Iwatch 3: Your Sleep Tracking Companion

Sleep tracking is available on Apple Watches Series 3 and newer. The Apple Watch can track your sleep by measuring the number of times you breathe in a minute, your heart rate, and your calorie burn. However, it does not summarize the data as well as its competitors. To use the sleep tracking feature, you must wear your Apple Watch for at least one hour each night and ensure that the Sleep Mode and Track Sleep with Apple Watch settings are enabled.

iWatch 3 can track sleep duration and trends

The Apple Watch Series 3 can track sleep duration and trends. It can record the total time you spend asleep and how much time you spend in bed, providing weekly, monthly, and biannual sleep time averages. The watch can also track your breathing rate and, with watchOS 8 or later, your respiratory rate.

To track your sleep with the Apple Watch Series 3, you must enable the 'Sleep' or 'Sleep Tracking' feature and wear the watch for at least one hour each night. You can also set up a sleep schedule with a chosen bedtime, wake-up time, and sleep goal. With watchOS 9, the Apple Watch can estimate the time spent in each sleep stage, such as REM, Core, and Deep sleep. However, it may not provide as detailed insights or data interpretation as other sleep-tracking devices. Additionally, the Apple Watch Series 3 may not receive software updates, including watchOS 9, due to limited storage.

Third-party apps are also available for more comprehensive sleep tracking. These apps can provide additional features such as measuring sleep quality, sleep disruptions, heart rate, and blood oxygen levels. While these apps offer a good starting point for understanding your sleep patterns, they may not be 100% accurate, and a full sleep study with a doctor is recommended for a more comprehensive analysis.

It can't track sleep stages like REM, Core and Deep sleep

The Apple Watch Series 3 does track sleep, but it has certain limitations. While it can measure and record the number of times you breathe in a minute, it cannot track sleep stages like REM, Core, and Deep sleep. This is a feature that was introduced with watchOS 9, which is not available for the Series 3.

The Series 3 watch can help you track your sleep in the Sleep app, which is a set-and-forget feature that is simple to start and runs each night automatically. However, it does not provide in-depth insights or data interpretation like some other sleep-tracking devices and apps.

If you want more detailed sleep data, you can try a third-party sleep-tracking app, which can provide a more comprehensive analysis of your sleep patterns, including sleep stages. These apps can be downloaded directly from the App Store on your Apple Watch if you have watchOS 6 or higher.

Additionally, it is important to note that the Apple Watch is not as accurate as a dedicated sleep-tracking device, and you should not rely solely on its data if you have a serious medical condition.

Third-party apps can be used for more detailed sleep tracking

The Apple Watch Series 3 does have some built-in sleep tracking capabilities. With watchOS 8 or later, you can measure and track your respiratory rate. The watch will automatically measure and record the number of times you breathe in a minute when you wear it to bed with sleep tracking turned on. However, it is worth noting that the Apple Watch Series 3 cannot install watchOS 9, which offers more detailed sleep metrics, such as estimating the time spent in each sleep stage (REM, Core, and Deep sleep).

While the Apple Watch Series 3 does have basic sleep tracking features, you can use third-party apps for more detailed sleep tracking. These apps can provide richer and more insightful statistics, such as sleep cycles, sleep scores, and sleep ratings. Here are some third-party apps that you can use for sleep tracking on your Apple Watch Series 3:

• AutoSleep: This app automatically tracks your sleep and provides insights into your sleep habits and overall sleep health. It offers graphical analytics, sleep ratings, and readiness scores. It also integrates with Sleep Stages from the Apple Sleep app, allowing you to view your sleep data in both apps. AutoSleep focuses on helping you achieve consistent sleep habits and get closer to your sleep goals.
• Sleep Pulse 3: Sleep Pulse 3 is a standalone sleep tracking app that tracks your heart rate and motion. It provides a sleep view that you can access if you wake up in the middle of the night, showing your resting heart rate and sleep duration. It also offers features for tracking naps and recording sleep talk. All the sleep analysis is done on the watch, rather than on your phone.
• HeartWatch: While not specifically a sleep tracking app, HeartWatch can track your heart rate data, including your waking and sleeping heartbeat. It also provides insights into your heart health.

WatchOS 9 and above can track sleep stages

The Apple Watch Series 3 has sleep tracking capabilities when paired with an iPhone. However, it is limited to basic sleep duration and trends, and cannot provide detailed sleep stage data.

To address this limitation, Apple introduced WatchOS 9, which offers more advanced sleep tracking features. With WatchOS 9 and above, users can now access in-depth sleep stage analysis, including REM, Core, and Deep sleep stages. This update provides a more comprehensive understanding of sleep quality and patterns.

Here's how it works: when you wear your Apple Watch to bed, the device automatically starts tracking your sleep. In the morning, you can open the Sleep app on your watch or the Health app on your iPhone to view your sleep data. The Sleep app on the watch provides a concise overview of your sleep duration and stages, while the Health app on your iPhone offers more detailed insights.

To access your sleep data on the Apple Watch, open the Sleep app and turn the Digital Crown to view your Sleep Stages data, Time Asleep, and Sleep Duration for the last 14 days. On your iPhone, open the Health app, tap "Browse," and then tap "Sleep." Here, you'll find your sleep history, including daily, weekly, monthly, and even six-month summaries. For a more detailed breakdown of your sleep stages, tap "Show More Sleep Data" and select the category you're interested in.

It's important to note that to use sleep tracking, your Apple Watch must be charged to at least 30% before bed, and you should wear it for at least one hour each night. Additionally, make sure to enable Sleep Tracking on your watch and set up your sleep schedule in the Health app on your iPhone.

Sleep tracking is natively available on iWatch 3 and newer

Sleep tracking is natively available on Apple Watches Series 3 and newer. It is an automatic feature that tracks data when you go to bed while wearing the watch, but you have to set it up first. To set up sleep tracking, you need to make sure your iPhone is running iOS 14 or higher, and your Apple Watch is running watchOS 7 or higher. If not, the sleep-tracking settings won't be available.

To get started, open the "Health" app on your iPhone and set up your sleep schedule. You can set the number of hours you'd like to sleep, your bedtime, and wake-up times. You can also enable Sleep Focus to reduce distractions by simplifying your Lock Screen and turning on Sleep Focus at your scheduled bedtime. Certain people or apps can be allowed to notify you.

After setting up your sleep schedule, you can then enable any settings you want in the "Sleep Mode" menu. You will likely want to toggle on both the "Turn On Automatically" and "Track Time in Bed with iPhone" options. This will enable "Do Not Disturb" on your iPhone and Apple Watch, which will prevent the screen from lighting up and mute all incoming notifications when you're supposed to be sleeping. Finally, scroll down and tap "Manage Sleep in the Apple Watch App" and enable all the settings you want.

With the arrival of watchOS 9, Apple added sleep stages to its tracking suite. This feature allows you to analyze when you were in REM, Core, or Deep Sleep and when you were awake throughout the night. However, it is important to note that the Apple Watch won't be as accurate as a dedicated sleep-tracking device, and it cannot diagnose sleep conditions.

Frequently asked questions