A

The effects of orexinergic peptides are diverse and are mediated by orexin-1 and orexin-2 receptors. Antagonists that target both receptors have been shown to promote sleep initiation and maintenance. Here, we investigated the role of the orexin-2 receptor in sleep regulation in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-period crossover clinical trial using two doses (20 and 50 mg) of a highly selective orexin-2 receptor antagonist (2-SORA) (JNJ-48816274). We used a phase advance model of sleep disruption where sleep initiation is scheduled in the circadian wake maintenance zone. We assessed objective and subjective sleep parameters, pharmacokinetic profiles and residual effects on cognitive performance in 18 healthy male participants without sleep disorders. The phase advance model alone (placebo condition) resulted in disruption of sleep at the beginning of the sleep period compared to baseline sleep (scheduled at habitual time). Compared to placebo, both doses of JNJ-48816274 significantly increased total sleep time, REM sleep duration and sleep efficiency, and reduced latency to persistent sleep, sleep onset latency, and REM latency. All night EEG spectral power density for both NREM and REM sleep were unaffected by either dose. Participants reported significantly better quality of sleep and feeling more refreshed upon awakening following JNJ-48816274 compared to placebo. No significant residual effects on objective performance measures were observed and the compound was well tolerated. In conclusion, the selective orexin-2 receptor antagonist JNJ-48816274 rapidly induced sleep when sleep was scheduled earlier in the circadian cycle and improved self-reported sleep quality without impact on waking performance.

Study Objective: To compare the 24-hour sleep assessment capabilities of two contactless sleep technologies (CSTs) to actigraphy in community-dwelling older adults. Methods: We collected 7 to 14 days of data at home from 35 older adults (age: 65-83), some with medical conditions, using Withings Sleep Analyser (WSA, n=29), Emfit-QS (Emfit, n=17), a standard actigraphy device (Actiwatch Spectrum [AWS, n=34]) and a sleep diary. We compared nocturnal and daytime sleep measures estimated by the CSTs and actigraphy without sleep diary information (AWS-A) against sleep diary assisted actigraphy (AWS|SD). Results: Compared to sleep diary, both CSTs accurately determined the timing of nocturnal sleep (ICC: going to bed, getting out of bed, time in bed > 0.75) whereas the accuracy of AWSA was much lower. Compared to AWS|SD, the CSTs overestimated nocturnal total sleep time (WSA: +92.71±81.16 min; Emfit: +101.47±75.95 min) as did AWS-A (+46.95±67.26 min). The CSTs overestimated sleep efficiency (WSA: +9.19±14.26 %; Emfit: +9.41±11.05 %) whereas AWS-A estimate (-2.38±10.06 %) was accurate. About 65% (n=23) of participants reported daytime naps either in-bed or elsewhere. About 90% in-bed nap periods were accurately determined by WSA while Emfit was less accurate. All three devices estimated 24-h sleep duration with an error of ≈10% compared to the sleep diary. Conclusions: CSTs accurately capture the timing of in-bed nocturnal sleep periods without the need for sleep diary information. However, improvements are needed in assessing parameters such as total sleep time, sleep efficiency and naps before these CSTs can be fully utilized in field settings. Statement of Significance: Contactless sleep technologies that do not pose a burden on participants are promising tools for longitudinal monitoring of sleep in the community. In a comparison with sleep diary assisted actigraphy, we show that two under-mattress devices used without sleep diary information, provide accurate information on nocturnal sleep timing and 24-hr bed presence. The study population comprised community-dwelling older adults, several of whom had medical conditions such as sleep apnea, arthritis, and type-2 diabetes, which adds to the relevance of these data. With further improvements in their performance, these unobtrusive sleep technologies have significant potential for at scale and longitudinal monitoring of 24-h sleep-wake patterns in older adults without the burden of completing sleep diaries.

Nocturnal disturbance is frequently observed in dementia and is a major contributor to institutionalisation. Unobtrusive technology that can quantify sleep/wake and determine bed occupancy during the major nocturnal sleep episode may be beneficial for long-term clinical monitoring and the carer. Such technologies have, however, not been validated in older people. Here we assessed the performance of the Withings Sleep Mattress (WSM) in a heterogenous older population to ensure external validity.