SleepHealth debuts as first ResearchKit app & study to support IBM Watson Health Cloud

Posted:
in General Discussion edited March 2016
Almost one year after IBM announced Watson Health Cloud, a cognitive computing platform built in partnership with Apple, Johnson & Johnson and Medtronic, the computing giant on Tuesday debuted SleepHealth, an app and ResearchKit study investigating the connection between sleep habits and health.




Official titled the SleepHealth Mobile Study, IBM's latest initiative seeks to leverage the advanced sensor suite provided by Apple's iPhone and Apple Watch, in conjunction with the open source ResearchKit framework, to determine how sleep quality impacts daytime activities, alertness, productivity, general health and medical conditions. The study is being rolled out in partnership with the American Sleep Apnea Association.

"We've made life the laboratory for this study by crowd-sourcing data and input to achieve an unprecedented understanding of sleep in a non-invasive manner," said Carl Stepnowsky, PhD, principal investigator for the study, associate professor at University of California at San Diego and ASAA's chief science officer. "This study also marks the Association's commitment to patient-led research and data-driven discovery. With ResearchKit and Watson Health Cloud, this new app will help us build the world's largest longitudinal study to collect data on both healthy and unhealthy sleepers that can be shared with other researchers in an open-source format."

The SleepHealth app taps into Apple Watch's heart rate monitor to detect when a subject falls asleep before gathering movement data with the onboard accelerometer and gyroscope. For users running iOS 9.3 the app will make use of Apple's Night Shift feature, which shifts an iPhone or iPad's display color temperature toward the warm end of the spectrum to help ease physiological side effects of being exposed to cool blue light.

As with other ResearchKit studies, participants in the SleepHealth study are able to complete assigned tasks and submit surveys anonymously directly from the accompanying app. Backing up Apple's anonymized data collection platform is IBM's HIPAA-compliant Watson Health Cloud, which will store and later provide analytics for participant information. Researchers hope to merge data gathered from the SleepHealth study with medical data available in Watson Health Cloud to connect the dots between sleep quality and overall health.

Those interested can take part in the study by downloading the free SleepHealth app and agreeing to a consent form. Currently, participants must be at least 18 years old and living in the U.S. More information is provided at Sleeptember.org.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    So when would I charge my Apple Watch if it's tracking me while asleep? Yeah, in the daytime, but that leaves so much more opportunity for the watch to die on me.
  • Reply 2 of 8
    matrix077matrix077 Posts: 868member
    So when would I charge my Apple Watch if it's tracking me while asleep? Yeah, in the daytime, but that leaves so much more opportunity for the watch to die on me.
    I track sleep nightly and my watch never dies on me.
  • Reply 3 of 8
    So when would I charge my Apple Watch if it's tracking me while asleep? Yeah, in the daytime, but that leaves so much more opportunity for the watch to die on me.
    I have been doing this as well. The watch takes no time at all to charge up, and there are definitely down times where you can recharge it. https://david-smith.org/blog/2015/09/21/how-to-wear-your-apple-watch-24-slash-7/
  • Reply 4 of 8
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    So when would I charge my Apple Watch if it's tracking me while asleep? Yeah, in the daytime, but that leaves so much more opportunity for the watch to die on me.
    Almost every one I've heard with the 42mm finish the day with at least 30%, many with 50% (especially if they don't use it for long training runs), so for them getting through the night isn't much of an issue. Considering many people don't put their watch in the shower, the time you got it off could easily get you through the  night even in the worse cases.

    The 38mm would also get you through if you're don't run more than 30 minutes a day with bluetooth headphone and are a heavy third party app user.
  • Reply 5 of 8
    Charge your Watch during supper and wear through the night.

    I'm the inventor of the SleepHealth app and member of the development team.

    A. Joseph Borelli, Jr., M.D.
    am8449matrix077
  • Reply 6 of 8
    michael_cmichael_c Posts: 164member
    matrix077 said:
    So when would I charge my Apple Watch if it's tracking me while asleep? Yeah, in the daytime, but that leaves so much more opportunity for the watch to die on me.
    I track sleep nightly and my watch never dies on me.
    What app are you using, and does it detect sleep cycles.  Wasn't impressed with Jawbone's UP3, as it didn't correlate to known states - like not detecting when I was awake, and reporting in light sleep while dreaming.  I agree charging isn't an issue as there are always times to top off the battery before bed.  Had a two hour workout and still have over 40% left on 42mm.
  • Reply 7 of 8
    So when would I charge my Apple Watch if it's tracking me while asleep? Yeah, in the daytime, but that leaves so much more opportunity for the watch to die on me.

    I use the Watch for the whole day. Early morning, the Watch is at about 30%. I charge it when I do my morning ablutions and it's back to 100%.

    I guess it depends on your usage.

    Disclosure: I have the 42mm version (which apparently has better battery) and I do not get any email notifications on my Watch.

  • Reply 8 of 8
    matrix077matrix077 Posts: 868member
    michael_c said:
    matrix077 said:
    I track sleep nightly and my watch never dies on me.
    What app are you using, and does it detect sleep cycles.  Wasn't impressed with Jawbone's UP3, as it didn't correlate to known states - like not detecting when I was awake, and reporting in light sleep while dreaming.  I agree charging isn't an issue as there are always times to top off the battery before bed.  Had a two hour workout and still have over 40% left on 42mm.
    Sleep++. It does a good job knowing when I'm still awake and when I'm in deep sleep.
    edited March 2016
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