Many people have begun to track their sleep with fitness watches or even equipment placed on their beds. Tracking your sleep is a very good way to gain insight into your sleeping habits, trends over time, and even a bigger picture of your overall health. But how can you track your sleep with your Apple Watch?
Apple has said that they are working on developing a sleep tracking app for the Apple Watch. However, there had not been a release date as of yet. So until Apple comes out with their own sleep tracker you’ll need to use a third-party app.
Hold it right there! Before you go out and download a bunch of apps to try you need to think about a very important thing. Using your Apple Watch to track sleep will use the battery. So how does tracking your sleep affect the battery life on your Watch?
Obviously it will use it, but it will not drain your Watch down to zero. You just need to evaluate and maybe change when you charge your Apple Watch. If you charge your Watch at night while you sleep you’ll need to pick another time to charge your Watch. You can charge it right before you go to bed. Or you can charge your Watch in the morning after you get up. The best time for charging will depend on your schedule and your habits.
For example, if you are a person that heads right to the gym in the morning charging your Apple Watch when you wake up may not be the best idea. However, if you are constantly on the go in the evening and have some time in the morning before you head out for the day, charging in the morning would be a good idea.
It also might be a good idea to invest in a second charger to have in a place where you are sitting for a while.
Apps for Tracking Sleep
Now, let’s look at some of the apps out there for tracking sleep.
AutoSleep is one of the most popular sleep tracking apps for the Apple Watch. This app provides a lot of in-depth data for you to see how you are sleeping. You will see data on your sleep, sleep quality, heart rate, deep sleep, and a ton more.
AutoSleep shows the data in a system of rings that help you monitor the statistics. However, this app is not free. The app currently costs $2.99 on the App Store. Also, when using the AutoSleep app the amount of data can be overwhelming. If you are not looking for a super in-depth evaluation of your sleep this may not be the app for you.
Pillow is a newer app to the sleep tracking scene, but already it is a very good app to use. Pillow gives you a heart-rate analysis and can record important audio events during the night. For example, if you have problems with snoring or sleep apnea Pillow can record it and help you know how often they come up during the night.
The biggest drawback to this feature is that the noise detection only works when you manually start a sleep session. Pillow does have an automatic sleep detection, which makes it nice so you do not have to always manually start a tracking session. This app also shows you trends over time and recommendations to improve your sleep.
NapBot is another new app to the sleep tracking party. The app shows you a good amount of data on your sleep in an easy-to-navigate format. You can look at your sleep performance on a daily basis. You can see this information in an overview type format or choose a day to see more detailed information on your heart rate and phases.
NapBot has an automatic sleep detection feature. It also recently launched an Apple Watch app that is totally independent of the iPhone.
Sleep ++ is another app that has automatic sleep detection. It also has bedtime reminders and sleep goals. In the main app, you can look at how well you’ve slept over the past several days, not just the night before.
Sleep ++ also tracks sleep trends, when you are restful, restless, awake, and when your best sleep occurred. This app is a free download but if you want to get rid of ads you need to purchase the app.
The sleep tracking app you choose to use will all depend on what you need from it. If you do not want or feel like you need a great amount of in-depth data then some of the fancier apps may not be for you. Try one or two out for a few weeks each and see which one works the best for you.
I have been working in IT for over 25 years. As a child, I delighted in tinkering with radios, VCRs, and TVs—a passion that still resonates with me today. I possess an extensive array of TV and music streaming tech, fostering my ongoing fascination with these innovations, which I enjoy documenting through my writing. When I’m not engrossed in technological pursuits, I enthusiastically support my Chicago Bears or the Chicago Cubs. Additionally, I indulge my passion for collecting baseball cards, amassing a collection that some might consider excessive.
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