Tracking Sleep Trackers: 3 Things to consider when purchasing a sleep tracker
There are many different forms of aids to help you sleep; from pharmaceuticals to static devices, to sleep trackers. They all, in some way, record data about your sleep, but what makes them different is how they display that information to try to improve the quality of your sleep. As wearable technologies mature, sleep trackers or health trackers that include sleep software are becoming a popular less invasive option for people who want to improve their health. They look at the quality of your sleep via mobile application and they probably have some free advice on how to alter your environment to make it better for next time, but does it really work? How can I get the most from my sleep tracker? Why should I buy one?
This isn’t a product review and I won’t tell you which sleep tracker specifically to purchase because everyone’s needs are different; however, I will let you know what you should be looking for in your sleep tracker. Here are a few important things to consider when looking to purchase your new sleep tracker or health wearable:
Which factors of REM really matter?
Sleep trackers are great for looking at the different sleep stages, from deep sleep, to REM, and light sleep. Lots of sleep trackers do a great job of displaying your sleep history, and, if you pay for the service (some are free but not all), they will give you a comparison for your age group. It is great to know what the comparison is so you can always improve the quality of your sleep, otherwise, you’re subjectively evaluating how you feel in the morning. Comparing your score to others in your age group can even be fun, and can fire up your competitive spirit. Many companies do this on purpose to utilize gamification to keep you engaged with their application daily.
Fitbit will tell you how much time you’ve actually spent asleep each night by subtracting any periods of wakefulness the device detects throughout the night, which can be a better comparison for how well rested you feel. The goal of a sleep tracker is to, as objectively as possible, utilize trial and error to improve your sleep; however, it does come at a cost. You need to consider if getting your REM time up from 20% to 25% of your total sleep is worth it. Stressing yourself out about trying to improve your sleep will end up being more of a detriment to your new and improved sleep game plan. You can also consider purchasing vitamins or changing your schedule, but there are some things that you just can’t change in life. It is important to keep those in mind when using sleep or health trackers.
Most people want to improve their sleep, but at what cost? What may be impacting your sleep schedule, or what may be normal for you? One thing people forget to evaluate is what is normal for them, and what they are doing during the day that tires them out. If you’re a new parent who is feeling exhausted, it’s not exactly a big mystery why your sleep tracker is telling you that you’re not sleeping enough. It’s expected that you are going to be tired. This may be an extreme example, but to prove my point: you may be working hard, exploring your hobbies to a new mentally stimulating level, passionately involved in your family, or maybe all of the above; but at some point in the day you’ve had the energy to tackle your daily activities. In the end, what really matters is that you’re getting enough sleep for your age and activity level. If not, then looking into what the extra sleep data means is probably worth your time.
One important thing you should consider prior to purchasing a sleep tracker is that some trackers only start recording your sleep once you manually turn them on. This is not very accurate because they start counting sleep from the moment you press start, but we all know that the majority of the population does not fall asleep on command. It also means that your sleep stages are not as accurate as they should be. Overall, it’s worth it to purchase a tracker that has a heart rate sensor in it that can automatically track your sleep.
What CAN you do with the data? Contactless vs. Wearables:
Making changes to your day, environment, and schedule may be more effective when you can identify a specific sleeping impediment. Some sleep trackers will take into consideration temperature, ambient noise, and other bodily factors such as heart rate. If you’re going to use these metrics for trying to improve your sleep, you’ll have to take them with a grain of salt as these measurements are not perfect. They do not always know how to interpret the data they are gathering and only have the ability to make their best guess for you.
There are contactless sleep tracking devices that sit on your bedside, which track your sleep and environmental factors. They will give you additional information on top of your regular sleep stages tracking about whether or not your room is too hot/cold, if your partner is moving or making too much noise in the night, or whether there are other distractions in the room that could be causing problems. The issue is you have to experiment with trial and error before you can optimize your environment to improve your quality of sleep. It can cause other dilemmas if you share a bed because your partner may not be thrilled if you touch the thermometer in the bedroom because your tracker is telling you to turn it up at night. Their sleep stage tracking abilities tend to be more exact if they are able to measure your heart rate through the covers. This can give you more specific information about your respiratory patterns, which is very useful information to take to your family doctor. Overall it is a really cool feedback tool for your personal experimentation for improving your sleep. There are lots of people, including myself, that found it helpful and even enjoyed the information feedback loop of my efforts in improving my sleep.
