: If you already have an Apple Watch Series 4 or later, you can use it to track your sleep. Between the heart rate sensor and the accelerometer, your Apple Watch can break your slumber down into four stages. Newer models can also measure blood oxygen and temperature. It feels like a general overview compared to some of the other sleep trackers I’ve tried, and there’s no sleep score, although this is clearly by design (negotiable if you need more data).
: All track sleep to some extent, but the Epix Pro has what Garmin calls advanced sleep tracking, or the ability to track sleep stages, your blood oxygen saturation, your breathing rate and restlessness. Contributor Adrienne So found that Epix Pro consistently contributed to him getting half an hour to an hour more sleep than he used to get most nights, as double-checked by Whoop and Oura. It also doesn’t add naps to your sleep score.
Photo: Simon Hill
: The Nest Hub Max uses radar to track your sleep, meaning you don’t need to wear a tracker; it also has a microphone to monitor snoring, sleep talk and other night sounds. I love the Nest Hub on my nightstand for smart home controls, family photos, and listening to sleep sounds or podcasts in bed, but the sleep tracker frequently overestimated my REM phases and missed periods of wakefulness that other monitors recorded. When I used multiple monitors at the same time, the Nest Hub was the outlier. The offers a similar sleep-tracking experience if you’re looking for something cheaper. –Simon Hill
: This headband has sensors that can monitor your brain activity, similar to an electroencephalogram (EEG), in addition to an accelerometer and gyroscope, and a PPG sensor to measure heart rate and blood circulation. It’s basically a meditation aid designed to help you relax, but it can also track your sleep by recording your heart rate, breathing, sleep time and how much you moved around to get an overall sleep score. Sadly, I found it uncomfortable to wear and often woke up to find that the sleep tracking failed, usually because I took it off at night. –Simon Hill
: Wear the Withings ScanWatch 2 to bed and you’ll get sleep scores out of 100 in the morning. It covers the same four steps as other monitors (eyes, REM, light and depth) but has a PPG sensor to measure your breathing rate. It can also monitor your heart rate, temperature and blood oxygen levels. ScanWatch 2 provides a wealth of data and advice in the Withings app. Some people may find it bulky and uncomfortable for sleep, though, and had problems distinguishing between light sleep and when I was lying awake in bed. –Simon Hill
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Photo: Simon Hill
: Another wearable alternative, this mat with sensors from Withings slides under your mattress where your chest rests. You need to adjust it during initial setup, but it’s quick and easy. It tracks your movements, breathing, and heart rate throughout the night, detects snoring or other sounds, and alerts you to potential breathing problems that could signal insomnia. I have my doubts about the accuracy as it assumes that you are trying to sleep if you are lying still in bed watching TV or reading, and that can distort your score (although it is better to just use your bed for sleep if you suffer from insomnia). I often saw it marking periods of wakefulness as light sleep. It requires a power outlet, but that does mean you never need to worry about charging). –Simon Hill
(iOS/Android): Sleep Schedule is a sleep tracking app that provides a report for each night, breaking down your sleep into stages. Inspector Simon Hill he says the results were somewhat accurate and broadly consistent with Ultrahuman ring airbut the app can be a bit wonky. There were occasional instances where he would receive an error message the next morning with no report or short sleep recorded. There was also no indication of why it failed. You can try Sleep Schedule for a week before you need to sign up.
