Shining the Light on the MotionWatch8 Light Sensor for Sleep and Aging Research: What Can We Measure and What Are We Missing?

ABSTRACT:

Background

Poor sleep is common among older adults at risk for dementia and may be due to circadian dysregulation. Light is the most important external stimulus to the circadian clock and bright light therapy (BLT) has been used for >20 years to help realign circadian rhythms. However, the ability of field methods (e.g., actigraphy) to accurately determine the type and intensity of light is unknown.

Objective

We examined the ability of the MotionWatch8 (MW8) light sensor to determine: 1) light versus dark, 2) electrical light versus daylight, and 3) device-based BLT versus light which was not BLT.

Methods

We tested the MW8 under 17 daily light scenarios. Light exposure data was collected for 5 minutes during each scenario. Concurrently, we measured light exposure usin

SUBMITTER: Falck RS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7903008 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature