I prefer to verify my sleep tracker as quickly as I get up within the morning. I prefer to know what number of hours I slept the night time earlier than and the standard of that sleep. There are days, although, once I verify my knowledge and scratch my head on the data offered. There are occasions when there are discrepancies between the information collected and what occurred in actuality.
This is an instance: A sleep tracker as soon as instructed me that I slept an inexpensive 8 hours once I was awake at 4 a.m. — a time my sleep tracker instructed me I used to be asleep. This bought me interested by the accuracy of sleep trackers and whether or not an ideal system exists. I made a decision to chart my sleep knowledge from three completely different trackers for a month in an try to seek out one which I imagine is extra correct.
Please observe that I am not a knowledge specialist or a scientist. Whereas I’ve my very own sleep knowledge from these three sleep trackers to again up my opinions, I have not carried out sufficient analysis and I haven’t got the appropriate gear to definitively state which sleep tracker is most correct. What I do have is my very own expertise from numerous nights of testing and a data-informed viewpoint on which sleep trackers are probably the most user-friendly, present legitimate knowledge and — most significantly — are definitely worth the cash. Right here’s my expertise.
Monitoring my sleep for a month
I got down to see how sleep knowledge from widespread sleep trackers examine. I tracked my sleep for a month utilizing an Oura Ring, a Garmin watch and an Eight Sleep mattress cowl.
In an effort to maintain my knowledge as constant as doable, I tried to chop out any pointless variables. First, I used every sleep tracker persistently for an prolonged interval earlier than I began recording my knowledge. I used the Eight Sleep Pod cowl for about 9 months, and I used my Garmin for about six. The Oura Ring wearable was new, however I gave it not less than a month and a half to ascertain a personalised baseline earlier than I began recording my sleep knowledge.
I additionally wore the 2 wearables every day and every night time of the month. Once I needed to cost my Garmin or Oura Ring, I charged throughout the day, so I had a full battery at night time. After charging, I all the time returned the watch to my left wrist and the ring to my proper pointer finger. Whereas the mattress cowl isn’t a daytime wearable, I used it for daytime naps, and for Eight Sleep particularly, I made certain to spend every tracked night time sleeping in my mattress and never on the sofa — regardless of being tempted throughout late nights in entrance of the TV.
Sleep tracker 1: Oura Ring Gen 3
The Oura Ring is a classy, fashionable wearable that tracks sleep, stress, exercise, coronary heart charge, your cycle and extra. The design is glossy and I typically overlook I’m even carrying it. The ring is supposed to be positioned in your pointer finger, with the three sensor bumps on the base of your finger, dealing with you.
I examined the Gen 3 model within the Horizon fashion. It is available in six completely different finishes, and pricing begins at $349 (nonetheless, particular costs carry it right down to $299 proper now). The membership subscription is $6 a month.
Sleep tracker 2: Garmin Forerunner 165
Garmin is a well known model within the operating neighborhood. The newer Garmin watches additionally observe sleep, together with most of its Forerunner sequence. Earlier than my Forerunner 165, which I used to trace my sleep for this text, I had a Forerunner 45S that tracked each my sleep and exercises. This wrist-based tracker is my most popular system for monitoring my runs.
The Forerunner 165 with out an added music characteristic is $250. Garmin doesn’t require a month-to-month subscription.
Sleep tracker 3: Eight Sleep Pod 3 Cowl
As a scorching sleeper, I’m an enormous fan of Eight Sleep. This distinctive mattress cowl is related to a tank of water beside the mattress and actively cools you whilst you sleep. Along with robotically adjusting your temperature to imitate your sleep cycle by the night time, it additionally tracks your sleep, coronary heart charge, coronary heart charge variability, breath charge and loud night breathing.
This sleep tracker is positioned proper over your mattress, just like a fitted sheet. I used the Pod 3 for this sleep tracker comparability, however there may be additionally the Pod 4 and Pod 4 Extremely. Pricing begins at $2,295, and the month-to-month subscription is $25.
My complete hours spent asleep
Whereas every tracker has its personal distinctive algorithm to find out the entire hours slept, the science behind sleep is identical. Coronary heart charge fluctuates all through the night time because the physique goes by the phases of sleep (mild, deep and REM). Sleep trackers detect each coronary heart charge and motion to find out when you find yourself asleep and in what stage. Nonetheless, needless to say sleep-tracking expertise has limitations, and even with intensive utilization, these gadgets should not completely correct.
My chart beneath graphs the entire variety of hours I slept every night time for 31 nights straight. The inexperienced line represents knowledge from Oura, the purple is from Garmin and the purple is from Eight Sleep. Nights 11 and 22 are outliers on this knowledge, as I slept way over regular on one night time and much lower than the opposite. I didn’t embrace these two nights in my last conclusions on my sleep knowledge.