On-body trackers tend to be more focused on the health of the individual wearing the tracker. This is great because you can look at what you did before bed or during the day that might influence your health stats. Did you have a few drinks before bed? Fight with your partner? Have a stressful day planned for the morning? Or, in general, something out of the ordinary has happened. Our bodies do not tend to handle stress well, even if we have trained our minds to deal. It can wreak havoc on our sleep and, in turn, on our health. The sleep trackers on your body can track basic health stats that will help you understand why you’re not sleeping well. The Fitbit HR will track your heart rate, which in theory should decrease while you sleep. If you are stressed when you go to bed or have nightmares it will tend to be higher, so this can be a factor for why you do not sleep, and this piece of data allows you to take steps to focus on yourself to reduce the impact of stress.
What bonus features are worth it?
Sleep trackers, whether they are on your body or sitting on your bedside table, tend to have some pretty useful features for improving sleep.
One of these cool features are smart alarms. They can be a double-edged sword, but a very cool sword when they work properly. Smart alarms are based on algorithms which track your sleep stages, with the goal of waking you up during light or restless sleep. This is the period in your sleep where you are barely sleeping, so it is easier to wake up and leaves you feeling more refreshed. Have you ever woken up to your alarm feeling like someone punched you in the face when you slept 8 hours? That means you probably woke up during REM or deep sleep. It sucks because your body was not meant to wake up then; smart alarms aim to help you avoid that feeling.
It works by waking you up during the last awake period before your alarm is supposed to go off based on your previous sleep patterns for the night. This means you tend to get woken up earlier than expected. This may be good or bad depending on your sleep schedule, but it’s supposed to be easier and more refreshing. Everyone’s experience with smart alarms tend to be different: from ‘loved it’ to ‘this devil device wakes me up 45 minutes earlier than I want!’ Personally, I found it does help to be on a regular sleep schedule anyway and this is just trying to encourage it. I wake up at different times every day, which the smart alarm does not tend to like. To each their own, but I suggest that everyone tries it because if it does work for you, it really can make all the difference.
Another feature that is trending in bedside contactless sleep trackers is subtle music and coaching as you go to sleep. There are several bedside devices now that will coach you to sleep with music, encouragement, or soothing tones as you fall asleep. It’s like counting sheep on steroids. The science behind it says that by encouraging someone to sleep they are more likely to have a deeper, more relaxing sleep overall. This is more useful for those with insomnia or who have problems falling asleep. Strategic sleep coaching is new and will probably be improving in the coming generations, but for the moment the devices that it’s included in are quite expensive. However, if this sounds like something you want then it’s definitely worth trying.
My favorite feature of a bedside sleep tracker, specifically the S+ by Resmed, is printable data reports. In my opinion, this is an overlooked feature by many sleep trackers that do not include it. Being able to print out a summary of your sleep data that you can bring to your doctor is very valuable. It allows you to engage with your family doctor on a level previously not possible. You only see you family doctor for a brief snippet in time, which does not give them very much information to your overall health. Sleep is a great indicator to your health and can show them how well your current treatment plan is working, or if you need specialist medical intervention.
Sleep trackers are, in general, a subjective way of trying to improve your sleep. You have to interpret your data and see if you can help yourself sleep better. For those like myself determined to play a role in improving my sleep, sleep trackers are a great and interactive way of doing it. You just need to remember you do not necessarily know all the answers, but you at least have a feedback tool.
Does the outcome really matter?
We all know that your sleep environment impacts your quality of sleep in a big way. You should try your best to take your data and make the best decisions possible with it. If you have a slightly hard mattress, I am not saying this is an excuse to get a new one, but an opportunity to learn about yourself and your body. Fitbit gives you many different ways to monitor your sleep but what is important to look at is your sleep history. To look for consistency, and when you notice something that doesn’t seem to fit in, think back to it. Were you drinking, having sex in the middle of the night, experiencing nightmares, or sleeping away from home? If you notice more and more inconsistencies until they start to look normal it’s best to ask your doctor. Sleep is a great indicator to overall health and a sleep tracker is a proactive step to improving it.
