Apple Watch: Tracking Your Rem Sleep Accurately

Sleep is an important aspect of your overall health and well-being. If you don't get enough rest, it can affect other elements of your everyday life. That's why it's important to track the amount of sleep you get every night. If you have an Apple Watch, you can use it to track your sleep. Apple added native sleep tracking to the Apple Watch in 2020, and in 2022, it introduced sleep stages with watchOS 9. The Apple Watch can track deep sleep and REM sleep, and it will show you how long you were asleep and the amount of sleep you got in every stage.

How to set up sleep tracking on your Apple Watch

Setting up sleep tracking on your Apple Watch is a straightforward process. Here's a step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Check Compatibility

Ensure your Apple Watch is running watchOS 8 or later, and your iPhone has iOS 14 or later. The Sleep app is available on Apple Watch, and you can also use the Health app on your iPhone for additional features.

Step 2: Open the Sleep App

Go to the Sleep app on your Apple Watch. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up sleep tracking. Alternatively, you can open the Health app on your iPhone, tap "Browse," then "Sleep", and finally, tap "Get Started" to begin the setup process.

Step 3: Set Up Sleep Schedules

Create personalized sleep schedules by setting your desired sleep duration, bedtime, and wake-up times. You can also create multiple schedules, such as one for weekdays and another for weekends, with different bed and wake-up times for each.

Step 4: Adjust Sleep Settings

You can customize various sleep settings, including Sleep Focus, which limits distractions before bedtime and during sleep. You can also set a wind-down period, which is the time before your scheduled bedtime when you can start preparing for sleep by simplifying your Lock Screen and reducing notifications.

Step 5: Enable Sleep Tracking

Make sure Sleep Tracking is enabled on your Apple Watch. This feature uses your motion to detect sleep when you wear the watch to bed. It is available on watchOS 8 or later.

Step 6: Check Charging Reminders

It's important to ensure your Apple Watch is charged to at least 30% before going to bed. You can set charging reminders to notify you when to charge your watch. This is crucial because if the battery dies during sleep, sleep tracking will stop.

Step 7: Wear Your Watch to Bed

Wear your Apple Watch to bed so it can track your sleep. It will estimate the time spent in different sleep stages: REM, Core, and Deep. When you wake up, open the Sleep app to see your sleep data, including the amount of sleep you got and your sleep trends over the past 14 days.

How to change your sleep goals

The Sleep app on the Apple Watch allows you to create sleep schedules to help you meet your sleep goals. To change your sleep goals, you can follow these steps:

• Open the Health app on your iPhone.
• Tap "Browse" at the bottom right, then tap "Sleep".
• Scroll down to "Your Schedule", then tap "Full Schedule & Options".
• Scroll down to "Additional Details" and make your desired changes:

• Wind Down Period: Tap "Wind Down", then select the desired number of minutes or hours to wind down before your scheduled bedtime. Your Sleep Focus turns on at the beginning of the wind-down period.
• Sleep Goal: Tap "Sleep Goal", then select the desired amount of sleep. Any new schedules you set will reflect this new goal.
• Sleep Notifications: Turn Sleep Reminders or Sleep Results on or off. Please note that Sleep Results notifications require data from your Apple Watch or other sleep-tracking apps and hardware.

• You can also adjust your wind-down period and sleep goal as needed on your Apple Watch. Open the Health app, tap "Browse" at the bottom of the screen, then tap "Sleep".
• Tap "Full Schedule & Options".
• Tap "Wind Down" or "Sleep Goal" under "Additional Details".
• Adjust your time, then tap "Wind Down" or "Sleep Goal" to save your changes.
• Tap the sleep alarm icon in the upper left.
• Tap "Wind Down" or "Sleep Goal" under "Options".
• Tap the plus and minus buttons to adjust your time.
• Tap the left arrow in the upper left to go back and save your changes.

How to customize your sleep schedule

The Apple Watch's Sleep app allows you to create sleep schedules to help you meet your sleep goals. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to customize your sleep schedule:

Setting Up Sleep Tracking:

• Ensure your Apple Watch has WatchOS 7 or later, and your iPhone has iOS 14 or later.
• Open the Health app on your iPhone and configure sleep. Alternatively, you can do this on your Apple Watch.
• Set the number of hours you want to sleep.
• Set your bedtime and wake-up times. You can choose specific days for this schedule or set it for every day.
• Set a relaxation time before your bedtime.
• Decide whether to set an alarm and customize its sound and volume.

