Standardization of actigraphy processing for research platforms

Actigraphy is a non-invasive method for continuous monitoring of rest–activity cycles, sleep patterns, light exposure, body temperature and other physiological rhythms in real-world settings. By passively capturing behavioral data over extended periods, it enables detailed characterization of the temporal dynamics of biological rhythms and their relevance to physiology and health. As actigraphy becomes increasingly common in large-scale observational studies and clinical trials, the need for standardized procedures in data acquisition and processing has become urgent. Variability across devices, scoring algorithms, and analytic pipelines can hinder reproducibility and limit the integration of data across data collection sites. This report introduces standardized guidelines for the use of actigraphy in clinical research, supporting reproducibility, comparability and harmonization across studies. A fillable standardized operating procedure for actigraphy research, along with an empirical example, supports best practices across the full workflow, from device selection and data collection to quality control, analysis, and transparent reporting. By promoting clarity in documentation, harmonization of processing choices, and rigorous quality control, this work aims to enhance the reliability and reproducibility of actigraphy-derived variables as potential digital biomarkers and to support broader implementation of actigraphy in studies of health and disease.