Actigraphy in the Assessment of nighttime eating disorders: two case reports

Two patients referred to a Sleep Disorders Centre complaining of insomnia and nightly binging at multiple nocturnal awakenings. Both patients completed a sleep evaluation protocol, during which their sleep was monitored by actigraphy for 7 consecutive nights. We calculated sleep measures removing all eating episodes occurred during the night (Sleep Without Eating Episodes; SWEE). Taking into account the SWEE actigraphic parameters, the 2 cases proved to be actigraphically very different, recommending different therapeutic approaches. Actigraphy could be a helpful tool in the assessment of a patient complaining of sleep disruption associated with nocturnal eating.