Editing Your Sleep Schedule:

• Open the Health app and tap "Browse" at the bottom of the screen, then tap "Sleep".
• Tap "Full Schedule & Options".
• Tap "Wind Down" or "Sleep Goal" under "Additional Details" to adjust these settings.
• Tap the plus and minus buttons to adjust the time, then tap the checkmark to save.
• Tap the left arrow in the upper-left corner to go back and save your changes.

Updating Your Next Wake-Up Alarm:

• Open the Sleep app on your Apple Watch.
• Tap the wake-up time, turn the Digital Crown to set a new time, and tap the checkmark to save.
• If you don't want an alarm, turn it off.
• You can also make these changes in the Health app on your iPhone or the Clock app.

Updating Your Full Schedule:

• Open the Health app and tap "Sleep".
• Tap a schedule in "Full Schedule & Options".
• Tap "Edit" under the schedule you want to update.
• Tap "Days Active" and select the days you want to set the sleep schedule for.
• Tap "Alarm" to turn on an alarm and adjust its sound, volume, and haptics.
• Tap "Done" to save your changes.

Viewing Your Sleep History:

• Open the Sleep app on your Apple Watch to see the amount of sleep you got, the time spent in each sleep stage, and your sleep average over the last 14 days.
• To see more detailed sleep reports, open the Health app on your iPhone and tap "Browse", then "Sleep". Tap "Show More Sleep Data" for average time spent in each sleep stage.

How to view your sleep tracking details

To view your sleep tracking details, you must first ensure that you have enabled sleep tracking on your Apple Watch. To do this, go to the Apple Watch app on your iPhone and hit the Sleep tab, then toggle the slider for "Track Sleep with Apple Watch".

Once you have done this, you can view your sleep history by opening the Health app on your iPhone or iPad. Tap "Browse" at the bottom of the screen, then tap "Sleep". If you have saved Sleep as a favourite, you can access it from the Summary page in the Health app.

The bar graph is set to "D" for daily by default. Tap "W" at the top of the chart to view your sleep history for the past week, "M" for the past month, or "6M" for the past six months. Tap "Show More Sleep Data" and select a category to review additional sleep details.

You can also view your recent sleep data on your Apple Watch. Open the Sleep app on your watch, then turn the Digital Crown to view your Sleep Stages data, Time Asleep, and your Sleep Duration for the last 14 days.

To see your sleep history on your iPhone, open the Health app, tap "Browse", then tap "Sleep". Tap "Show More Sleep Data" for more details, such as the average time spent in each sleep stage.

How to track sleep on an older Apple Watch model

To track your sleep on an older Apple Watch model, you'll need to make sure your Apple Watch has WatchOS 7 or later and your iPhone has iOS 14 or later.

Here's a step-by-step guide to setting up sleep tracking on your Apple Watch:

• Open the Health app on your iPhone and configure sleep. You can also do this on your Apple Watch.
• Select how long you are going to sleep. You can't track this on the iPhone Activity app, but you can view it on the Health app on your iPhone.
• Choose when bedtime starts and when you want to wake up. You can set different schedules for weekdays and weekends.
• Set a relaxation time before going to bed. This is called "Wind Down" time, during which your watch will switch to its bedtime routine, reducing distractions.
• Decide whether to set an alarm and how you want it to sound. You can also choose whether you want your alarm to vibrate or make a sound.
• If you don't want to be disturbed while sleeping, you can manually enable "Do Not Disturb" during your sleep time.
• To view your sleep data, go to the Sleep app on your Apple Watch or the Health app on your iPhone. You can see the amount of sleep you got, the time spent in each sleep stage, and your sleep trends over the past 14 days.

It's important to note that the Apple Watch has limited battery life, so you'll need to ensure it's charged before you go to bed. For Series 4 and above, charging it at some point during the day should be sufficient. For Series 3, you'll need to fully charge it during the day to last through the night.

Frequently asked questions