Advice
Can’t sleep? Find out why with a sleep tracker. Discover the benefits of sleep tracking and get insights into your sleep patterns in this guide.
Technology has been a key component in improving our everyday life – including sleep!
The average person spends a third of their life sleeping so it’s important to ensure you’re getting the best possible. That’s why people look to trackers.
We can now use these devices to understand sleep patterns and create an actionable plan to get better rest.
Sleep trackers help you monitor and improve your sleep habits. In an NYU study, 28% of participants actually used a health app to help monitor their sleeping habits.
If you’re struggling to sleep, tracking may be the answer. Keep reading to find out how.
What Is a Sleep Tracker?
A sleep tracker is a device that monitors your sleep habits each night. It measures breathing, heart rate, temperature, snoring, and movement. This data gives a detailed picture of how you sleep.
Fun Fact: Sleep trackers use accelerometry or actigraphy to know when you’re asleep.
Who Should Consider Using a Sleep Tracker?
Anyone interested in improving their sleep should consider using a tracker. They are great tools to measure the quality of your sleep.
Sleep trackers are beneficial if you experience sleep disturbances, like insomnia or frequent awakenings. If you’re curious about your sleep patterns, it’s a valuable tool to gain insights.
Lastly, if you’re aiming for better sleep hygiene, a monitor can help track improvements. Always consult a doctor for serious sleep concerns.
However, if you’re anxious, be cautious about tracking your sleep. It may cause you to spend the night awake obsessing over the data rather than enjoying some rest.
Top 5 Benefits of Sleep Tracking
Sleep monitoring offers several benefits. Here’s what you should expect from your sleep-tracking experience:
1. Learn About Your Sleep Habits
The first step to solving a problem is learning what’s causing it.
In the case of poor sleep, this is especially difficult. Since we aren’t mindful of our surroundings when we sleep, factors can often disturb our rest without conscious awareness.
Unless you’re woken up every hour by the cat jumping on your chest, you may experience unexpected disruptions. A sleep tracker can help identify these.
2. Improve Sleep Hygiene
Sleep hygiene doesn’t have anything to do with showering before going to bed.
Instead, sleep hygiene focuses on factors such as not using electronic devices right before you sleep, going to bed consistently each night, and avoiding large meals or caffeine before bedtime.
3. Build Better Daytime Habits
Your nightly habits don’t just determine the quality of your sleep. The foundation for a good night’s sleep starts when you get out of bed.
From avoiding caffeine later in the day to getting enough exercise, a sleep tracker can help you pinpoint which daytime habits help you sleep better.
4. Prioritize Your Sleep Needs
Many of us need more sleep in today’s busy world. Unfortunately, finding the time to nourish our bodies with rest is hard.
Drinking an extra coffee and making it through the day without addressing the root issue is easy. But a sleep tracker helps you focus on concrete improvements and prioritize better sleep.
5. Get Consistently Better Sleep
A study by Diabetes Journal shows getting more sleep isn’t always the answer: we often need consistent rest.
One of the best things about a sleep tracker is that it helps you recreate the positive parts of your sleep habits while weeding out the negatives, contributing to better sleep consistency.
3 Types of Sleep Trackers
Want to experience the benefits of sleep tracking firsthand? You have a few options to consider.
There are three main types of sleep-tracking devices, each with different strengths:
1. Wearable Sleep Tracker
These sleep trackers stay on your body while you sleep in the form of rings, watches, or bracelets and measure your movements as you shift.
2. Bedside Sleep Tracker
This no-contact sleep tracker monitors your sleep cycle from your bedside and often includes features to help you wake up more naturally.
3. Mattress Sleep Tracker
These sleep trackers integrate into your bed’s adjustable base and sense your movements through your mattress.
A mattress sleep tracker senses your movement as you shift, toss, and turn. This provides valuable insight into the periods of sleep when you’re less restful and getting poorer sleep.
Also Read: 5 Types of Mattresses Explained (And How to Choose One)
What Are Sleep Trackers Actually Tracking?
The amount of detail a sleep tracker can gather on your sleep habits is remarkable.
But what information do they actually collect to provide those insights? Here’s a quick breakdown:
Sleep Duration
A sleep tracker device measures the amount of time you’re inactive to determine the time you spend asleep.
