Evie Summers
Sleep tracking is a useful tool to increase awareness of sleep patterns and encourage healthy sleep behaviour. It can help people establish a sleep routine, which is vital for improving sleep quality. There are several sleep trackers available, such as Oura Ring, Apple Watch Series 4, and Sleep Cycle, that can help monitor sleep through graphs. These graphs can indicate nuances in sleep schedules, such as sleep stages, sleep efficiency, heart rate variability, and sleep duration. They can also help identify trends and changes in sleep patterns, allowing users to experiment with different routines and improve their sleep. However, it is important to remember that sleep tracking may not be for everyone, as it can sometimes increase anxiety about insomnia.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To increase awareness of sleep and encourage healthy sleep behavior |
| Data | Total time in bed, time asleep, awake time interruptions, sleep regularity, sleep stages, sleep efficiency, resting heart rate, sleep quality, sleep patterns, sleep duration, stress, sleep disturbances, sleep cycles, sleep trends |
| Graph type | Line graph, bar graph, clockface graph, hypnogram |
| Graph features | X-axis: time; Y-axis: sleep stages |
| Graph tools | Excel, conditional formatting |
| Devices | Oura Ring, Apple Watch Series 4 or later, Sleep Cycle app, Epix Pro, Whoop, Garmin, Wearables |
| Limitations | Not a medical device, cannot diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent medical conditions |
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What You'll Learn
How to read sleep graphs
Sleep tracking apps usually offer a variety of graphs to help you track and interpret your sleep patterns. These graphs are generated from data collected by your phone or a wearable device. Here is a guide on how to read these sleep graphs:
Sleep Stage Hypnogram
A hypnogram is a graph of sleep cycles throughout the night, breaking down the stages of sleep you entered: awake, REM, light, and deep. The Oura app's hypnogram displays sleep data using five-minute intervals, while Apple may use different time intervals, resulting in variations in how your sleep data is visualised.
Nighttime Movement Graph
This graph shows how much and when you moved during your sleep. Short lines can indicate tossing and turning or general restlessness, while tall lines may correlate with periods when you were awake. Continuous restlessness can lead to missing sleep stage data, as the device may interpret continuous movement and elevated heart rate as wakefulness.
Body Clock
The Body Clock is a 24-hour clock face with colour-coded sections that compare your optimal sleep window to your current sleep patterns. The outer ring of the clock face indicates your sleep schedule from the previous night, while the inner ring represents your optimal sleep schedule based on your chronotype.
Sleep Timing Graph
This is a vertical bar chart that shows your time in bed, time asleep, and any awake time interruptions during the night. The time you went to bed is at the top of the graph, with wake time at the bottom. Time in bed is usually represented by a faint, dark blue bar, while time asleep is shown with a solid, bright blue bar. Any interruptions to your sleep appear as gaps in the bar.
Noise Graph
The noise graph shows the ambient noise level, but only when noise recording is enabled.
Troubleshooting Flat Graphs or False Awakenings
If your graph is flat or shows too many awakenings, there are several adjustments you can make. Ensure your phone is close to your bed and that the sonar volume and frequency are optimised. Additionally, disable any system restrictions applied to the sleep tracking app and check your settings for awake detection via heart rate monitoring.
Red Sections on the Graph
Red sections on the graph indicate that something went wrong with tracking, usually due to battery optimisation or connectivity issues.
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Using Excel to track sleep
Tracking your sleep in Excel can be a great way to visualise your sleep patterns and identify any areas for improvement. Here are some steps and tips for using Excel to track your sleep:
Data Collection
Firstly, you'll need to collect your sleep data. Many people use wearable devices, such as smartwatches or fitness trackers, to automatically record their sleep information. Some popular apps for sleep tracking include Sleep as Android, Oura, and Pillow. These apps often allow you to export your sleep data into a spreadsheet, which you can then use in Excel.
If you don't have access to a wearable device or a sleep-tracking app, you can manually record your sleep times in a notebook or journal and then transfer the data to Excel. You can record your sleep in various categories, such as:
- Night Sleep: Record the total duration of your night's sleep in hours and minutes (e.g., 7 hours 23 minutes).
- Restful Sleep: Record the duration of restful sleep within that night in hours and minutes.
- Restless Sleep: Note the duration of any restless periods during the night.
Creating the Excel Spreadsheet
Once you have your sleep data, you can start setting up your Excel spreadsheet:
- Create columns for each category of sleep data you want to track (e.g., date, night sleep, restful sleep, restless sleep, etc.).
