The best sleep tracking apps for Apple Watch

Sleep tracking with Apple Watch is a good way to achieve new perception into your sleeping habits and traits over time. There are a variety of completely different sleep tracking apps obtainable for Apple Watch, together with native choices from Apple itself.

Read on as we spherical up the best sleep tracking apps for Apple Watch, evaluating Apple’s first-party resolution with the competitors.

Native Apple Watch Sleep Tracking

With the discharge of watchOS 7 in 2020, Apple Watch added official help for sleep tracking with no need a third-party software.

We went hands-on with the expertise when it was launched, explaining that Apple is tying Apple Watch sleep-tracking capabilities in with new iPhone options akin to Wind Down and Wake Up for a seamless cross-device expertise.

There’s a brand new Sleep app on the Apple Watch, in addition to a Sleep Mode that hides your typical watch face and as a substitute exhibits the present time, in addition to what time your alarm is ready for. It additionally disables options like raise-to-wake, so your watch face isn’t lighting up in the midst of the night time.

To view the sleep knowledge tracked by your Apple Watch, you may go to the Sleep app on Apple Watch or the Health app on iPhone. The precise knowledge right here is proscribed. Apple merely exhibits you your time asleep, in addition to a variety for your coronary heart price. That’s the place third-party functions nonetheless show helpful. They can supply way more knowledge than Apple’s native implementation, and also you don’t have to attend till the autumn to get began.

What about battery life?

Before you begin tracking your sleep with Apple Watch, you’ll have to make a plan for if you’ll cost your watch. There are two major choices right here: earlier than mattress or after you get up within the morning. One key change for me has been inserting an additional Apple Watch charger at my desk moderately than on my nightstand.

For me, it’s a lot simpler to cost earlier than mattress each night time. If I put my Apple Watch on the charger at round 8 p.m., after I’ve already reached my stand objective for that day, it normally has a full cost by the point I head to mattress at 9:30 p.m. And once I get up within the morning, I virtually at all times have greater than 90% battery left — greater than sufficient to make it by way of the day.

Plus, on the times once I want a mid-day recharge, having the additional Apple Watch charger on my desk makes that quite a bit simpler.

This works completely for me, however your routine might be completely different than mine. The key’s to provide you with a plan that you would be able to replicate every single day. Whether that’s charging within the morning or at night time, or a mix of each, it’s quite a bit simpler than you may assume to vary your Apple Watch charging habits.

Of course, there may be additionally at all times the choice of repurposing an outdated Apple Watch as your devoted “sleep watch.” 9to5Mac’s Zac Hall beforehand defined how to try this. You might additionally decide up a used or refurbished older Apple Watch mannequin to do that.

Once you’ve established a charging routine for your Apple Watch, it’s time to choose a sleep tracking app. There are a couple of completely different choices.

AutoSleep

AutoSleep might be the most well-liked Apple Watch sleep tracking app on the App Store, and for good purpose. It supplies among the most in-depth knowledge, together with an in depth have a look at sleep, sleep high quality, coronary heart price, deep sleep, and way more.

AutoSleep makes use of a system of rings that can assist you monitor these key statistics. The principal interface exhibits you rings for sleep, sleep high quality, deep sleep, and bpm. All of this knowledge comes at a value, nevertheless, and AutoSleep’s interface can really feel a bit overwhelming when you dive into all the obtainable knowledge. Still, latest modifications to the app have made it a lot simpler to view a breakdown of all of that knowledge.

AutoSleep additionally gives a superb Apple Watch software that makes it straightforward to get a fast have a look at the present day’s sleep knowledge. There can be a “readiness” rating that makes an attempt to foretell how prepared you’re for the day based mostly in your sleep for that night time.

More on AutoSleep:

• Simple app overview
• Sleep Rings – Simple at a look overview of sleep
• Wellness
• Sleep Hygiene Trends
• How to Adjust Sleep Detection
• Tips & More

AutoSleep is offered on the App Store for $4.99 as a one-time buy.

Sleep++

Sleep++ is one other in style sleep-tracking app for Apple Watch with help for computerized sleep detection, bedtime reminders, sleep targets, and extra. In the Sleep++ app, the principle interface supplies an in depth have a look at your sleep habits over the previous few days.

Like its rivals, Sleep++ additionally gives fairly a bit of knowledge on sleep traits, cycles, phases, and extra. You may see an in depth timeline of your sleep, together with if you had been restful, stressed, and awake, with a very neat have a look at when your “best sleep” occurred.”

Sleep++ additionally lately added a helpful new “Readiness Score”, making it straightforward to know when you need to take it straightforward and recharge for the following day.

