ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Aging
Sec. Interventions in Aging
This article is part of the Research TopicEnhancing Quality of Life in Long-Term Care: Social, Psychological, and Technological InnovationsView all articles
Use of sensing technologies to assess sleep quality and physical activity levels in nursing home residents with dementia taking nightly psychotropic drugs for sleep disturbance: a cross-sectional study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Helse Bergen HF, Haukeland University Hospital, Bergen, Norway
- 2Universitetet i Bergen Det medisinske fakultet, Bergen, Norway
- 3Haukeland Universitetssjukehus, Bergen, Norway
- 4Haraldsplass Diakonale Sykehus AS, Bergen, Norway
- 5Universitetet i Bergen, Bergen, Norway
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Background Sleep disturbances are common in people with dementia and nightly prescribed psychotropic drugs, such as sedatives or antidepressants, can increase risks such as injury, inactivity, and behavioral symptoms. Treatment decisions currently rely on periodic, proxy-rated questionnaires that may miss important daily fluctuations in sleep and activity. We explore whether sensing technologies provide insights into distinct differences in sleep characteristics and activity levels in nursing home residents with dementia who are prescribed nightly psychotropic drugs for sleep disturbances. Methods Forty-seven participants were recruited from four nursing homes in Bergen, Norway, and stratified according to prescribed nightly psychotropic drug use for sleep disturbance: 1) none, 2) medications with short half-lives, 3) medications with long half-lives. Garmin Vivoactive5 and Venu3, Vital Things Somnofy sleep monitor, and traditional questionnaires (Personal Self Maintenance Scale and Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Nursing Home version) were used for data collection. Digital metrics included Euclidean Norm Minus One (ENMO; day/night/24-hour), Sleep Regulatory Index (SRI), Sleep Efficiency (SE), Total Sleep Time (TST), Sleep Fragmentation Index (SFI), and no presence (time out of bed). Results Thirty participants (73-100 years old) were included for analysis. Groups taking psychotropic medications were awake for longer periods (WASO: chi2=8.7, p=0.01) and had poorer sleep regularity (SRI: chi2=20.6, p=0.0001). Participants taking psychotropic drugs had less physical activity (day/night/24-hour ENMO), with greatest differences between those on medications with a long half-life (day: chi2=9.48, p=0.009; night: chi2=12.83, p=0.002; 24-hour: chi2=8.23, p=0.02) and those not on nightly psychotropic medications. Conclusions The digital biomarkers collected using the selected sensing technologies offered nuanced information regarding sleep behaviors and physical activity levels, providing detailed distinction between the groups. Sensing technologies may be a promising companion to the currently used proxy-rated assessment tools for sleep disturbance and physical activity levels for people with dementia residing in nursing homes.
Keywords: Dementia, nursing home, physical activity, Psychotropic Drugs, Sensing technology, Sleep disturbance
Received: 16 Dec 2025; Accepted: 11 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Boyle, Marty, Haugarvoll, Steihaug and Husebo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Lydia D. Boyle
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