I just wrote a review of some QS devices that I have. I plan to add to this over time, both in terms of the devices I will include, and in terms of adding more scientific comparisons, particularly on the question of sleep.
http://dna.mrna.pro/review-of-self-monitoring-devices-quantified-self/
I hope some people find it interesting or useful.
I learned a few things from your review. I like the way it is written and the listing of pros and cons. I agree with you that sleep devices can be overambitious and that trying to do something simpler would be better.
(I think dividing time into sleep/wake/restless might be too simple, however. I would like to end up with single number that describes the quality of my sleep. It should predict how rested I feel, my subjective ratings. That isn’t easy to do.)
It would help to include prices and what is measured. Also stick to self-measurement.
Thanks for the advice and for the comments. The list is defined by what I happen to have, in fact I decided to write the review since I noticed I had quite a few of these things. I will now try to expand the review to fill it out with popular things that I am missing, although I can’t buy everything.
I agree that some simple metrics for sleep quality do need to be developed, and that these should be based on things that can be actually measured (like restlessness), and have some correspondence to things people care about (like ability to concentrate). I am not sure I agree that it should be predictive of how you feel afterwards, since this is likely to be affected by things other than sleep quality.
This was not intended to be written as a purchasing guide, but if I think enough people are actually reading the page then I will invest some time into making tables of features, but pricing varies over time and space, so I will leave it up to people to work what price is available to them.
Something I might do if I can collect all available devices, is a qualitative study in the sleep labs versus full on polysomnography and put up the results for all to see. I read somewhere that somebody else is going to do this, but there’s no harm in more than one independent experiment.
I enjoyed your reviews. They were short and to the point. I have been thinking about getting the Netatmo for some of the monitoring I am doing of my sleep and apnea. I like that the device gets the data from the web, but I also agree that being able to have it sync data with a personal weather station example like the Oregon Scientific “Advanced Wireless Pro Weather Station Package with USB Connectivity” with UV sensor. This would provide me at least with data that I could use to add correlating data too. I also agree that having the same features for an outside add-on model would be great to see if say the sound that disturbed your sleep come from outside. It would also give you an idea how well your home was blocking outdoor sounds from getting in. What I do not see is a light sensor capability with the CubeSensor will have when it comes out.
Mike
Yes, ambient light would be a very good addition with respect to sleep. I personally am very sensitive to light creeping round the curtains in the morning, and when you live as far north as the UK, it gets light very early in the summer.
Have you thought about trying to get some cell level data on yourself? Genome, proteome, metabolome? Perhaps you have access to lab equipment?
Yes, in fact this is my main interest. See this other post for example:
https://forum.quantifiedself.com/thread-chance-to-contribute-to-a-genetic-experiment