Gina Johnson
The Apple Watch can track your sleep, but it requires some initial setup. You can create a sleep schedule with a sleep goal, bedtime, and wake-up time. You can also set up Sleep Focus, which reduces distractions before bed and keeps you from interruptions while you sleep. If you don't want to set a sleep schedule, there are third-party apps like AutoSleep that can track your sleep automatically. However, the Apple Watch requires you to wear it to bed for at least 1 hour each night and have at least a 30% charge for sleep tracking to work.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Apple Watch Series | 3 or later with watchOS 8 |
| Track Sleep with Apple Watch | Wear your watch to bed to track your sleep |
| Sleep Schedule | Set a sleep goal, a bedtime, a wake-up time and, if desired, any alarms |
| Sleep Focus | Limits distractions before bed and keeps you safe from interruptions while you sleep |
| Sleep Tracking | Uses your motion to detect sleep when you wear Apple Watch to bed |
| Charging Reminders | Reminds you to charge your watch before your wind-down time and notifies you when your watch is fully charged |
| Sleep Data | Total time asleep, time spent in each sleep stage, sleep average, heart rate during the night, sleep trend, monthly and yearly highlights |
| Third-Party Apps | AutoSleep, Sleep++, Pillow |
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What You'll Learn
The Apple Watch can track sleep without a schedule
The Apple Watch can track your sleep without a schedule, but you will need to set up sleep tracking and sleep focus. To do this, ensure your Apple Watch is on watchOS 9 or later and your iPhone is running iOS 16 or later.
On your iPhone, open the Health app, tap Browse, then tap Sleep. From here, you can set up a sleep schedule, including your sleep goal, bedtime, and wake-up time. You can also set up multiple sleep schedules, for example, one for weekdays and another for weekends.
Once you have set up sleep tracking, you can wear your Apple Watch to bed, and it will automatically track your sleep. It will record your total time asleep, the number of times you wake up throughout the night, your heart rate, and your breathing rate.
If you want to view your sleep data, you can do so by opening the Sleep app on your Apple Watch or by using the Health app on your iPhone. The iPhone Health app will provide a more detailed view of your sleep data, including a breakdown of the four stages of sleep: Awake, REM, Core, and Deep Sleep.
It is important to note that while the Apple Watch can track your sleep without a schedule, it is recommended to have at least a 30% charge on your device before going to bed to ensure accurate tracking and to prevent the battery from dying overnight.
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Third-party apps can be used to track sleep
While the Apple Watch does offer sleep tracking capabilities, it requires the setting of a sleep schedule. However, if you don't have a consistent sleep schedule or prefer not to set one, you can utilise third-party apps to track your sleep. These apps can provide more detailed insights into your sleep patterns and quality.
One popular option is AutoSleep, which integrates seamlessly with Apple Health. It offers a similar experience to Apple's activity rings and automatically tracks your sleep without the need to manually set a focus or change alarms. It tracks the duration and quality of your sleep, providing insights into your restfulness. Another highly-rated choice is Sleep++, which offers data-driven sleep tracking, including information on the number of times you enter deep sleep each night.
Pillow is another third-party app that provides in-depth sleep analysis charts and a smart alarm clock function. It wakes you up at the optimal time, ensuring you feel refreshed. Additionally, if you're looking for a daily sleep score, devices like Fitbit and the Pixel Watch series offer a Sleep Profile program that analyses your sleep on a monthly basis and assigns you a personalised profile based on your habits.
It's important to note that while these third-party apps offer more detailed insights, they may require more frequent charging of your Apple Watch to ensure it lasts through the night. Additionally, no wearable device can provide a completely accurate analysis of sleep stages, so it's important not to rely solely on these metrics.
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Sleep tracking is available on watchOS 8 or later
To set up sleep tracking, open the Health app on your iPhone, tap Browse, tap Sleep, then tap Get Started (below Set Up Sleep). Go to the Sleep app on your Apple Watch and follow the onscreen instructions. You can also set a new wake-up time, change the vibration or ringtone, and adjust your sleep schedule.
When Sleep Tracking is on, your Apple Watch tracks your sleep and adds sleep data to the Health app on your iPhone. You can also turn on Charging Reminders to remind you to charge your watch before your wind-down time and notify you when it's fully charged.
In addition to the Sleep app, you can also use third-party apps like AutoSleep to track your sleep. AutoSleep can track your sleep without needing to remember to set a focus, change alarms, or do anything other than wear the watch and occasionally use the app on your watch or phone to validate and correct the algorithm.
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Sleep tracking uses around 10% battery in total
The Apple Watch is a powerful sleep-tracking device. However, its battery life has been a concern for users who wish to use it for this purpose. Most Apple Watch models deliver around 18 hours of battery life on a single charge, which means that if you wear it all day, you will likely need to charge it before using it to track your sleep.
Apple has acknowledged this issue and introduced some features to address it. For example, the Watch OS 7 includes a low-power conservation mode and charging reminders. When setting up sleep tracking, the OS will ask if you want to enable charge reminders so that you can ensure your watch is sufficiently charged to last through the night. Additionally, the upgraded cable that comes with the Series 7 and later improves charging speed, allowing you to top up your watch's battery more quickly.
To ensure your Apple Watch has enough battery for sleep tracking, it is recommended to have at least a 30% charge before going to bed. The watch will prompt you to charge it if the battery level is below this threshold. You can also set up charging reminders, which will notify you if your watch's battery is less than 30% charged about an hour before your scheduled sleep time.
While the Apple Watch's battery life has been a limitation for sleep tracking in the past, with proper charging habits and the new features introduced by Apple, it is possible to use the watch effectively for this purpose.
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Sleep tracking is set-and-forget
Sleep tracking on the Apple Watch is a set-and-forget feature. Once Sleep Focus is turned on, the watch will track your sleep without you having to do anything else. However, you will need to ensure your watch is charged to at least 30% before going to bed. The Sleep Focus feature can be personalised to allow certain apps or contacts to still appear on your Lock Screen.
To set up sleep tracking, you will need to ensure your Apple Watch is on watchOS 9 or later and your iPhone is running iOS 16 or later. You can then set up a sleep schedule on your iPhone or Apple Watch. To do this, open the Health app on your iPhone, tap Browse, then tap Sleep. From here, you can set up a sleep schedule for the future, including your sleep goal, bedtime, and wake-up time. You can also set up multiple sleep schedules, for example, one for weekdays and another for weekends.
Once you have set up your sleep schedule, you can view your sleep data by opening the Sleep app on your Apple Watch or the Health app on your iPhone. The iPhone Health app will show a more detailed view of the data on a larger screen, including the four stages of sleep: Awake, REM, Core, and Deep. The app will also show your heart rate during the night, your sleep trend, and monthly and yearly highlights.
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