From Narratives to Diagnosis: A Machine Learning Framework for Classifying Sleep Disorders in Aging Populations: The sleepCare Platform

Background/Objectives: Sleep disorders are prevalent among aging populations and are often linked to cognitive decline, chronic conditions, and reduced quality of life. Traditional diagnostic methods, such as polysomnography, are resource-intensive and limited in accessibility. Meanwhile, individuals frequently describe their sleep experiences through unstructured narratives in clinical notes, online forums, and telehealth platforms. This study proposes a machine learning pipeline that classifies sleep-related narratives into clinically meaningful categories, including stress-related, neurodegenerative, and breathing-related disorders. The proposed framework employs natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning techniques to support remote applications and real-time patient monitoring, offering a scalable solution for early identification of sleep disturbances. Methods: We developed a three-tiered classification pipeline to analyze narrative sleep reports. First, a baseline model used a Multinomial Naïve Bayes classifier with n-gram features from a Bag-of-Words representation. Next, we implemented a Support Vector Machine (SVM) trained on GloVe-based word embeddings to capture semantic context. Finally, we fine-tuned a transformer-based model (BERT) to extract contextual embeddings, using the [CLS] token as input for SVM classification. Each model was evaluated using stratified train-test splits and 10-fold cross-validation. Hyperparameter tuning via GridSearchCV optimized performance. The dataset contained 475 labeled sleep narratives, classified into five etiological categories relevant for clinical interpretation.Results: The transformer-based model utilizing BERT embeddings and an optimized Support Vector Machine classifier achieved an overall accuracy of 81% on the test set. Class-wise F1-scores ranged from 0.72 to 0.91, with the highest performance observed in classifying normal or improved sleep (F1 = 0.91). The macro average F1-score was 0.78, indicating balanced performance across all categories. GridSearchCV identified the optimal SVM parameters (C=4, kernel='rbf', gamma=0.01, degree=2, class_weight='balanced'). The confusion matrix revealed robust classification with limited misclassifications, particularly between overlapping symptom categories such as stress-related and neurodegenerative sleep disturbances.. Conclusions: Unlike generic large language model applications, our approach emphasizes personalized identification of sleep symptomatology through targeted classification of narrative input. By integrating structured learning with contextual embeddings, the framework offers a clinically meaningful, scalable solution for early detection and differentiation of sleep disorders in diverse, real-world and remote settings.