Welcome to the 21st century where our social media is tracking our habits, our watches count our daily steps, and various gadgets monitor our every single move we make while sleeping. Next thing you know, cars will be self-driving and we won’t even need to touch the steering wheel!
Oh wait...
In all seriousness, gadgets have made our life easier in many regards, especially pertaining to our health. Sleep trackers surged into 2019 and aren’t showing any signs of slowing down in the new decade. Why? We live in an era where hustling is the norm and well-earned rest is a coveted thing. Sleep trackers quantify the data we cannot see while sleeping, and help us double-down on this uber important period of recovery.
But, there are also a million options out there these days. Here are four of our favorite sleep trackers in 2020.
If you’re looking for full-on insight into what is happening while you sleep, the Oura Ring has you covered. The ring tracks a variety of features like sleep efficiency, deep sleep, body temperature, respiratory rate, and even calories burned and steps taken during the day. And, it helps you decide whether you’re ready to rumble—or snooze—with the Readiness Score. The Readiness Score is a general body assessment that uses metrics to help you decide if you’re up for a day of excitement, or if you should focus on recovery and rest. Battery life is roughly one week, but it’s also the priciest of the group.
Fitbit is a pioneer of wearable fitness devices, and the Versa 2 is another feather in the brand’s cap. Worn like a watch, the Versa 2 is reliable and accurate, so you don’t have to worry about fake data. Using the app, wearers can view their sleep breakdown in four stages: awake, light, deep, and REM. It also shows you how long you spend in each stage, so you can easily see if you’re logging more almost-awake hours than quality REM cycles. Bonus: Since it’s a Fitbit, the Versa 2 is a comprehensive activity tracker too. The six-days of batter life gives you plenty of time to monitor calories burned, heart rate, and cardio fitness.
If apps are more your thing, take a gander at the Pillow Automatic, because here’s the highlight: It’s free. Well, kinda. If you already own an Apple Watch, this app is free and easy to use with your existing device. The catch: You have to sleep with your watch on. If you don’t, this app will track your sleep cycles with a series of detailed graphs so you can observe patterns over time. It also uses a “smart alarm” that will wake you up at the lightest sleep stage so you awake refreshed rather than groggy.
Maybe you don’t want to wear a ring or a bracelet to bed? Beautyrest has you covered. Instead of jewelry, you place sensors between your mattress and boxspring, so you won’t feel a thing. Almost by magic, the sensors know when you black out and analyze your respiration, heart rate, and unique sleep behaviors. Over time, this sorcery begins to identify your habits and offers you sleep coaching with individual tips to better your beauty rest. Wild, right?