Apple Watch 6: Sleep Tracking, Explained

The Apple Watch Series 6 has a built-in sleep tracker that can be used to monitor and record sleep patterns. The Sleep app allows users to create sleep schedules, set sleep goals, and view sleep trends over the past 14 days. Third-party apps are also available for download on the Apple Watch App Store for users who want a more comprehensive analysis of their sleep.

Sleep tracking with Apple Watch Series 6

The Apple Watch Series 6 has a sleep tracking feature that can help you meet your sleep goals and improve your overall health. To use this feature, make sure your Apple Watch is charged to at least 30% before going to bed, with Sleep Tracking turned on. You should also wear your watch to bed for at least one hour.

The Sleep app on the Apple Watch allows you to create personalized sleep schedules and set a sleep goal, which is the number of hours you would like to sleep. You can also adjust your wind-down time, which is the amount of time you want the Sleep Focus to be active before bedtime. The Sleep Focus feature turns off the watch display and limits distractions before your scheduled bedtime, helping you prepare for sleep.

After wearing your Apple Watch to bed, you can view your sleep history and sleep data in the Health app on your iPhone or iPad. This data includes the amount of sleep you got, the time spent in each sleep stage (REM, Core, and Deep), and your sleep average over the last 14 days. You can also view your sleep history for the past week, month, or six months by tapping on the bar graph in the Health app.

In addition to sleep duration and quality, the Apple Watch can also help track your breathing rate during sleep, providing insights into your overall health. While the Apple Watch Series 6 does not include a temperature sensor for sleep tracking, the Series 8 and later models have this feature, allowing you to compare changes in your nightly wrist temperature.

Third-party sleep-tracking apps

The Apple Watch Series 6 has a built-in sleep-tracking feature. However, if you're looking for a third-party app to track your sleep and provide richer, more insightful stats, here are some options:

AutoSleep

AutoSleep is a standalone sleep-tracking app that can be used with the Apple Watch. It automatically tracks your sleep without requiring you to press any buttons or even use the Watch app. It offers full integration with Sleep Stages from the Apple Sleep app, allowing you to view all the information in AutoSleep. It also includes sleep apnea tracking, insightful trend-based graphs, and widgets. AutoSleep has no user analytics tracking, advertising plugins, or third-party code, ensuring total privacy for your data.

Sleep Pulse 3

Sleep Pulse 3 is another fully-featured standalone sleep app for the Apple Watch. It tracks your heart rate and motion, and provides a sleep view that shows your resting heart rate and how long you've been sleeping. It also offers the ability to track naps and record sleep talk. All the sleep analysis is done on the Watch itself, rather than on your phone.

Pillow

Pillow is a third-party sleep-tracking app that provides clear and concise data on your sleep. It offers daily briefings and sleep trends over time, with advanced tracking options like heart rate variability and sleep dip. The app is available for a subscription fee of $4.99/£4.99 per month or $29.99/£29.99 per year.

Sleep schedules and goals

The Apple Watch Series 6 has a sleep-tracking feature that allows you to create sleep schedules and set goals to improve your sleep quality and overall health. Here are some tips for utilizing the sleep-tracking feature effectively:

Setting Sleep Schedules:

• Consistency is key: Aim for a consistent sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at the same time each day, even on weekends. This helps your body establish a natural sleep-wake cycle.
• Gradual adjustments: If you need to change your sleep schedule, make gradual adjustments. You can modify your bedtime or wake-up time in 15 or 30-minute increments over several days until you reach your desired sleep schedule.
• Prioritize sleep: Understand the importance of sleep and prioritize it in your daily routine. Set reminders as you get closer to your bedtime to start your personal wind-down routine.
• Wind-down routine: Develop a relaxing wind-down routine before bed. This could include activities such as reading, meditation, journaling, or listening to calming music.
• Limit distractions: Minimize distractions before bedtime by turning on Sleep Focus, which simplifies your Lock Screen and limits notifications on your iPhone and Apple Watch.
• Charging reminders: Enable charging reminders to ensure your Apple Watch is charged to at least 30% before you go to bed. This will ensure uninterrupted sleep tracking.

Setting Sleep Goals:

• Determine your sleep needs: Figure out how many hours of sleep you need to function at your best. Most adults require 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night.
• Set a sleep goal: Using the Sleep app, set a goal for the number of hours of sleep you want to achieve each night. This will help you stay accountable and work towards improving your sleep duration.
• Track your progress: Regularly check your sleep data in the Health app on your iPhone or iPad. Review the time and percentage spent in each sleep stage (Awake, REM, Core, and Deep sleep) to understand your sleep quality better.
• Make adjustments: Based on your sleep data, make adjustments to your sleep schedule and wind-down routine as needed. You can change your sleep goal and wind-down time in the Health app or the Sleep app on your Apple Watch.

Sleep data and history

The Apple Watch 6 does have a sleep tracker. To track your sleep, you need to put your device into Sleep Focus. You can set up a sleep schedule to help you meet your sleep goals and improve your overall health. This will allow you to set a sleep goal (the number of hours you want to sleep) and a sleep schedule (when you want to go to bed and wake up). You can also turn on Sleep Focus, which limits distractions before you go to bed and protects your sleep by turning off the watch display.

To receive sleep data, you must wear your Apple Watch for at least one hour each night. If you don't wear your watch to sleep, your graph might not show any data. You can view your sleep history on the Health app on your iPhone or iPad. To do this, open the Health app and tap Browse at the bottom of the screen, then tap Sleep. If you have Sleep saved 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 view the time and percentage you spent awake or in REM, Core, or Deep sleep.

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.

In addition to tracking your sleep, the Apple Watch can also help you wind down at the end of the day and prevent notifications from disturbing your sleep.

Respiratory rate tracking

The Apple Watch Series 6 can be used to track sleep. With the Sleep app, users can create sleep schedules to help meet their sleep goals. The watch can estimate the time spent in each sleep stage—REM, Core, and Deep—as well as the time of waking up. The Sleep app can be used to view how much sleep was had and to see sleep trends over the past 14 days.

The Apple Watch Series 6 can also track the user's respiratory rate. This feature is available with watchOS 8 and higher. The watch automatically measures and records the number of breaths the user takes per minute while asleep. The respiratory rate can be viewed in the Health app on a paired iPhone or iPad. The user must wear the watch to bed and turn on the Track Sleep with Apple Watch setting to receive this data.

The respiratory rate is an important health metric that can indicate overall health. A higher respiratory rate may indicate that the body requires more oxygen, such as during exercise, while a lower rate is typical when resting, especially during sleep. A significantly higher or lower respiratory rate may indicate illness or a health condition.

The Apple Watch Series 6 can also track the user's blood oxygen levels, sleep time, and nightly wrist temperature.

Frequently asked questions