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Lookup NU author(s): Emily HunterORCiD, Professor Niina KolehmainenORCiD, Professor Kianoush Nazarpour, Professor Tim Rapley, Abigail Collins, Professor Christopher EggettORCiD, Dr Christopher Thornton
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
© 2026. The Author(s). Sleep and physical activity are vital to the health, development, and well-being of young children. To effectively promote these behaviours at the population level, better tools for objectively quantifying them are needed. This hypothesis-generating mixed-methods study explored the potential usability of two wearable sensors to measure physical activity and sleep in young children over multiple days, drawing on physiological measurements. A longitudinal within-case design was employed, in which families with children aged 4-36 months from the North East of England were recruited through playgroups and social networks. Parents and children tested two wearable devices in a structured play setting and at home over a period of 1 week. Data on sleep, movement, and heart rate were collected using the Bittium Faros 180 heart rate monitor and the NAPPA sleep monitoring system. Usability was assessed through researcher observations and parent feedback using ethnographic methods. Wear time, heart rate variability during naps, and ultradian respiration cycles during sleep were analysed. Seven children participated and completed the study. While parents were initially enthusiastic, usability challenges arose. The heart rate monitor was considered uncomfortable, its large size hindered activity, and electrodes were detached by parents and accidently, leading to significant data loss. The NAPPA was easier to use, discreet, and comfortable, but disrupted sleep routines. Additional challenges related to non-parental caregiving resulted in non-wear and/or data loss. These results indicate that wearable devices for young children hold potential but face significant design challenges for longitudinal home use at scale. Co-creation of child-friendly, practical hardware and software is essential for effective, large-scale health monitoring in young children.
Author(s): Hunter E, Kolehmainen N, Nazarpour K, Rapley T, Collins A, Eggett C, Williams C, Thornton C
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Behavior Research Methods
Year: 2026
Volume: 58
Issue: 3
Online publication date: 06/03/2026
Acceptance date: 09/01/2026
Date deposited: 23/03/2026
ISSN (print): 1554-351X
ISSN (electronic): 1554-3528
Publisher: Springer Nature
URL: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-026-02945-x
DOI: 10.3758/s13428-026-02945-x
Data Access Statement: The quantitative data and analysis data are available. Due to the sensitive nature of the qualitative data (e.g. ethnographic transcripts, audio), these data are not openly available. A summary of the themes and findings from the qualitative analysis can be accessed in the manuscript—if you would like to discuss access to the original qualitative data, please contact the corresponding author. The experiments were not formally preregistered, but their full description was included in the protocol as part of the independent ethics submission. The research protocol is openly available here: https://data.ncl.ac.uk/articles/report/WearAble_Project_Protocol/21608838?file=38463158. The supplementary files for this manuscript are available here: https://figshare.com/s/c3336a1a329a75dd67a1.
PubMed id: 41792549
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