Biostrap's Sleep Analysis: Does It Measure Rem Sleep?

Biostrap is a science-based health platform that offers advanced sleep tracking and analysis. The Biostrap Sleep Lab provides frequent biometric recordings, including heart rate, heart rate variability, blood oxygen saturation, and respiration rate. It also offers personalised sleep time and wake-up time recommendations to help users optimise their sleep quality and recovery. The Biostrap EVO is another powerful health tracker that measures sleep stages, heart rate, heart rate variability, blood oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, and other data. While Biostrap does not explicitly mention REM sleep, it does provide insights into the different stages of sleep and overall sleep quality, which can help individuals understand their sleep patterns and make informed decisions to improve their sleep.

How does Biostrap's sleep analysis work?

Biostrap's sleep analysis works by tracking your sleep patterns over time, with the help of sleep trackers and fitness wearables, to ensure you're receiving quality sleep. The Biostrap EVO is a powerful health tracker that comprehensively addresses the issue of sleep. It measures and evaluates data such as sleep stages, heart rate at rest, heart rate variability, blood oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, arterial elasticity, peripheral elasticity, and more.

The Biostrap Sleep Score includes a comprehensive analysis of over a dozen sleep parameters, including nocturnal biometrics, sleep duration, sleep quality, awakenings, and movement. The Sleep Score incorporates a global and individualized penalty system for calculating the score. For example, if an individual's oxygen saturation values are below 90%, the algorithm will apply a global penalty. However, if an individual's oxygen saturation is within the normal range but slightly below the trailing average over the last 30 days, they will receive a minor 'relative' penalty.

The Biostrap Recovery Score assesses a user's daily value compared to a personal 5 to 30-day baseline to better understand their physiological recovery and readiness to perform. Measures of various sleep parameters, such as sleep duration, sleep latency, and the number of sleep disruptions, also contribute to the overall Recovery Score calculation.

Biostrap uses inputs from heart rate, heart rate variability, breathing, motion, and pulse waveform data to estimate light sleep, deep sleep, and time spent awake. The reflected sleep duration is the sum of light and deep sleep.

Biostrap also has a Sleep Lab feature, which provides more frequent biometric recordings (up to every two minutes). After a 15-day baseline, you can get personalized sleep time and wake-up time recommendations to help optimize your circadian rhythm and achieve improved sleep quality and recovery.

The Biostrap EVO device, equipped with red and infrared PPG, does not record during exercise due to motion artifacts. However, it is best utilized for monitoring sleep and recovery metrics captured overnight.

What are the benefits of using Biostrap's sleep analysis?

Sleep analysis is an important benchmark that we can use to monitor our sleep and understand our overall health. Biostrap's sleep analysis can help you understand your long-term sleep patterns and make informed adjustments for better rest and overall well-being. Here are some benefits of using Biostrap's sleep analysis:

• Curious mindset over perfection: Instead of striving for perfect sleep scores, Biostrap encourages users to adopt a curious mindset to explore and understand their long-term sleep patterns. This helps prevent orthosomnia, an unhealthy obsession with achieving perfect sleep, which can increase stress and undermine sleep quality.
• Unlock invaluable insights: By analyzing long-term trends, you can unlock invaluable insights into your nervous system resilience and overall well-being. You will begin to understand how your body responds to different stressors, lifestyle factors, bedtime routines, and sleep interventions.
• Make informed adjustments: The deeper understanding of your sleep patterns may empower you to make informed adjustments that support better sleep, recovery, and performance. This could include tweaking your bedtime routine, optimizing your sleep environment, or exploring new relaxation techniques.
• Progress over perfection: It's important to remember that the goal is not to achieve perfection but to focus on progress and resilience. By embracing fluctuations in your sleep patterns, you can recognize them as opportunities for growth and reflection.
• Objective insights: Data from Biostrap's sleep analysis can provide objective insights into your lifestyle choices, helping you make measurable changes. This includes insights into resting heart rate, heart rate variability, deep sleep, and nocturnal movement.
• Remote patient monitoring: For healthcare professionals, Biostrap offers an excellent tool for remote patient monitoring. They can keep track of patients' biometrics, sleep patterns, autonomic nervous system state, and overall health, enabling early intervention and personalized care.
• Optimizing training for peak performance: Biostrap's sleep analysis can be used to unlock the full potential of training programs. Coaches can track individual and team progress, identify areas for improvement, and tailor training regimens based on personalized data.
• AI-driven insights: Biostrap's data collection capabilities can contribute to the development of new AI-driven algorithms, providing unprecedented insights into personalized medicine, diagnostics, and health monitoring.
• Proactive health management: Biostrap's sleep analysis enables individuals to be proactive in managing their health. By using HSA or FSA funds, individuals can make a smart investment in a device that offers a holistic approach to well-being.
• Enhanced performance and safety for first responders: Biostrap's sleep tracking capabilities can help first responders optimize their performance and safety. By monitoring heart rate variability, they can identify patterns that indicate the need for extended rest or recovery periods, preventing burnout and promoting overall well-being.