At first look, it was fairly disappointing to see the completely different outcomes among the many three trackers. Whereas I didn’t anticipate the trackers to provide all the identical knowledge, I hoped that two could be not less than comparable. Nonetheless, taking a more in-depth look, there appears to be much less of a spot distinction between the hours recorded from Garmin and Oura. On 22 of the nights, Garmin and Oura are the closest in complete recorded hours of sleep. Eight Sleep appears to provide larger knowledge than Garmin and Oura. In truth, it recorded the best quantity of sleep for 23 nights of the month.
Eight Sleep typically instructed me that I slept anyplace between 8.5 to 10.5 hours every night time. Whereas I’m responsible of sleeping in on some days, I do have to notice that within the month I recorded my knowledge, I used to be up early a lot of the mornings. I used to be coaching for a half marathon and wanted to do my runs within the early, cool hours. It was a change to my regular routine, so I do know for a indisputable fact that my sleep knowledge ought to have regarded extra just like the hours recorded by Oura and Garmin.
My complete hours of deep sleep
Deep sleep isn’t the identical as REM sleep. Throughout REM, the mind processes data, shops reminiscences and is most probably to dream. Deep sleep is when the physique restores itself bodily. For the reason that three sleep trackers are additionally health trackers and measure how ready and recovered you might be for the day’s exercise, deep sleep is mostly deemed extra essential.
Annie Miller, licensed psychotherapist and sleep professional, instructed me, “Customers needs to be cautious about anticipating exact sleep stage knowledge. Analysis reveals that whereas wearables could be pretty correct for complete sleep period, they’re much less dependable for particular sleep phases (like deep and REM sleep). Extended intervals mendacity in mattress, even whereas awake, could be mistakenly interpreted as sleep with trackers.”
You usually must spend about 15- to twenty% of your complete hours of sleep within the deep sleep stage. The month I recorded this knowledge, I bought about 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep every night time. That implies that my splendid deep sleep vary could be anyplace from 1.3 to 1.8 hours. Rather less than half of my nights’ knowledge from all three sleep trackers was beneath this splendid deep sleep vary. Twelve readings had been above this vary, and 11 of those had been from Eight Sleep. Nonetheless, Miller jogged my memory that stressing over sleep knowledge can worsen sleep high quality “by a self-reinforcing cycle of tension and sleep disruption.”
On 14 out of the 31 nights, virtually half of the month, the deep sleep recorded from my Garmin fell proper within the center between my Oura Ring and my Eight Sleep knowledge. Once more, Eight Sleep recorded excessive numbers. On 19 nights of the month, Eight Sleep recorded probably the most quantity of deep sleep in comparison with decrease readings from Oura and Garmin. On 16 nights out of the month, my Oura Ring recorded the bottom quantity of deep sleep in comparison with the opposite two sleep trackers. Garmin appears to land considerably within the center between the intense highs of Eight Sleep and the low readings of Oura.
Monitoring different vitals
These three gadgets tracked complete hours of sleep and time spent in deep sleep, in addition to different vitals and elements that affected my sleep high quality.
Daytime naps
I’m an enormous fan of a fast, 15 to 20-minute daytime nap, and by chance, all three trackers had been capable of file these additional minutes of sleep. My Garmin has a brand new characteristic known as Nap Detection that robotically data and detects naps. I discovered that it was pretty correct at recording once I fell asleep and once I awoke. My Oura Ring additionally robotically recorded my naps, however a nap needed to be longer than quarter-hour for the Oura to detect it. Eight Sleep, after all, solely recorded my naps once I took them in my mattress. There have been two occasions I napped on the sofa that my wearables counted however Eight Sleep did not. Since all trackers file naps barely otherwise, this might account for the distinction in knowledge.
Exercise and exercises
Since Oura and Garmin are additionally health wearable gadgets, they recorded my runs and exercises. To file a run, I needed to begin and cease my Garmin manually. Oura, nonetheless, has automated exercise detection. It was pretty correct at recording once I was understanding and energetic, however there have been occasions it guessed that I used to be strolling once I was operating. I needed to change the exercise that it chosen typically. However, Garmin’s GPS is unmatched. Once I had a exercise day, my Garmin would counsel that I take time to wind down earlier than mattress with mild yoga or meditation.