- Enter your data into the spreadsheet, ensuring that dates are in a format that Excel recognises (e.g., 01/01/2023).
- Convert sleep times into a numerical format that Excel can use for graphing. Change the format to hours and minutes, with hours as whole numbers and minutes as a decimal value (e.g., 7 hours 23 minutes becomes 7.38).
Visualising the Data
After entering your data, you can create visual representations to help you understand your sleep patterns better:
- Charts: A line chart is a popular choice for sleep tracking as it shows changes over time. Select your data, including headings, go to the Insert menu, choose the line chart option, and customise as needed.
- Graphs: You can create a graph to see improvements in your sleep patterns over time. Pivot charts are useful if you have a large amount of data, as they allow you to group by month or year and expand as necessary.
Tips for Analysis
When analysing your sleep data in Excel, keep the following in mind:
- Sleep Cycles: A typical sleep cycle consists of light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep. However, the duration and sequence of these stages can vary between individuals. Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep, including 5 sleep cycles lasting around 70-100 minutes each.
- Restlessness: In your data, short lines may indicate tossing and turning, while tall lines may represent periods of wakefulness. Continuous restlessness may impact the accuracy of your sleep tracking.
- Trends: Focus on overall trends and changes in your data rather than specific numbers. Compare your data to your baselines to identify improvements or areas that need attention.
By following these steps and tips, you can effectively use Excel to track and visualise your sleep patterns, helping you make informed decisions to improve your sleep quality.
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Recommended sleep trackers
Sleep tracking is a great way to gain insight into your sleep patterns and overall health. There are many sleep trackers on the market, from apps to wearables, and each has its own unique features and benefits. Here are some recommended sleep trackers to help you get a better understanding of your sleep:
Oura Ring:
The Oura Ring is a popular choice for sleep tracking. It is a lightweight, comfortable, and discreet smart ring that tracks your sleep data. The Oura Ring offers both short-term and long-term sleep tracking, providing a holistic view of your sleep and overall health. It captures data accurately, matching the performance of polysomnography sleep lab tests. The Oura Ring also provides a wealth of sleep data through its app, allowing you to see your sleep trends over time. However, accessing the full breadth of data requires a $70 annual subscription.
Apple Watch:
The Apple Watch, particularly the Series 8 and Series 9, is another recommended sleep tracker. It offers sleep tracking features that monitor your sleep stages, time in bed, sleep time, heart rate, respiratory rate, and average temperature. The Health app allows you to review charts over days, weeks, and months to identify trends in your sleep patterns. Additionally, the Apple Watch provides gentle wake-up alarms and bedtime routine reminders. However, Apple's charts can be challenging to read and may not provide as much data as other sleep trackers.
Whoop Band:
The Whoop Band is a screenless bundle of sensors and photodiodes that you wear on your wrist. It offers comprehensive biometrics, including sleep tracking, for a $30 monthly membership or $239 annual membership. The Whoop Band provides sleep insights and recommendations, but it may suggest more sleep than you are able or willing to get. Additionally, the lack of a screen can make it tricky to turn off in the morning.
Ultrahuman Ring Air:
The Ultrahuman Ring Air is another smart ring option for sleep tracking. It is similar to the Oura Ring but lighter and without a subscription fee. The Ultrahuman app provides informative explanations for each element of sleep measured and offers helpful notifications for daylight exposure, stimulant consumption, and bedtime windows. However, it may have some trouble with workout recording.
Rise Science Sleep Tracker:
The Rise Science Sleep Tracker is a sleep tracking app that generates detailed reports on your sleep data. It can integrate data from your phone and other health apps or wearable devices to provide robust insights. The tracker calculates your sleep debt and uses circadian rhythm and sleep hygiene principles to recommend strategies for improving your sleep. While it offers a trial period, continued use requires a monthly subscription fee.
Sleep Routine:
Sleep Routine is an app-based sleep tracker that provides reports breaking down your sleep into awake, light, deep, and REM stages. It builds a sleep pattern analysis and shows your sleep statistics over time. The app has a smart alarm function that wakes you gently, and you can try it for a week before subscribing. However, the app may have some technical issues, occasionally providing error messages without reports.
These recommended sleep trackers offer a range of features and insights to help you understand and improve your sleep. Each tracker has its own strengths and limitations, so choosing the right one depends on your specific needs and preferences.
