Sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, but for many people this is easier said than done. Most of us probably don’t get enough sleep or have a lot of interruptions throughout the night. Lack of quality sleep can cause (or exacerbate) other health problems that can interfere with your life and general well-being in the long term. This is why you should try to track your sleep whenever possible, as this allows you to analyze your sleep patterns every night, and if any sleep issues arise, they can be addressed.
If you have an Apple Watch, then you have a built-in sleep tracker on your wrist that will help you monitor and record your sleep patterns each night. The sleep tracking feature works with Apple Watch Series 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8, as well as Apple Watch Ultra, as long as it’s running watchOS 7 or higher. You’ll also need at least an iPhone 6S or later running at least iOS 14 or higher.
When you go to bed with your compatible Apple Watch, it will record the total amount of time you’ve slept. Then, when you wake up in the morning, the Sleep app will show you the time periods you were asleep during the night, and the Health app will track your daily and weekly sleep patterns.
However, one thing to keep in mind before using your Apple Watch for sleep tracking is the battery level. At the end of the day, your Apple Watch may be running low on battery. You’ll need to set aside some time during the day to charge your Apple Watch to at least 30% for sleep tracking to work (it’s probably best to charge it while you’re in the shower or something). If the Apple Watch is below that 30% threshold, it will prompt you to charge it before bed.
Now that you know the basics, we’ll show you how to track your sleep with just the Apple Watch. We have a separate guide to monitoring your sleep with your iPhone, if that’s what you prefer.
How to set up sleep tracking on your Apple Watch
You can use your Apple Watch alone to track your sleep patterns using the Sleep app to set sleep goals. In the morning, the Sleep app records how much sleep you got. It will also record your sleep trends for 14 days. Any changes made to the settings on your Apple Watch will be reflected on your iPhone.
Step 1: On your Apple Watch, navigate to the Sleep app.
Step 2: Tap the Sleep app and you’ll see instructions on how to set a sleep goal and set your bedtime, wake time, alarm, and reminders.
How to add a sleep schedule to your Apple Watch
You can have a unique sleep schedule for each day, each working day, or for each individual day of the week. Here’s how to set it up.
Step 1: Open the Sleep app and scroll to full schedule.
Step 2: Activate the sleep schedule change.
Step 3: Set your first schedule. Every day is listed as the first option, and you can keep your sleep schedule every day.
Stage 4: You can remove any day or days you want from a wake-up alarm, but to track sleep, you’ll probably want to cover every day.
Step 5: Tap on the Alarm button to set a wake-up time.
Step 6: Set the time on the alarm clock face using the digital crown on your watch and touch the green button. check mark bottom right to confirm the time.
Step 7: Scroll down until you see Bedtime and adjust that time in the same way.
How to see other sleep options on your Apple Watch
When you wear your Apple Watch to sleep, the watch uses its accelerometer to detect your movement. In addition to the basics of setting up a sleep schedule, there are a number of other options available with Apple Watch’s sleep settings.
Alternatively, you can change these options on your iPhone through the Apple Watch app by going to My watch > Sleep.
Step 1: Set a sleep goal. Tap dream goaland set the number of hours you want to sleep.
Step 2: Qualification sleep tracking allows you to measure how well you are meeting your sleep goals. When sleep tracking is turned on, your watch tracks your sleep and adds sleep data to the Health app on your iPhone.
Step 3: Choosing an alarm lets you choose from a handful of custom alarm clock sound effects. Fold Alarm turn off or turn on and touch sound and haptics to choose an alarm sound. If your watch is in silent mode, it will tap your wrist to wake you up but will not make any sound.
Stage 4: Enabling the Chill out The option automatically activates the sleep focus feature, which turns off the watch face and turns on Do Not Disturb so you won’t be disturbed by notifications while you sleep.
Step 5: Configure the sleep screen so they won’t bother you at night. With sleep screen on, the clock face and lock screen on iPhone are simplified and dimmed.
Step 6: Scrolling through the Sleep app allows you to check if you’ve met your sleep goals.
Step 7: View your sleep stats right on Apple Watch for up to 14 days at a time. For even more details, check out the iPhone Health app. In addition to statistics, it also keeps track of respiratory data through Navigate > Respiratory > Respiratory Rate > Show More Respiratory Rate Data.
Why you should track sleep with your Apple Watch
The negative effects of insomnia can show up in your daily life. If you feel persistently exhausted in the middle of the day, can’t stay awake while watching TV, or can’t motivate yourself to walk or run every day, all of these diminish your quality of life and can be directly caused by lack of sleep.
While you sleep, your brain is active as it goes through the different stages of sleep, processing information as your body rebuilds tissue and makes new cells. Losing sleep can increase your risk of serious illness, while getting adequate sleep can boost your physical energy and cognitive abilities.
Sleep tracking provides information about your sleep patterns, possibly revealing the causes of daily fatigue or even uncovering a sleep disorder. Learning about your sleep behaviors and patterns gives you the tools to improve your sleep.
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