• Why total sleep time and sleep-stage percentages deserve different levels of confidence
• What a consumer sleep tracker can measure directly — and what it has to infer
• Why motionless wake is still difficult for wearable algorithms
• Wearables, nearables and the danger of assuming more sensors automatically mean better answers
• How longitudinal tracker data can point toward a problem without diagnosing it
• Orthosomnia and the downside of trying to perfect a sleep score
• Periodic limb movements, restless legs syndrome and why the distinction matters
• How RLS treatment guidance has changed since the original 2021 episode
• Why the current AASM guideline moved away from routine dopamine-agonist treatment
• A speculative discussion about trauma, hyperarousal and nighttime movement — and where the evidence stops
• Neil’s Beditorial on celebrity, medical misinformation and transferable expertise
• What Jesse Cook is doing now as Dr. Jesse Cook

Jesse Cook, PhD is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology at UW–Madison and completed his pre-doctoral internship at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. His research focuses on sleep and mental health, particularly unexplained hypersomnolence, along with wearable sleep technology and the role of sleep and circadian health in athletic performance and well-being.

Jesse Cook, PhD — University of Wisconsin–Madison

Current UW profile and research interests.

Jesse Cook at UW–Madison

State of the science and recommendations for using wearable technology in sleep and circadian research

The 2024 Sleep Research Society state-of-the-science review co-authored by Jesse Cook, covering wearable capabilities, accuracy, limitations and research use.

Read the review in Sleep

Wearable Technology as a Tool for Sleep-Wake Estimation in Central Disorders of Hypersomnolence

Cook and David Plante’s 2019 review of actigraphy and consumer sleep trackers in central disorders of hypersomnolence.

Read the paper

Plante Lab — wearable sleep technology publications

A collection of Cook’s earlier validation work comparing Fitbit, Jawbone and actigraphy measurements with polysomnography.

Browse the publications

AASM guideline update for restless legs syndrome and periodic limb movement disorder

The newer treatment guidance explaining the move away from routine dopamine-agonist therapy, the risk of augmentation and the stronger recommendations for alpha-2-delta ligands and iron evaluation.

Read the AASM summary

The Sleep Fix by Diane Macedo

The book Neil previews in this episode before Macedo’s appearance on the following week’s show.

The Sleep Fix