Do you need to track your sleep?
The importance of a good night’s sleep is becoming much more widely known these days. Good sleep habits, including regularly getting an adequate amount of good quality sleep is important for our health and wellbeing.
I think we all know how good we feel when we’re properly rested, I know I do! Good sleep is associated with reduced risk of conditions like diabetes and heart disease and also leads to improved psychological wellbeing.
In these modern times of gadgets that can measure just about anything about you, tracking your sleep is another popular way we can gather information about our health.
Sleep is no exception - whether it be from your activity tracker, your phone or a dedicated sleep tracking device, gathering data on your nightly snooze is just another health metric we’re all into.
However, do you need to track your sleep? And if so, is it worthwhile doing?
How we normally measure sleep
In the medical world, we can do quite a detailed study of someone’s sleep. Called a sleep study, it’s most commonly used if we think someone has a medical disorder that affects their sleep.
During these studies, a patient will go to a special centre and be fitted with monitors that measure your brain waves, your breathing and your movements to check on the depth of your sleep and if anything happens such as sleep apnoea. These studies are pretty technical so what we can do at home isn’t quite as in-depth.
Research has been conducted into the accuracy of sleep trackers and the results are mixed.
What sleep trackers can measure
Whatever the device, sleep trackers at home can measure some of these sleep metrics:
- Sleep duration - how long you were actually asleep, usually by detecting movement but sometimes augmented by user input
- Sleep quality - if you start tossing and turning (or checking your phone), these devices can pick up on that and use it to inform how well you slept, not just how long. It can also determine how long you spent in the different phases of sleep such as REM and non-REM, all of which can give insights into your sleep quality
- Other factors - some devices can pick up on sounds such as snoring or sounds and activity in your room which may affect sleep
- User inputs - depending on what you’re using, you can input data into a kind of journal that the device or app can use to judge how these things affect your sleep. Popular inputs can include alcohol and caffeine (both of which can negatively impact on sleep) or things like stress and sickness.
Do they work?
Research has been conducted into the accuracy of sleep trackers and the results are mixed. Some devices that have been studied are not especially accurate.
However, as you would expect with technological advances in our wearables, newer devices are improving all the time, although many studies include devices you can get a home that are dedicated solely to sleep tracking.
A number of devices on the market at the moment haven’t been studied rigorously yet, nor have they been approved by medical device regulators such as the FDA. Nonetheless, it’s reasonable to expect that these devices will continue to be developed and get better with time.
What to do with all this information?
I actually do track my sleep, knowing that the data I get may be imperfect. But it’s been useful for me to see what things help me sleep and what things keep me awake all night.
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Sleep trackers are probably most useful for looking at trends over time. Particularly if you’re inputting data about your daily health habits, it can provide a useful guide to look at things that improve your sleep or conversely, make it worse.
At the moment, sleep trackers haven’t reached a level yet where they can diagnose disorders like sleep apnoea. If you do notice issues with your sleep on your tracker such as snoring, frequent waking during the night or you generally do not feel rested or like you’re getting enough sleep, you can still discuss with your doctor what your device has found to get a proper assessment of your sleep.
Get more sleep program
Do you find it hard to wind down and get a restful night’s sleep? Do you wake up multiple times during the night?
Trouble sleeping is a common issue and we have a short program to get more sleep with tips and insights to improve your sleep habits, plus access our free sleep tracker!
Reviewed by the healthylife Advisory Board December 2021
This article is for informational purposes only and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any information published on this website or by this brand is not intended as a substitute for medical advice. If you have any concerns or questions about your health you should consult with a health professional.