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Sleep tracking and insomnia
Sleep tracking has become increasingly popular in recent years, with about 30% of Americans using wearable trackers to gather health-related data, including sleep quality, duration, and cycles. While these devices can provide interesting insights and help identify patterns, they have limitations and should not be solely relied upon for diagnosing or treating sleep disorders.
One of the main concerns with sleep tracking is its potential impact on insomnia. Orthosomnia, a term coined by researchers, refers to the unhealthy obsession with achieving perfect sleep. Individuals with orthosomnia may fixate on their sleep numbers, causing anxiety and disrupting their sleep. This can lead to a vicious cycle where spending too much time in bed trying to sleep can actually train the brain to associate the bed with unsuccessful attempts at falling asleep.
Additionally, sleep trackers may provide inaccurate data, as seen in a study where trackers only accurately identified deep sleep 59% of the time. This can result in users making decisions based on unverified scores, such as self-diagnosing sleep disorders or changing their behaviour in ways that may not be beneficial. Experts recommend putting away electronics, including sleep trackers, at least 30 minutes before bed to mitigate the negative impact on sleep.
Despite these concerns, sleep tracking can still be a valuable tool when used appropriately. It can raise awareness about sleep health and help individuals identify patterns in their sleep habits. However, it is essential to remember that everyone has unique sleep needs, and the concept of "perfect sleep" may not exist. Instead of focusing solely on the numbers, individuals should prioritise their overall sleep hygiene, such as maintaining a regular sleep schedule, winding down before bed, and creating a comfortable sleep environment.
When it comes to graphing sleep tracking data, there are various visual representations that can be utilised. Line graphs can be used to indicate sleep schedules, with the outer ring showing the previous night's sleep and the inner ring displaying the optimal sleep schedule based on an individual's chronotype. Bar graphs can also be employed to represent sleep timing, showcasing time in bed, time asleep, and any awake time interruptions. Additionally, hypnograms display sleep data using five-minute intervals, providing a detailed view of sleep stage trends.
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Sleep tracking and phone placement
Sleep tracking devices can be placed on your wrist, clipped to your pillow, or positioned on your bedside table. Some sleep tracking apps use the phone's accelerometer to analyse your movements as you sleep. The placement of the phone is important for accurate tracking. The phone should be placed in a position that is comfortable for you and depends on your type of bed and mattress. It is recommended that the phone is not placed under a pillow or thick mattress as it may become warm while charging. Additionally, keeping the phone closer to the bed or your body can improve the accuracy of the tracking.
Sleep tracking devices can be useful for helping you recognise patterns in your sleep habits. They can measure heart rate, skin temperature, and time spent in each sleep phase. However, it is important to note that these devices do not directly measure sleep. Instead, they estimate sleep by measuring inactivity. For exact data about your sleep habits, a medical sleep study that monitors brain waves is required.
Sleep tracking devices can provide insights into your sleep patterns and help you understand your sleep duration and quality. They can detect interrupted sleep and periods of tossing and turning. Additionally, some devices record environmental factors such as light and temperature in your bedroom. By tracking your sleep, you can gain a better understanding of your sleep habits and make informed decisions to improve your sleep hygiene.
Sleep tracking apps often provide graphs that visualise your sleep data. These graphs can indicate your sleep schedule, sleep regularity, and time in bed versus time asleep. The graphs may also show periods of restlessness or awake time interruptions. By analysing these graphs, you can identify patterns and make adjustments to improve your sleep quality.
Some common issues with sleep tracking graphs include false estimations of awakenings and red bars or blocks indicating tracking issues. False awakenings may be due to heart rate peaks or phone screen usage, which can be disabled in the settings. Red bars on the graph typically indicate sensor or connectivity issues, often due to battery optimizations or low battery levels. It is recommended to ensure that no system restrictions are applied to the sleep tracking app to avoid data loss.
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Frequently asked questions
Sleep Cycle, Oura, Sleep as Android, and Epix Pro are some of the apps and devices that can be used for sleep tracking.
A sleep tracking graph can provide insights into your sleep cycles and sleep stages. It can tell you when you were awake, and when you were in light sleep or deep sleep. It can also tell you if there were any disturbances during your sleep, such as external noise, coughing, or snoring.
You can use Excel to visually represent sleep data with multiple naps per day. You can use conditional formatting to create "rules" that Excel will use to decide whether or not to change the format of one or more cells.
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