My sleep sucks, or at least I think it does. I’d like to get some data for it.
I don’t currently own an Apple watch, as I’m not sure I’d have much use for it outside of this…
Any other great options? I know there are tons of review sites, but many seem like they are basing their recommendations on who is paying them for advertising…
Thx!
There are several price point garmin watches that do what you want. I don’t think there is a big difference between the inexpensive and very expensive versions when it comes to sleep monitoring. Just make sure it measures blood oxygen saturation also.
My sleep sucks, or at least I think it does. I’d like to get some data for it.
I don’t currently own an Apple watch, as I’m not sure I’d have much use for it outside of this…
Any other great options? I know there are tons of review sites, but many seem like they are basing their recommendations on who is paying them for advertising…
Thx!
I use the Garmin 955 watch. It’s pretty accurate…but again if you’re not going to use it much outside of sleep might be overkill.
I work with folks (sleep physiologists) who conduct validation studies of wearable and near-able sleep trackers (compared against the gold standard, polysomnography). Their names are Evan Chinoy and Rachel Markwald, and you can look up their recent publications (2021 and 2022) in which they compared a number of devices.
There are several wrist-born devices (e.g., Fitbit) that tested well, and so did the Oura ring. The Garmins they tested didn’t perform as well as other devices. Fit
Factor (ring vs watch) is something to consider.
In general, the time in bed and total sleep time data from wearable sleep trackers are good; the algorithms for sleep stages are not quite reliable yet.
Also, the wearables are generally better at detecting sleep/wake at night- vs day-time sleep periods (naps, shift workers).
I have an Oura ring that I find very helpful.
Just got the Suunto 9 Peak Granite Blue Titanium.
Sleep & Heart Rate mode for overnight tracking seems to be working very well and tracks everything in the app.
I use a Whoop band. Tracks a lot of stuff including sleep.
I’ve tried fitbit and android smart watch also, but came back to Whoop. It is the most comfortable and lightweight. I don’t notice when I sleep.
That said, all fitness bands including Apple watch are gimmicky. At best they impart directional tracking for you.
I work with folks (sleep physiologists) who conduct validation studies of wearable and near-able sleep trackers (compared against the gold standard, polysomnography). Their names are Evan Chinoy and Rachel Markwald, and you can look up their recent publications (2021 and 2022) in which they compared a number of devices.
There are several wrist-born devices (e.g., Fitbit) that tested well, and so did the Oura ring. The Garmins they tested didn’t perform as well as other devices. Fit
Factor (ring vs watch) is something to consider.
In general, the time in bed and total sleep time data from wearable sleep trackers are good; the algorithms for sleep stages are not quite reliable yet.
Also, the wearables are generally better at detecting sleep/wake at night- vs day-time sleep periods (naps, shift workers).
This is the advice you should take, and also get a real sleep study to rule out actual issue beyond “my sleep sucks”.
To those of you that use a tracking device, what do you do with the information? You wake up in the morning and look at it, then what? What do you do differently if it tells you your sleep was poor/good?
I work with folks (sleep physiologists) who conduct validation studies of wearable and near-able sleep trackers (compared against the gold standard, polysomnography). Their names are Evan Chinoy and Rachel Markwald, and you can look up their recent publications (2021 and 2022) in which they compared a number of devices.
There are several wrist-born devices (e.g., Fitbit) that tested well, and so did the Oura ring. The Garmins they tested didn’t perform as well as other devices. Fit
Factor (ring vs watch) is something to consider.
In general, the time in bed and total sleep time data from wearable sleep trackers are good; the algorithms for sleep stages are not quite reliable yet.
Also, the wearables are generally better at detecting sleep/wake at night- vs day-time sleep periods (naps, shift workers).
This is the advice you should take, and also get a real sleep study to rule out actual issue beyond “my sleep sucks”.
To those of you that use a tracking device, what do you do with the information? You wake up in the morning and look at it, then what? What do you do differently if it tells you your sleep was poor/good?
For me it led to getting a proper apnea sleep test that then led to me getting oral appliance to help with mild apnea and has completely cured my snoring.
Also fo the OP, download a free snoring app if you think snoring and other stuff is going on. I use SnoreLab.
As far as what else people use it for, they’ll start messing around with different sleep positions, pillows, supplements, eating habits, etc…to try to draw some conclusions of what helps with better sleep.
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I work with folks (sleep physiologists) who conduct validation studies of wearable and near-able sleep trackers (compared against the gold standard, polysomnography). Their names are Evan Chinoy and Rachel Markwald, and you can look up their recent publications (2021 and 2022) in which they compared a number of devices.
There are several wrist-born devices (e.g., Fitbit) that tested well, and so did the Oura ring. The Garmins they tested didn’t perform as well as other devices. Fit
Factor (ring vs watch) is something to consider.
In general, the time in bed and total sleep time data from wearable sleep trackers are good; the algorithms for sleep stages are not quite reliable yet.
Also, the wearables are generally better at detecting sleep/wake at night- vs day-time sleep periods (naps, shift workers).
This is the advice you should take, and also get a real sleep study to rule out actual issue beyond “my sleep sucks”.
To those of you that use a tracking device, what do you do with the information? You wake up in the morning and look at it, then what? What do you do differently if it tells you your sleep was poor/good?
