Thesis defence: Kasper Karlgren

Welcome to a thesis defence at DSV! In his PhD thesis, Kasper Karlgren explores how new technology can help us manage and “hack” our sleep.

Thesis defence

Date:

Friday 13 December 2024

Time:

13.00 – 16.00

Location:

Lilla hörsalen, DSV, Borgarfjordsgatan 12, Kista

On December 13, 2024, Kasper Karlgren will present his PhD thesis at the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV), Stockholm University. The title of the thesis is “Tracking and Hacking Sleep: Designing for lived experience through self-tracking”.

PhD student: Kasper Karlgren, DSV
Opponent: David Kirk, Newcastle University, UK
Main supervisor: Barry Brown, DSV
Supervisor: Donald McMillan, DSV

Download the PhD thesis from Diva

Contact Kasper Karlgren

The defence takes place at DSV in Kista, starting at 13:00.
Find your way to DSV

 

Abstract

Sleep-tracking technology is built into many available smart technologies and wearables; hence, designing for and with these data requires a broad understanding of the user and their relation to sleep. However, these technologies still focus on traditional 7–9 hours-per-night schedules – overlooking the varied nature of people's sleep – and focus on metrics that are difficult to influence, such as sleep stages, making them unactionable for a large portion of the users.

This dissertation investigates what sleep tracking can do for users who put effort into managing sleep by studying what actions and challenges they already employ. Using qualitative methods and design approaches, I study how people `hack' their sleep, the difficulties that arise from non-traditional sleep patterns, and how sleep technology is used in everyday life.

The findings and contributions of this work include (1) rich descriptions of these participants, in terms of how they share and discuss sleep hacks in online communities, and insights and reflections on the social factors of sleeping outside normal hours; (2) design explorations of how sleep tracking technology could be built to support these practices; and (3) framing self-tracking technology as the design of the self – to design technology that centres on the actions and varying goals and bodies of the users.

In the discussion, I discuss how this work relates the notions of bodies and users in human–computer interaction, how changes in modern work arrangements call for new technology to support the arrangement of sleep and life rhythms, and reflections on the norms and soft paternalism of sleep tracking technologies.

 

Keywords

Human-Computer Interaction, Sleep-tracking, Research for Design