Top Sleep Trackers and How Best to Use Them

With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sounding a strident alarm about sleep deprivation reaching “public health epidemic” proportions, it’s no wonder that Americans are searching for ways tot help them improve their sleep quality and quantity. Manufacturers, retailers and software companies are more than happy to oblige and sell them products that promise improvement. It seems like every day another company comes up with a new sleep tracking system. Some come in the form of apps, some are worn as wristbands and some are bedside devices, but all of them provide qualitative feedback that lets consumers know a little bit about their behaviors and sleep cycles. The information’s quality depends in large part on the manufacturer and what is being measured, as well as the accuracy of the device’s sensors. Here are several of the most popular new devices on the market.

1. Microsoft Band

The Microsoft Band is a wristband and smart watch that can also monitor your activity while you sleep if you wear it to bed. It has a built-in GPS that will not only monitor your vital signs but will also tell how far you’ve walked or run. You can also swipe through your emails while it monitors your heart rate. As for the sleep monitoring capabilities, the device will monitor your movements, heart rate and other vital signs while you sleep and send all of the information to an app for interpretation. The device is newly released but reviewers have indicated that it is somewhat uncomfortable to wear, making its overall usefulness questionable, and decreasing the likelihood that people will wear it to bed with enough frequency to get any kind of consistent, interpretable results.

With sleep becoming A problem for so many, it's not surprising companies are seizing the opportunity with new sleep technologies

2. Beddit Sleep Monitor

If the idea of sleeping with a wristband or watch on makes you lose sleep, you can try the Beddit. Its sensor lies directly on your bed at approximately chest level, eliminating the need to strap any kind of device onto your body. The information that is recorded, which includes snoring, heart rate and movement, is then transmitted to the app. Its data is delivered along with coaching that will make suggestions regarding sleep hygiene, designed to help you improve your sleep quality and duration.

3. Sleep Cycle

Unlike many other sleep monitoring devices, the Sleep Cycle is simply an app that you can purchase for $0.99. It works with the accelerometer that is built into the smart phone to gauge the number of movements you make during the night in order to determine what sleep phase you’re in. It applies these results to ensure that your alarm goes off when you are in the lightest possible sleep, providing you with the greatest possible chance of feeling alert in the morning.

4. ResMed S+

The ResMed S+ was created by a company that specializes in sleep equipment, and this device is less intrusive than many of the wearables, while providing comprehensive information. The S+ sits on your nightstand – no need to wear anything to bed. It sends out radio signals that measure the temperature in the room, the amount of noise and light that is present, and the amount of movement that you exhibit during the course of the night. It also is programmed with a number of soothing sounds to help you get to sleep and an alarm that awakens you based on your preset latest-possible wake-up time and the sleep cycle that it detects you in.

5. Withings Aura Smart Sleep System

The Withings is a combination of in-place sensor that slides under the bed and a light that is programmed to provide you with sunset and sunrise sequences designed to assist you in getting drowsy and feeling alert. It plays music, provides feedback and sleep coaching, and even has a USB port so you can charge your smart phone or electronic device.

If you decide to make an investment in one of these sleep devices or any of the others that are available on the market, there are a number of things that you can do to improve their usefulness so that you get the most out of them.

The first thing that you need to remember is that you can’t judge your sleep health on a single night worth of data. Sleep tracker information should be reviewed over an extended period of time. According to Dr. Clete Kushida, the medical director of the Stanford Sleep Medicine Center, it’s important to “examine the trends (e.g. several nights in a row) instead of just focusing on one night’s data. When you purchase a sleep tracker it is something that you are supposed to use consistently so that you can not only detect trends, but also monitor whether any adjustments that you make are resulting in improvements. The more data you have, the more useful the information will be. It is also helpful to keep track of daytime habits such as whether you have exercised or what time of day you consumed alcohol or caffeine to see whether it has any impact.

The second thing that sleep experts advise regarding the use of sleep monitors is that you don’t become obsessed with the device or use it to the detriment of your sleep. If the sleep monitor that you select is a wearable that you find uncomfortable, you should return it and exchange it for a unit that doesn’t bother you, and if you find yourself fiddling with the machine or focusing on it rather than relaxing then it is working to your detriment. Dr. Michael Breus, a clinical psychologist known as the “Sleep Doctor,” said, “The problem can be in some cases that the wearable disrupts sleep itself.”

Finally, remember that the sleep monitors are really consumer devices and not designed to detect actual sleep disorders. If you believe that you have sleep apnea or are suffering from insomnia, seek help from your physician. Says Breus, “If you are trying to diagnose a sleep disorder, then you are much better off seeing a sleep specialist and getting a sleep study.”