Sleep Quality
When you toss and turn at night, a sleep tracker can sense your movements and record when your sleep is disturbed. This gives you a good idea of when the quality of your sleep was interrupted.
Sleep Stages
Your body goes through four main stages of sleep: Stages 1, 2, 3, and REM.
By measuring your temperature, heart rate, and other similar factors, a sleep tracker can get a good idea of how long you spend in each sleep stage.
For instance, not getting enough Stage 3 deep sleep will almost guarantee you spend the day tired.
Lifestyle Factors
Most sleep trackers won’t automatically record details about your lifestyle outside of sleep. However, many will encourage you to enter information about your day that might impact your rest.
This can help determine whether food, stress, or exercise affect your sleep quality.
Environmental Factors
Some sleep trackers can measure environmental factors in the room you sleep in. These might include light, sound, ambient temperature, and more.
How Do Sleep Trackers Work?
Sleep trackers are actigraphs, meaning they measure movement. This can help you track your Circadian rhythms to understand better how to tailor your sleep cycle.
Sleep trackers can also help diagnose issues such as sleep apnea.
Overall, a sleep tracker gathers all this data on your sleep habits to provide insight into how to sleep better.
How Accurate Are Sleep Trackers?
Sleep trackers are highly accurate at collecting specific data. However, sleep trackers are not a magic bullet for improving your sleep health.
While a device for tracking sleep can give you a lot of information about your sleep habits, they’re not a substitute for talking to your doctor.
If you have insomnia, chronic fatigue, or other sleep-related problems, a sleep study is the best way to get a clear idea of how to get better.
That said, using a sleep tracker is a significant first step toward getting better sleep on a day-to-day basis.
Sleep Tracking FAQ
Answers to common questions about sleep tracking.
Sleep trackers do not directly help you sleep better. However, they can keep track of your sleep cycle and help you identify factors that might be negatively impacting your sleep.
Like any health app, sleep trackers are a great start to improving your overall well-being. They can encourage you to be more mindful of your sleep habits and work towards making good sleep the norm.
If you regularly struggle with getting a quality night’s sleep, the benefits of sleep tracking could be the next step.
People who frequently feel tired, struggle with restless sleep, or otherwise think they aren’t getting the most out of their night’s shut-eye will benefit from sleep tracking.
Is getting a good night’s sleep worth it? Only you can be the judge. But we think the joy of waking up each day feeling rested and rejuvenated makes the benefits of sleep tracking unquestionably worth it.
Sleep comprises multiple stages, each contributing to physical and mental restoration.
Understanding these stages is essential because they play distinct roles in maintaining cognitive functions, emotional well-being, and overall vitality.
The four stages of sleep include:
Stage 1: Light sleep begins; eyes move slowly, and muscle activity decreases.
Stage 2: Eye movement stops, heart rate slows, and body temperature decreases.
Stage 3: Deep sleep occurs; your brain emits slow delta waves, making it harder to awaken.
REM (Rapid Eye Movement) Stage: Eyes move quickly, breathing becomes shallow, heart rate and blood pressure increase, and vivid dreams occur.
Take Your Sleep to the Next Level
Are you ready to embrace the world of sleep tracker benefits? If so, the Tempur-Pedic® Sleeptracker® monitor can help you get your best night’s sleep.
This top-of-the-line technology analyzes historical data from nearly 250 million nights of sleep to provide personalized sleep strategies in an easy-to-use app. Key features include:
Daily Sleep Report
Your sleep tracker will deliver a personalized sleep report every morning. It breaks down the time spent in different sleep cycles to better understand how to improve your sleep.
Set Sleep Goals
By setting the times you aim to go to bed and wake up, you can ensure you get a consistent night’s sleep.
White Noise
The Tempur-Pedic® Sleeptracker® smart white noise player can help you sleep soundly without disruptions.
EXPERIENCE IT YOURSELF
Why wait to reap the benefits of sleep tracking? Visit your local BedMart to get started with sleep tracking!
SHOP NOW Ready to Experience Innovative Sleep?
Check out the TEMPUR ERGO PROSMART BASE Powered By Sleeptracker®-AI
The TEMPUR ERGO PROSMART BASE can monitor your movement and breath throughout the night. It also detects when you’re snoring and adjusts the mattress automatically to help relieve your breathing.
Each day, review your personal sleep score and insights. Discover how you can experience better sleep.