Are sleep apps safe and reliable? Health experts raise questions and concerns

Chances are, you or someone you know, is using a sleep app, as part of an effort to get more sleep or better sleep. But, are they reliable? Can they effectively, and safely, make a difference for people who are having trouble getting “shut eye”.

CBS Local 2 “Stands for You” and your health, Local 2’s Tom Tucker has some answers.

There seems to be an endless array of sleep apps. There are apps to lull you to sleep, others to wake you at the “perfect time”, and many purportedly can monitor your sleep cycles. Many are free, and others cost upwards of ten dollars.

The CDC estimates more than 40 million Americans are sleep deprived, and many are turning to apps, hoping for a better night of rest.

Among them, Eisenhower Medical Center resident physician Alex Ianculescu, who has experience with apps, but says the technology would not have helped while she endured a constantly changing work schedule, including overnights.

“I wouldn’t have trouble falling asleep, but I would just wake up every ninety minutes or two hours. So my sleep would be very fragmented, and when I would finally wake up, I really didn’t have a total amount of sleep hours that were sufficient, and I just didn’t feel very good at all,” said Ianculescu.

Others say apps have had a positive effect, including desert real estate professional Cecilia Stewart, whose app sends an alert on when its time to go to bed, and wakes her gently.

“It actually has a different kind of alarm, so its not a loud or disruptive alarm. It’s actually a calm, softer alarm, so that helps with waking up as well,” said Stewart.

Despite favorable feedback from some users, there are professionals in the medical community who have reservations with the technology, especially the apps which purport to monitor a user’s sleep stages.

That’s one area of concern for Dr. Talene Churukian at the Eisenhower Sleep Center in Palm Desert.

She says sleep stages can vary widely from person to person, and most often don’t fit the standard 90 minute, estimated sleep stage patterns that many apps are based on, and as a result, Churukian says the data and results generated by some apps can be unreliable.

“Unfortunately, the technology within these devices, within the apps, is a little difficult to say, in terms of how reliable it is. There is scant data out there to say necessarily which app is better than another,” said Churukian.

Churukian says if an app produces unreliable data, it could cause a user to think they have a health problem, leading to anxiety, which itself could cause restlessness.

“This technology may in some cases create unnecessary concern and have patients or individuals running to their doctor, saying ‘I think I have a sleep problem’,” said Churukian.

Another drawback for apps, she says, has to do with what’s going on inside a person’s head when they hit the bed.

In a typical sleep study, including those performed at the Eisenhower Sleep Center, patients are hooked up to the electro-wires, and a breathing device which is attached to their nose. The patient then tucks in for the night, and then through the night, the patient is monitored for a number of different things including physical movement, breathing, and most importantly, brain activity, which is something an app cannot track.

Because apps can’t monitor brain activity, they should not be used as a way to diagnose a sleep disorder says Churukian, echoing an opinion by sleep scientist Patrick Fuller, who is an Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School.

Also interesting to note, the CDC, The Sleep research Society, and The American Academy of Sleep Medicine have not performed studies on sleep apps.

Still, an AASM spokesperson says, “the accuracy of sleep apps is questionable”, and, “many questions surrounding their clinical significance remain unanswered”.

Despite the questions, Dr. Churukian and other experts say the apps offer some usefulness.

Many provide information on when sleep begins and should begin, and, when sleep ends.

They can also help create awareness of sleep-related issues.

“That little reminder that comes up, just says, OK, time to at least think about getting into bed, or going to bed, so that definitely helps,” said Cecilia Stewart.

Dr. Churukian offers the following recommendations for anyone looking to get a better night of sleep:

– “Protect” your sleep; let nothing interfere with your regular sleep schedule.

– Get up at the same time every day.

– Do not take naps during the day.

– Only get into bed when feeling sleepy, and don’t “force” yourself to fall asleep sooner than when “your body tells you” to sleep.

– If you are restless during the night, get out of bed, go to another room, and do something “meditative”. That should help put you back in the “sleep mode”, and cause you to feel drowsy, so you can put yourself back to sleep.

Brooke Beare reported on how you can find secret apps on your child’s phone in November, in case you missed that special report.