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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sleep Sci 2022; 15(S 01): 65-73
DOI: 10.5935/1984-0063.20210007
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Smartphone applications for sleep tracking: rating and perceptions about behavioral change among users

Reema A. Karasneh
1   Yarmouk University, Department of Basic Medical Sciences - Irbid - Jordan.
,
Sayer I. Al-Azzam
2   Jordan University of Science and Technology, Department of Clinical Pharmacy - Irbid - Jordan.
,
Karem H. Alzoubi
2   Jordan University of Science and Technology, Department of Clinical Pharmacy - Irbid - Jordan.
3   University of Sharjah, Department of Pharmacy Practice and Pharmcotherapeutics - Sharjah - UAE.
,
Sahar Hawamdeh
2   Jordan University of Science and Technology, Department of Clinical Pharmacy - Irbid - Jordan.
,
Anan S. Jarab
2   Jordan University of Science and Technology, Department of Clinical Pharmacy - Irbid - Jordan.
,
Mohammad B. Nusair
4   Yarmouk University, Department of Pharmacy Practice - Irbid - Jordan.
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Introduction This study aims to assess existing sleep apps for mobile phones to determine the perceived effect of these applications on user’s attitudes, knowledge, willingness to change, and its likelihood to change behavior from a user’s perspective.

Material and Methods A systematic search was conducted through Google play store and iTunes Apple store using terms related to sleep tracking. Apps were evaluated using Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS) tool for assessing and classifying mobile health applications quality. Additionally, a convenience sample of subjects were asked to evaluate the included apps for perceived sleep behavior changes.

Results The average MARS app quality score on a 5-point scale was 3.3. Between 30-50% of participants believed that sleep tracker apps are likely to increase awareness about sleep patterns and sleep hygiene, infuence sleep hygiene habits, and are likely to encourage help seeking for sleep hygiene when required.

Conclusion Apps available for sleep self-management and tracking may be valuable tools for self-management of sleep disorder and/or improving sleep quality, yet they require improvement in terms of quality and content, highlighting the need for further validity studies.

Sleep Tracker - Sleep Health - Smartphone Applications - Behavioural Change - Consumer Sleep Technology - Mobile Devices


Publication History

Received: 04 July 2020

Accepted: 08 March 2021

Article published online:
01 December 2023

© 2023. Brazilian Sleep Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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