Key result
Wearable heart rate sensors show excellent reliability during sleep but moderate reliability during wakefulness.
Why the study?
Wearable sensors are increasingly used in research to collect data outside the laboratory, highlighting the need to understand measurement fidelity and reliability.
How can the measurement reliability of wearable sensors for heart rate and heart rate variability be assessed in psychophysiological research?
Observational (n=10)
No
How can the measurement reliability of wearable sensors for heart rate and heart rate variability be assessed in psychophysiological research?
This tutorial provides a framework and statistical tools for assessing the reliability of wearable sensors for heart rate and heart rate variability measurement in real-world settings.
May support nocturnal wearable HR monitoring in research; leaves open reliability for wakeful use pending validation studies.
Wearable sensors are quickly making their way into psychophysiological research, as they allow collecting data outside of a laboratory and for an extended period of time. The present tutorial considers fidelity of physiological measurement with wearable sensors, focusing on reliability. We elaborate on why ensuring reliability for wearables is important and offer statistical tools for assessing wearable reliability for between participants and within-participant designs. The framework offered here is illustrated using several brands of commercially available heart rate sensors. Measurement reliability varied across sensors and, more importantly, across the situations tested, and was highest during sleep. Our hope is that by systematically quantifying measurement reliability, researchers will be able to make informed choices about specific wearable devices and measurement procedures that meet their research goals.
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Dudarev et al. (2023) conducted an observational in Healthy (n=10). Wearable heart rate sensor (Biostrap) was evaluated on Between-participant reliability of heart rate (BPM) during sleep (ICC 0.89.6, 95% CI 0.79-0.97, p=<0.001). Wearable sensor measurements of heart rate demonstrated excellent between-participant reliability during sleep (ICC 0.89.6) but only moderate reliability during wakefulness.
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