Wearable sleep measurements showed no clear association with anxiety
Pooled sleep results were not statistically significant. Limited evidence linked lower activity and higher heart rate with greater anxiety symptoms.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review did not find statistically significant associations between anxiety and the pooled wearable sleep measures. That leaves uncertainty about any relationship rather than proving none exists. Smaller bodies of evidence linked less physical activity and higher heart rate with more anxiety symptoms. These observational patterns do not establish causation or demonstrate that a wearable can diagnose anxiety.
Most studies using conventional statistics were rated fair quality. Evidence for activity and heart-rate associations was limited, and study populations excluded people with diagnosed physical health conditions, restricting generalizability.
What the sleep analyses tested
The pooled analyses examined sleep measurements recorded by wrist devices and their relationship with anxiety. Their nonsignificant results leave uncertainty about the strength or existence of a relationship in the populations studied.
Prediction results were variable
Computer prediction studies performed unevenly when they used wrist-device data alone. Performance improved when other information was added, but the abstract does not report enough accuracy data to judge individual screening usefulness.
The original publication
Association Between Digital Biomarkers of Health and Anxiety: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Lau Y, Chemas N, Ajeet Gokani H et al.
J Med Internet Res · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41802227
- Record checked
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