Sleep Detection in Residents of Long-term Care Facilities

Sleep disorders are common among older people. People who suffer from sleep disorders typically have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, wake up early and do not get restful sleep.

Research on sleep disorders in humans is already underway. Previous research projects in humans have shown that sleep disorders have an impact on bodily functions and quality of life. Disruptions to the sleep-wake cycle can also affect memory. Previous research projects have examined the measurement differences between polysomnography, an overnight sleep measurement in a sleep laboratory, which is currently the gold standard, and various contactless sleep sensor systems. The measurement differences are minor to moderate. However, the investigators do not yet know how large the difference is between different days when using contactless sleep sensor systems in order to determine the accuracy of such devices for residents in retirement and nursing homes.

In this research project, the investigator are therefore investigating sleep variability over a period of 14 days in 52 residents of retirement and nursing homes in Switzerland in order to be able to assess the smallest detectable difference in sleep quality.

The investigators are conducting this research project in accordance with Swiss law. The investigators also comply with all internationally recognized guidelines. The responsible ethics committee has reviewed and approved the research project.

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Key information

Conditions

Sleep Disturbance Mental Disorders Nervous System Diseases Parasomnias Sleep Wake Disorders

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Easternswiss University of Applied Sciences

Sankt Gallen, St.Gallen, 9001, Switzerland

Location status: Recruiting

About this study

Insomnia is a common sleep problem among older adults, with an overall prevalence reported between 30% and 50% and an even higher value among those living in nursing homes. Symptoms such as difficulty in falling asleep, difficulty in maintaining sleep, early morning awakening and non-restorative sleep not only have an important impact on the functional status and quality of life in older adults, but disturbances of the sleep-wake cycle are also known to be associated with cognitive decline. Polysomnography (PSG) is the current gold standard measuring for sleep disturbances using a collection of surface electrodes, physiologic an sleep parameters (including brain dynamics of electroencephalography (EEG)) in a sleep laboratory overnight. However, a 24-hour sleep detection based on objective measurement in older adults is of importance because excessive daytime sleepiness, and excessive napping are associated with negative health outcomes such as accelerated cognitive decline. Furthermore, Canadian 24-hours movement guidelines recommend to detect movement behavior, with sleep as a movement behavior included, over a 24-hour time span. Contactless sleep technologies (CSTs) may offer a low-burden and feasible assessment to monitoring sleep over 24-hours in older adults. To date there are several CSTs available with differences in accuracy compared to PSG. However, little is known regarding smallest detectable difference based on test-retest analysis based on intraday variability to effectively test the accuracy of such devices in older adults living in long-term care facilities. The objective of this study is to evaluate the smallest detectable difference of sleep quality based on test-retest analysis of two CSTs: (i) the Withings Sleep Analyzer and (ii) the Sleepiz One+ hardware in older adults.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Signed informed consent
Older adults living in the long-term care facilities

Exclusion criteria

Neurocognitive disorders based on Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's disease, Lewy body dementia or Mixed dementia according to patient record

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

Total Sleep Time

Time frame: From enrollment to 14 days after

The time a person lying in bed actually sleeping

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Andrea C Hausheer

CONTACT

[email protected]

+41 58 257 14 77

Eling D de Bruin, Prof. Dr.

CONTACT

[email protected]

+41 58 257 14 11

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Sleep Detection in Older Adults Living in Long-term Care Facilities: An Inter-rater Reliability Agreement Study

Important dates

Study start: 2025
Primary completion: 2027
Study completion: 2027
First posted: Sep 14, 2026
Registry last updated: Sep 17, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

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This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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