Common HRV
My common HRV in keeping with Eight Sleep
HRV, or coronary heart charge variability, is a metric that data the milliseconds between every heartbeat. Variation is regular, and because the physique goes by the sleep phases, HRV fluctuates extra. These readings measure how nicely your physique responds to emphasize and might even give perception into your sleep high quality. Miller mentioned, “Whereas monitoring HRV could be insightful, keep away from utilizing it as the only indicator of well being or stress. HRV values naturally fluctuate, and focusing an excessive amount of on HRV might result in pointless stress.”
My coronary heart charge variability 31-day averages from every tracker are as follows:
- Oura: 31 ms
- Garmin: 34 ms
- Eight Sleep: 38 ms
My HRV scores are decrease than I would love them to be. Whereas I am pretty energetic, run a number of occasions per week and attempt to get sufficient sleep, I imagine that my rating is decrease due to my anxiousness and psychological well being; research have discovered that decrease HRV has been related to anxiousness issues. I can’t precisely state which tracker I imagine is extra exact relating to HRV, however the scores appear to observe the developments I noticed in my knowledge above. Eight Sleep is additional excessive, Oura is low and Garmin is within the center.
My conclusions
I used to be upset that my sleep trackers weren’t extra in step with each other. Once more, I’m not claiming that a few of these gadgets work improperly. Every has its personal algorithm for figuring out when my physique is awake and energetic or when I’m asleep. Wrist-based trackers, like Garmin, interpret physique motion and movement otherwise than a hoop tracker, and the way tight the system is on the wrist or finger can skew readings. Sleep trackers on a mattress can solely detect you whenever you sleep on the mattress, and for those who sleep with pets, it may also throw your knowledge.
That being mentioned, based mostly alone opinions of my very own knowledge, I feel the recorded hours from Eight Sleep had been exaggerated. I think that the pod cowl detected that I used to be in mattress and asleep once I was really awake. It takes me fairly some time to get off the bed within the morning, and I typically prefer to scroll on my cellphone in mattress earlier than I go to sleep. If my heartbeat was low sufficient, it may need detected that I used to be sleeping. My canine additionally prefer to sleep in mattress with me for just a few hours within the morning. There’s an opportunity the quilt might have additionally detected their heartbeats lengthy after I had gotten up.
Eight Sleep is the most costly sleep tracker that I examined, and in case you are solely searching for a non-wearable sleep tracker, I don’t assume it’s definitely worth the value. Nonetheless, the Eight Sleep Pod Cowl is before everything a device for decent sleepers. I truthfully can’t sleep with out it. In the event you wrestle with night time sweats, then it could be price it for you.
My Garmin Forerunner gave me middle-of-the-road readings, and because of this, I feel it tracked my sleep the most effective. I additionally agreed with a lot of the knowledge that it gave me every morning. I didn’t really feel like I slept so long as Eight Sleep instructed me, however I didn’t assume I slept as little as my Oura knowledge. Garmin can also be my chosen health tracker for operating and general health.
That being mentioned, whereas it gave me decrease readings, Oura is my favourite sleep tracker. It is so easy and small. I already put on rings throughout the day, so it already suits into my on a regular basis routine. I additionally overlook that I’m carrying it. Garmin watches could be cumbersome, and I’ve woken up with an imprint of the watch band on my face earlier than. I additionally love that it robotically data my exercise and offers perception into my cycle that different trackers can’t.
Contemplating a sleep tracker or a brand new sleep accent? Right here’s who I feel would love every tracker greatest.
The Oura Ring is greatest for:
- Those that need to observe their sleep, cycle and minutes of exercise
- Sleepers who dislike cumbersome or distracting trackers
- Those that need a glossy design and a tracker that matches into their wardrobe
The Garmin Forerunner 165 is greatest for:
- Runners and sleepers who don’t need to pay a month-to-month subscription price
- Those that need the most effective of a health tracker and a sleep tracker
- Sleepers on a mean funds
The Eight Sleep Pod 3 Cowl is greatest for:
- Scorching sleepers who want temperature regulation all through the night time
- Individuals who despise wearables
- Sleepers who’ve a big funds
For readers all in favour of sleep monitoring, Miller mentioned, “It’s essential to keep in mind that sleep trackers are estimations, not diagnostics. Over-reliance on sleep knowledge or making an attempt to manage sleep metrics can result in sleep anxiousness, typically worsening insomnia. It is called ‘orthosomnia,’ and it refers to insomnia or poor sleep high quality pushed by an obsession with sleep metrics. If readers discover themselves experiencing elevated anxiousness or frustration over their sleep knowledge, it could be helpful to take a step again from monitoring.”
Within the coming months, I’m testing extra sleep trackers, such because the Withings Sleep Monitoring Mat, the Withings ScanWatch2 and the Samsung Galaxy Ring. I hope to file extra nights of sleep to investigate.
