Garmin Watches With Rem Sleep: The Ultimate Guide

Sleep tracking is an important feature of modern wearables, and Garmin has been working to improve its sleep monitoring capabilities. The company's Advanced Sleep Monitoring feature, available on most of its smartwatches and fitness trackers with optical heart rate monitors, provides more detailed information about your sleep by tracking several metrics. These include sleep time, quality, heart rate, heart rate variability, and accelerometer data. This allows Garmin devices to determine your sleep stage and the time you wake up.

Previously, Garmin devices only used movement and heart rate data to analyze sleep, but with the Advanced Sleep Monitoring update, they now provide more accurate readings of REM sleep.

The Forerunner 645, 645 Music, 935, 945, 945 LTE, 955, 955 Solar, 965, and 965 series

The Forerunner series by Garmin is a selection of sports watches targeted at road runners and triathletes. The Forerunner 645, 645 Music, 935, 945, 945 LTE, 955, 955 Solar, 965, and 965 series are some of the latest models in the series, released between 2018 and 2023. These watches come with advanced features such as Garmin Pay, music storage, improved training insights, and detailed activity tracking.

In terms of sleep tracking, these Forerunner models are equipped with Garmin's Advanced Sleep Monitoring, which provides insights into your sleep patterns by tracking several metrics. This feature is available on most of Garmin's smartwatches and fitness trackers with optical heart rate monitors. It uses heart rate, heart rate variability, and the device's accelerometer to understand when you're sleeping and determine your sleep stages, including REM sleep.

While the accuracy of sleep tracking may vary, Garmin's Advanced Sleep Monitoring can provide valuable insights into your sleep duration, quality, and stages. By analysing these metrics, the watch can offer recommendations to help you adjust your sleeping patterns and improve your sleep hygiene.

The Fenix 5, 5 Plus, 6, and 7 series

The Fenix 5 series, however, has been noted by some users to not record REM sleep. One user noted that all other sleep phases were measured, but REM sleep was missing. This issue was resolved by updating the software to the latest version.

The Fenix 6 series has also received some criticism for its sleep tracking accuracy. Some users have reported that the watch recorded them as being in light sleep when they were actually awake and moving around. Additionally, it has been noted that the watch may not accurately detect when the user is in bed but awake, classifying this time as light sleep.

The Fenix 7 series, on the other hand, has been praised for its automatic nap detection feature, which was previously unavailable in older Fenix models. This feature allows the watch to record naps taken outside of the user's usual sleep times, without the need to manually start sleep tracking.

To get the most out of the advanced sleep monitoring features, it is recommended to wear the watch for at least two hours before sleeping to allow the device to gather baseline readings when the user is awake. Additionally, users should ensure that their sleep time is set correctly in the Garmin Connect app and that heart rate tracking is enabled.

The Vivoactive 3, 3 Music, 4, and 5 series

The Vivoactive 3 and 3 Music series have been praised for their advanced sleep tracking capabilities, which include tracking REM, deep sleep, and the number of times you wake up at night, all accessible through the app. The Vivoactive 5 series has also been noted to have automatic nap detection, a feature that was previously unavailable in older models.

To utilise the sleep tracking feature on the Vivoactive 3 series, users must manually enter sleep mode by swiping left or right on the watch face to view the activity tracking widget and selecting "Start Sleep". Upon waking, users must hold the action key to exit sleep mode. If users forget to enter sleep mode, they can manually enter their sleep and wake times into their Garmin Connect account to view their sleep statistics.

The Vivoactive 4 series is also equipped with advanced sleep monitoring, providing users with insights into their sleep patterns and recommendations for improvement.

The Vivomove HR, Trend, Luxe, Sport, Style, and 3 series

The Vivomove series watches use heart rate and heart rate variability alongside the device's accelerometer to understand when you are sleeping and to determine your sleep stage. They also use an SpO2 sensor to keep track of oxygen saturation in the blood minute-by-minute as you sleep, which can be important for identifying potential sleep issues such as sleep apnea. Additionally, they track how many breaths you take per minute while sleeping, which can also be used to understand potential sleep issues.

The Vivomove 3 series, in particular, has been praised for its stylish design and versatility, offering the option to conceal the smarts and use it as a regular watch or utilize the hidden screen technology for a wide array of features. However, it has been noted that the raise-to-wake feature during everyday use could be improved, as it rarely responds to wrist movements outside of exercise.

In terms of sleep tracking, the Vivomove 3 series provides insights into sleep stages, but there have been some inconsistencies reported in the data, particularly regarding the time spent awake and in deep sleep. This may be due to issues with Garmin's algorithms rather than the watch itself.

The Vivosmart 3, 4, and 5 series

The Vivosmart 3 and 5 track your sleep by monitoring your movement and heart rate variability. This allows the device to measure your time awake and time spent in each sleep stage. To get the best reading, you should wear your watch a few hours before bed and keep it on during your entire sleep.

While the Vivosmart 4 does not have the advanced sleep monitoring feature, it does have a sleep tracking function. It measures your sleep by detecting your movement and heart rate. However, some users have reported that the Vivosmart 4's sleep tracking feature is not very accurate, as it only measures heart rate and movement and not brain waves.

The Vivosmart 5 has a sleep tracking feature that automatically detects your sleep and monitors your movement during your normal sleep hours. You can set your normal sleep hours in the user settings on your Garmin Connect account. The sleep statistics include total hours of sleep, sleep stages, sleep movement, and a sleep score, which you can view on your Garmin Connect account.

Frequently asked questions