I did actually try to get an overnight study done, where they have you wear the head gear etc, see if you need a cpap, but the test didn’t work for me as I couldn’t fall asleep with it on, was too uncomfy!
The Oura ring sounds interesting.
I am also planning to upgrade my Garmin 920 for next year, but not sure I love the idea of wearing any of the GPS watches 24/7…
Cheers
My sleep sucks, or at least I think it does. I’d like to get some data for it.
I don’t currently own an Apple watch, as I’m not sure I’d have much use for it outside of this…
Any other great options? I know there are tons of review sites, but many seem like they are basing their recommendations on who is paying them for advertising…
Thx!
Yeah, I think you got your answer, go with the medical studies.
I was going to suggest the Auro. I have a fit bit, does okay with when I go to bed and when I wake up. If you veg out to tv before bed, sometimes that gets counted as sleep time. as for deep rem light sleep I have no clue, but I don’t think it does a good job. Does have oxgen variation or whatever. So you can see if it goes low while sleeping. Fitbit also has a snore sensor you can use on your phone.
Personally don’t use the sleep data for anything. even their sleep score doesn’t seem to follow how I feel my sleep was.
I did actually try to get an overnight study done, where they have you wear the head gear etc, see if you need a cpap, but the test didn’t work for me as I couldn’t fall asleep with it on, was too uncomfy!
I would suggest sucking it up and trying the test again. Sleep apnea can end up being dangerous in the long-term. I thought getting tested for a long time, but it has made a world of difference.
Regarding the Oura ring, I don’t use it for sleep. I do look at the sleep markers from the night before but pretty much my sleep is always in the +85% excellent category. It was not like that before I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. I do use the Oura ring to keep track of my readiness score which includes resting heart rate, HRV, recovery index, and body temp, among other things. They’ve also just added the daytime stress index, which is interesting. I found it amusing that watching the Chiefs game right now is causing almost as much stress as working out.
Gordo Byrn discusses HRV often. https://x.com/feelthebyrn1?s=21&t=a8tUsmjvA467RsPEaS0goA
To those of you that use a tracking device, what do you do with the information? You wake up in the morning and look at it, then what? What do you do differently if it tells you your sleep was poor/good?
Not so much just the “sleep” results, but my Garmin 965’s nighttime HRV stats I believe are quite good. And this is after a decade of trying HRV stuff (various generations of Whoop, HRV4, all other stuff) and finding it to be mostly useless.
That downward trend was a backpacking trip where I kicked the snot out of myself and didn’t eat as much as I should have. I definitely felt not great during the six days of “triangles”. Brain fog at work, etc. Today is the first day back to green circle. But during the entire triangle period I went half effort on all my workouts. I hope this coming week I can get back at it.
Can’t say it is the best sleep tracker, but, I use the cheapest fitbit you can buy. I actually only wear it at night because I find the vibrating alarm the best way for me to wake up in the morning. I don’t have to use my loud alarm clock and don’t wake up my wife. And secondarily I also get sleep stats.
I have an Oura ring that I find very helpful.
I agree, I am on my second Oura ring and find it is great. I wear mine as my wedding band. Worth every penny in my opinion.
I have an Oura ring that I find very helpful.
I agree, I am on my second Oura ring and find it is great. I wear mine as my wedding band. Worth every penny in my opinion.
Have you noticed that the new daytime stress measurement sure picks up the highs and lows of watching a football game. Ha ha.
For me it led to getting a proper apnea sleep test that then led to me getting oral appliance to help with mild apnea and has completely cured my snoring.
May I ask what was your sleep score (events per hour, I think?) for your “mild apnea?” And what is your oral appliance? I was recently diagnosed with “mild to moderate sleep apnea” with a score of 14 events/hour. I got a cpap machine, but I’m having a hard time adjusting to it. I now think of it as a torture device and I’d love other options.
I have an Oura ring that I find very helpful.
I agree, I am on my second Oura ring and find it is great. I wear mine as my wedding band. Worth every penny in my opinion.
Have you noticed that the new daytime stress measurement sure picks up the highs and lows of watching a football game. Ha ha.
Do you have log into the website to get the stress scores? I am sure my stress watching the Chiefs would be much like yours. They are letting too many teams stay close to them before finally prevailing.
For me it led to getting a proper apnea sleep test that then led to me getting oral appliance to help with mild apnea and has completely cured my snoring.
May I ask what was your sleep score (events per hour, I think?) for your “mild apnea?” And what is your oral appliance? I was recently diagnosed with “mild to moderate sleep apnea” with a score of 14 events/hour. I got a cpap machine, but I’m having a hard time adjusting to it. I now think of it as a torture device and I’d love other options.
i don’t remember exactly but it was single digits per hour…maybe 8 i think.
An oral appliance is basically a mouthpiece similar to an athletic mouthguard and retainer that interlocks with a hook and essentially pulls your lower jaw forward to open up your breathing passageway. It is a passive thing. There are dentists that specialize in these.
There are numerous versions of an oral appliance for treating apnea, but this is the type I use. Just pulled a link for an image I saw:
Is your oral appliance comfortable? Noticeable? Was there an adjustment period to get used to it?
Sorry to ask so many questions, but I have a follow up with the sleep doc later this week and would like to discuss this option.