Sleep Cycle Illustration
Another common way for measuring your sleep involves using something you already own: your smartphone. To assess your sleep quality, sleep monitoring apps often capture your movements and ambient sounds (e.g., snoring, coughing, etc.). Many also include smart alarms, sleep insights, and coaching advice. They may also feature digital sleep diaries where you can record any factors that may have influenced your sleep.
These apps aren’t as precise as wearables, but they can still be useful for identifying short-term and long-term sleep habits. They’re also a fantastic choice if you feel snoring is keeping you awake, as they can capture audio. There is one thing to keep in mind when using apps. If you want the optimum results, you should start and stop a sleep session in the app rather than just letting it run.
There are hundreds of sleep apps available for iPhone and Android phones, but here are a few popular choices to get you started:
- Sleep Rating (iOS, Android)
- The Sleep Cycle (iOS, Android)
- Pillow (iOS)
- PrimeNap is a sleep tracker (Android)
SLEEP TRACKING DEVICES WITHOUT CONTACT
Consider contactless sleep trackers if neither a wearable nor a smartphone app appeals to you. Mattress mats, smart beds, and bedside monitors are the most common examples. These devices are appealing possibilities for anyone looking for a totally unobtrusive tracker, but be aware that they can be significantly more expensive than wearables and apps.
Mattress mats are exactly what they sound like: a sensor-equipped mat that you place under or over your mattress. The Withings Sleep is one example. This particular mat can track your respiration rate, heart rate, and movement. Withings also says that it can detect snoring and that it can be used in conjunction with IFTTT to program an optimal sleep environment (i.e., dimming smart lights, lowering smart thermostats, etc.). Temper-Pedic Sleep Tracker, Beautyrest SleepTracker, and the Eight Pro Cover are a few more examples. Keep in mind that the prices of these devices vary greatly — the Withings Sleep, for example, costs $100, but the Eight Pro Cover costs at least $1,600, depending on the size of your mattress.
Smart beds are the next phase. These are real mattresses with adjustable positions, firmness, and temperature. Many of them also provide biometric health tracking. The Sleep Number 360 Smart Bed and the Eight Sleep Pod are two examples. As you might expect, this is not the most cost-effective method of tracking sleep – smart beds can cost thousands of dollars. Smart beds, on the other hand, can be adjusted to your specific preferences for a more comfortable night’s sleep if you have the resources.
The second-generation Google Nest Hub added sleep tracking.
Finally, bedside monitors are available. These are devices that sit on your nightstand and track your sleeping patterns. The most well-known example is the Google Nest Hub. The second-generation hub included sleep tracking through Soli radar sensors in the bezel of the smart display. It is capable of monitoring your movement, breathing patterns, and snoring. It also tracks the amount of time you spend in bed as well as the temperature and lighting in your room.
The SleepScore Max, which analyzes many of the same parameters and may generate a report for your doctor, is another choice. These are some of the least expensive contactless choices. The Nest Hub costs around $100, while the SleepScore Max costs over $150.
You should now have a better sense of what type of sleep tracker is appropriate for you. Good night, and good sleep tracking.