One of the best issues about Sleep++ is that it’s fully free, with an non-compulsory in-app buy to take away commercials. If you’re trying for a data-rich computerized Apple Watch sleep tracker, you obtain Sleep++ on the App Store.

Pillow

When I wrote about sleeping apps for the Apple Watch virtually three years in the past, Pillow was an choice that I wasn’t acquainted with on the time, however a number of 9to5Mac readers urged I give it a attempt. With options like computerized sleep detection and heart-rate evaluation, Pillow matches proper in among the many remainder of the market.

One of the important thing options of Pillow is its help for recording vital audio occasions all through the night time. This means the app can monitor knowledge together with loud night breathing, sleep apnea, and sleep speaking, however the largest caveat right here is that noise detection solely works in handbook mode.

There’s additionally help for viewing detailed sleep traits over time, personalised suggestions, and extra. You can attempt Pillow on the App Store for free with in-app purchases.

NapBot

NapBot is a relative newcommer to the Apple Watch sleep tracking enjoyable, and it’s rapidly changing into one of the vital highly effective choices. NapBot makes use of machine studying to carry out computerized sleep tracking, permitting you to see particulars on phases, traits, and extra.

NapBot gives a formidable quantity of knowledge in an impressively easy-to-navigate interface. The “Calendar” tab within the app permits you to get an in depth have a look at your sleep every day, and you may decide a selected day to see extra detailed info on coronary heart price and phases.

NapBot additionally simply launched its first Apple Watch app that’s fully unbiased of the iPhone. It at present solely permits you to see yesterday’s sleep, however hopefully, it would add extra capabilities and historic knowledge over time.

NapBot is the latest Apple Watch sleep-tracking app, nevertheless it’s additionally rapidly changing into my go-to. You can obtain it on the App Store for free with in-app purchases.

SleepWatch

SleepWatch is among the hottest sleep tracking apps on the iPhone and Apple Watch. It has over 300,000 scores on the App Store with a median of over 4.5 stars. The app gives a variety of highly effective knowledge assortment options, together with:

• Total Sleep Time
• Sleep Rhythm
• HR Dip
• Sleep HRV
• 2-day Sleep Target
• Restful Sleep
• Sleep Disruption
• Sleep Blood Oxygen

SleepWatch is offered on the App Store as a free obtain with a $4.99 per 30 days in-app subscription for unlocking each function.

SleepCycle

Last however not least, we have now Sleep Cycle which gives apps for the iPhone and Apple Watch. Sleep Cycle units itself aside with a variety of distinctive options, akin to Philips Hue integration, a wise alarm clock, distinctive knowledge and traits, and extra.

• Sleep evaluation with Sleep Cycle patented sound know-how or accelerometer
• Snooze by shaking or double tapping the telephone calmly
• Customizable wake-up window. From immediate (common alarm clock), as much as 45 minutes
• Sound recorder & Trends – Capture loud night breathing, sleep speaking and different sounds and consider your traits
• Trends – collect long-term traits in your sleep patterns
• Comparison Data – Compare your sleep patterns to world sleep statistics
• Weather & Sleep – See how several types of climate have an effect on your sleep high quality
• Sleep Notes – See how occasions akin to consuming espresso, stress, figuring out or consuming late have an effect on your sleep high quality
• Philips HUE Light Bulb Support – Simulate a pure dawn to offer you a good softer wake-up

Sleep Cycle is offered on the App Store as a free obtain with in-app purchases to unlock the total set of premium options.

Which must you decide?

Despite all the new entrants into the sleep tracking Apple Watch trade, I nonetheless discover AutoSleep to be essentially the most highly effective choice. AutoSleep gives you quite a bit of knowledge, and you may decide and select whether or not to learn an excessive amount of into it.

Additionally, I pair the AutoSleep knowledge with the options launched with watchOS 7 and iOS 14. You can nonetheless use options akin to Wind Down and Sleep Mode, and monitor knowledge utilizing third-party sources akin to AutoSleep.

The key, no matter which software you decide, is to verify there may be some form of computerized sleep detection function. This reduces friction and means you don’t have to recollect to manually begin a sleep-tracking session each night time earlier than mattress. Instead, your Apple Watch can monitor your sleep within the background, with none interplay from you.

These apps additionally combine with Apple’s Health app, which suggests you will get an summary of your sleep knowledge alongside every little thing else within the Health app. The Health app is beneficial for tracking long-term traits and averages, however in order for you detailed knowledge, you’ll have to leap to your third-party app of alternative.

Of course, there are additionally rumors that the Apple Watch Series 8 will carry much more superior sleep tracking capabilities with improved {hardware}. We’ll need to see what precisely which means and whether or not third-party apps can use that info.

Do you monitor your sleep with Apple Watch? Which app do you like? Let us know down within the feedback!