How does Biostrap's sleep analysis compare to its competitors?

Biostrap markets itself as more than just another activity tracker. It offers a comprehensive suite of biometric data 24/7, not just at night, which sets it apart from its competitors. The Biostrap wristband captures over 2,000 heartbeats every 24 hours, with each pulsewave analysed for 29 different parameters.

The Biostrap is available in two different packages directly from the manufacturer. The 'Biometric Set' retails for $175.00 USD and contains the wristband by itself. The 'Total Health Set' retails for $250.00 USD and comes with a foot-worn sensor for deeper sleep data and workout tracking.

The Biostrap has been described as having a "highly polished" app, and offering "deep insights and biometrics during sleep". It also offers a daily recovery/readiness score, comprehensive pulse reports in PDF format, and detailed sleep reports in PDF format. The Biostrap app also allows users to record two-minute or five-minute full biometric reports, which can be emailed to any address.

However, the Biostrap has been criticised for its short battery life of two to three days, and for combining REM and deep sleep stages in its sleep score. It also does not have an "airplane mode" to disable Bluetooth, though a fix for this is reportedly in the works.

The Biostrap has been compared to competitors including Fitbit, Apple Watch, Oura, WHOOP, and Motiv. Compared to these competitors, the Biostrap offers a similar level of functionality at a lower price point.

What are the limitations of Biostrap's sleep analysis?

While Biostrap's sleep analysis provides comprehensive insights into an individual's sleep patterns and quality, there are some limitations to consider. Here are some of the limitations of Biostrap's sleep analysis:

• Combined REM and Deep Sleep Stages: Biostrap combines REM sleep and deep sleep stages in its sleep score. This can be a limitation if you are specifically interested in distinguishing between these two sleep stages, as they have different implications for sleep quality and health.
• Battery Life: The battery life of the Biostrap device is around 2-3 days, which may be shorter than other similar devices on the market. This means users need to remember to charge the device regularly.
• Lack of "Airplane Mode": In the past, Biostrap devices lacked an "Airplane Mode" or a way to disable the Bluetooth LE signal. This could be a concern for those who are sensitive to electromagnetic field (EMF) emissions. However, recent updates have introduced an "Airplane Mode" feature.
• Data Privacy: Some users may have concerns about data privacy, as the data collected by Biostrap is processed and stored in the cloud. While this is common for wearable devices, it is important to consider data security and privacy when using any technology that collects personal health information.
• Limited Sleep Disorder Detection: While Biostrap can detect snoring and provide insights into sleep quality, it may not be sufficient for detecting more complex sleep disorders. For example, it may not provide a definitive diagnosis for conditions like sleep apnea, and users may still need to seek professional help or a sleep study for more comprehensive assessments.
• Accuracy: As with any wearable device, there may be limitations in the accuracy of the data collected. Factors such as user compliance, device placement, and individual variations can impact the accuracy of sleep analysis.
• Cost: The Biostrap device and its additional features come at a cost. The basic package starts at $175, and adding features like the "`Sleep Lab` subscription" or additional hardware can increase the overall price.

While these are some of the limitations of Biostrap's sleep analysis, it is important to note that the technology is constantly evolving, and updates may address some of these limitations over time. Additionally, the insights provided by Biostrap can still be valuable for individuals seeking to understand their sleep patterns and make informed decisions to improve their sleep quality.

How much does Biostrap's sleep analysis cost?

Biostrap offers a range of packages for its sleep analysis service. The most basic package, the 'Biometric Set', costs $175.00 USD and includes a wristband that tracks biometric data and general sleep data.

The 'Total Health Set' costs $250.00 USD and includes a foot-worn sensor in addition to the wristband, allowing for deeper sleep data such as leg movement.

The 'Fitness Set' costs $300 and includes the Biostrap wristband, the foot-worn sensor, and a heart rate monitor.

There is also a 'Recover Set' and an 'Active Set' available, which are priced at €479.00-€499.00 and €479.00 respectively, but it is unclear what these packages include.

Biostrap also offers a subscription service called 'Sleep Lab' which provides more frequent biometric recordings, circadian rhythm recommendations, and a shareable PDF report. The first month of Sleep Lab is free, but it is unclear how much the subscription costs after that.

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