Who Tracks the Sleep Trackers? Meet Jesse Cook
Sleep trackers and tracking technology are among the many obsessive interests of one Jesse Cook, PhD student and perhaps Twitter's most prolific sleep nerd. He's written a ton of papers about trackers and sleep tech. He geeks out with Neil this week on wearables, "nearables" and where the gear is heading.
The two also cover Restless Legs Syndrome, and how trackers can serve as beacons for RLS. (Neil has covered RLS on the show before, most notably with Dr. Richard Allen.) Specifically, recognizing what a consumer-grade tracker can do, and what it can't. Then you leverage the data that's useful and see if it points toward more investigation.
The fun curveball: Is there a psych component to RLS?
This Week's #Beditorial
Remember how Malcolm Gladwell said that if you do something for 10,000 hours, that makes you an expert? Turns out that's not true about sleep. If it were true, no one would have sleep issues past the age of two. And the more we see people "prescribing" remedies for sleep issues with no basis in science, the more we're reminded of people with massive platforms who are literally hurting people by giving out bogus, even dangerous advice. Neil throws a Hail Mary in an effort to offer perspective.
Jesse Cook, Trackers and More
Consumer sleep trackers: a new tool to fight the hidden epidemic of obstructive sleep apnoea?
Wearable Technology as a Tool for Sleep-Wake Estimation in Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence
