Upload activity time-series CSV from any tracking system. Get sleep/wake classification, actograms, bout analysis, and per-fly metrics.
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The 5-minute inactivity threshold is the community standard for Drosophila. Using shorter thresholds overestimates sleep; longer thresholds underestimate it. Always report the threshold used.
30-minute bins are standard for sleep profiles. Smaller bins (10 min) reveal more temporal detail but increase noise. Larger bins (60 min) smooth over circadian transitions.
A dead fly produces zero activity indefinitely. Check for complete inactivity over the last 6+ hours and flag these flies as potential deaths. This tool flags wells with >95% sleep as potential QC concerns.
This free browser-based tool converts activity time-series data into sleep/wake classification using the standard 5-minute inactivity threshold. All computation happens in your browser — no data is uploaded to any server. Supports DAM, multiwell plate, and generic CSV formats.
Last validated 2026-04-06. Calculations are designed for planning and documentation support; verify procurement decisions against manufacturer specifications or institutional SOPs.
ConductScience (2026). Drosophila Sleep Converter. ConductScience Online Tools. https://conductscience.com/tools/drosophila-sleep-converter
Drosophila melanogaster has been a powerful model for sleep research since the landmark papers by Shaw et al. (2000) and Hendricks et al. (2000) demonstrated that flies exhibit a sleep-like state meeting behavioral criteria: prolonged inactivity, increased arousal threshold, characteristic posture, and homeostatic rebound after deprivation. The Drosophila Activity Monitor (DAM) system from TriKinetics is the gold standard, using infrared beam breaks to measure locomotion. More recently, video tracking systems (Zantiks, Ethoscope, DART) provide richer behavioral data. Sleep is universally defined as ≥5 minutes of continuous inactivity.
Drosophila sleep is strongly regulated by the circadian clock. Under a 12:12 light-dark cycle, wild-type flies show consolidated nighttime sleep, a mid-day siesta (ZT4-8), and morning/evening activity peaks driven by distinct clock neuron populations. Mutants in core clock genes (per, tim, Clk, cyc) show altered sleep timing and consolidation. Analyzing day vs. night sleep separately is essential — a mutation that increases total sleep may selectively affect only daytime or nighttime sleep, implicating different regulatory mechanisms.
Activity monitoring systems for circadian and sleep research
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