Smart wearable devices such as smartwatches and smart wristbands are gradually entering the lives of ordinary people. Health monitoring function is a major selling point of most products, which not only calculates the number of steps taken and calorie consumption, but also includes sleep quality monitoring.

So everyone has the following question: Are the monitoring results reliable? How does sleep monitoring run? What is the principle?

Sleep monitoring

Generally, wristbands/watches on the market that can automatically monitor sleep status are analyzed through motion recorders. Simply put, the smart wristband will have a sensor that measures the quality of sleep based on the amplitude and frequency of wrist movements during sleep.

A motion recorder can detect small movements to determine whether we are awake, light asleep, or deep asleep. As for how to determine the user's state, it depends on the preset parameters of the bracelet. The bracelet will preset several trigger conditions to determine whether the user has entered a sleep state. When the monitoring data of the bracelet matches the preset data, the bracelet will determine that the user has entered the corresponding mode. So what is a motion recorder?

Body motion recorder

The body movement recorder is a monitoring system developed in recent years, which can continuously monitor sleep wakefulness status without affecting daily life. As a new auxiliary examination method, motion recorders have been widely used in many aspects of clinical work, including the diagnosis of different forms of sleep disorders such as insomnia, periodic leg movements, sleep apnea syndrome, evaluation of treatment effectiveness, and evaluation of sleep patterns in special populations.

How to determine the sleep stage

Sleep depth is generally measured by decreased physical activity and decreased sensory sensitivity. However, accurate measurement of sleep depth is still difficult at present, so the monitoring data we see from the app is only a rough estimate of sleep time. Sleep monitoring is the process of monitoring human movements through a body motion recorder, using a systematic calculation method to accumulate and record the total value every 2 minutes. At the same time, posture data is recorded to determine sleep status through calculation.

During deep sleep, people's muscles relax and their limbs do not engage in significant movement, even if they do not move. However, during light sleep, the body undergoes some slight movement. The principle of an intelligent wristband is to monitor the movement status of the wrist and gradually transition from light motion mode to immobility at night to determine whether one is in a deep sleep state. This requires the use of a computing engine, which then determines the end and start of each sleep cycle based on each person's sleep cycle, in order to calculate the duration of deep sleep.

summary

Of course, the data monitored by intelligent wearable devices is not entirely accurate at present, and the main purpose is to raise people's attention to their own health. Medical experts point out that sleep is a very complex life phenomenon. Hospitals use 'multi-channel sleep monitors' to monitor sleep conditions. Dr. Wu Yuncheng, a neurologist at the hospital, believes that intelligent wearable devices cannot replace monitors and accurately reflect sleep status at present.

Technology has changed life, and wearable intelligent devices that are more intimate with people are a necessary path for technological development. Before we expect it to bring a better future, we may still need to wait for its improvement and progress. For users of sleep monitoring bracelets, it is certainly good to rely on them to develop good lifestyle habits. If you have health issues, it is more reliable to see a doctor!