How the Best Sleep Tracker App Can Help You Get the Sleep You Need

Studies show that using electronics interferes with your ability to fall asleep, which is one reason over 35% of American adults don’t get enough sleep each night. Lack of sleep is serious, and the number of Americans struggling with lack of sleep have significantly higher risks of severe health problems, including the following:

• Colorectal cancer
• Dementia
• Diabetes
• Heart disease
• Hypertension

Since sleep deprivation is a serious health concern, improving your sleep is essential for your health and well-being. That’s where sleep tracker apps come in. You should begin by learning about how they work and how it helps you improve your sleep. 

Since the first sleep app launched, many companies have developed sleep tracker apps, and if you’re looking for an app to monitor your sleep cycles, you may wonder which app to use. 

Let’s explore how sleep tracker apps work, their accuracy, the benefits of using a sleep tracking app, the best sleep tracker apps available, and other things you can do to ensure you get the rest you need.

How Do Sleep Tracker Apps Work?

Sleep tracker apps monitor your movement while sleeping. Being in a deep sleep is associated with a lack of movement, which is why basic sleep tracking focuses on motion. The app concludes you’re in a deep sleep when you're still. 

Smartphone sleep-tracking apps use an accelerometer to record your movements during sleep. Placing your smartphone face down beside you when you go to bed ensures your smartphone app can record this information. 

You can also use wearable sleep tracking devices, which are electronic devices worn on your wrist or finger or clipped to your pajamas while you sleep. These devices capture more data, including blood oxygen levels, body temperature, and heart rate. 

Are Sleep Tracker Apps Accurate?

You don’t have to spend money to start monitoring your sleep trends. Your phone may already have a sleep tracker installed, and if it doesn’t, you can go to your app store and download a tracker for free. However, if you share a bed with a partner, have children who climb into bed with you at night, or have pets who sleep with you, your smartphone may not give you an accurate picture of your sleep patterns because it may record other activities. 

Wearable sleep trackers worn on your wrist, finger, or PJs tend to be more accurate because they only record your activity while sleeping. 

Although sleep tracker rings and wristbands may be more accurate, these sleep trackers provide their best estimate of your sleep cycle. Any sleep tracker may conclude you’re sleeping if you’re awake but lie still for an extended period. 

The Benefits of Using a Sleep Tracker App

Using an effective sleep tracker app offers the following benefits:

• Confirming how much sleep you get each night
• Identifying consistent periods of wakefulness
• Preventing serious health issues by improving your sleep
• Providing data needed to confirm you have sleep apnea

You can also use your app to identify factors impairing your ability to sleep. Perhaps you note that you have a more challenging time falling asleep on nights when you work out. You could change your exercise time to enjoy the benefits of exercising without interfering with your sleep.

Suppose your app notes that when your body temperature rises, you experience periods of restlessness during your sleep cycle. Since investing in new, breathable sheets can help prevent you from overheating, your app has provided valuable data you can use to inform your bedding purchases.

Shop for breathable, high-quality sheet sets.

The Best Sleep Tracker Apps

The best sleep tracker app for you may differ from the one another person prefers. You may need a wearable device if you share a bed with a partner or pets. You may favor a smartphone app if you have sensory issues that prevent you from using a wearable device. You may not want sleep headphones if you have young children who get up throughout the night, but you may favor headphones with a built-in alarm clock if you live near a busy road or work night shifts and need to sleep during the day. With these factors in mind, here are some of the best sleep tracker apps and wearable devices you can consider:

• Kokoon Nightbuds: The world’s thinnest Bluetooth earbuds have been designed specifically for side sleepers and offer unrivaled comfort compared to the competition. Plus, the clever neckband design can track sleep and automatically help you to stay asleep in real time. How? As you nod off to a favorite podcast or song, disturbance protection — in the form of intelligent white/background noise — kicks in, helping to smooth out the peaks of sound that might disturb sleep. The Kokoon Nightbuds are super slim and won’t cause any major irritation if worn all night, and unlike many true-wireless designs, you won’t lose them if you’re prone to tossing and turning in the night. Impressively, and as you snooze, they continuously monitor sleep quality using a PPG heart rate monitor and accelerometers to help you better understand your sleep patterns via the Kokoon app.

• Apple Watch: The Apple Watch sleep app is sleek, simple, and great at helping you identify trends over time while managing bedtime routines and wake-up alarms. You can set sleep goals, look back over 14 days of data, and diagnose why, for instance, you didn’t sleep well. Since the release of watchOS 8, your Apple Watch can also track your breathing rate as you sleep, giving you even greater insight into your overall health. 

• Oura Ring: Powerful, discrete, and the perfect wearable for those of us who like to wear a proper watch, the Oura Ring has all-improved sleep tracking algorithms that can accurately detect whether you're in light, deep, or REM sleep and can tell when you’re falling asleep, rather than just in bed. The continuous heart rate monitoring, SpO2 sensor, and seven temperature sensors all work together to provide you with a sleep score and flag possible issues, including illness, stress, or menstrual cycle.
• Withings Sleep Analyzer: Removing the potential for lost earbuds, annoying headbands, and uncomfortable watches, the Withings Sleep Analyzer is a thin pad packed with sensors that hide under your mattress, discreetly tracking your sleep through heart rate, breathing, and movement. It also records changes in pressure and noise during the night, and after a quick calibration via the Health Mate app, you can simply ignore it and go to bed.

Other recommended sleep trackers include the following:

• Calm
• Pillow
• Sleep Cycle

Beyond Sleep Tracking Apps: Ensuring You Get the Rest You Need

Using any sleep tracker app can help you pay more attention to your sleep habits and environment, which can help you identify things that interfere with your ability to sleep. Busy rooms and bedding can stimulate your mind and prevent you from getting to sleep, but opting for solid color sheets can help calm your mind and help you sleep.

Suppose you suspect your periods of restlessness during sleep coincide with the ends of your fitted sheet coming off the corner of your mattress. You can use your tracker to monitor your sleep cycle when using regular sheets and then switch to deep pocket sheets and use the data from your app to confirm that your sleep cycle improved. 

You can even use app data to determine the best color for your bedding. Opting for a solid comforter with a soothing tone could help you to relax when it’s time for bed. 

Busy spaces can also trigger guilt and a sense of obligation. Suppose you notice dust under your bed before you go to sleep. You may feel you have to sweep the floor before going to bed. Adding a bed skirt to your bed prevents items or dirt under your bed from distracting you so that you can rest without worrying about cleaning when you should be sleeping.

Find the perfect solid color comforter to help you get the sleep you need.

Improving Your Sleep With Sleep Tracking Apps and Southshore Fine Linens

Getting a good night’s sleep is crucial for your health and well-being. Creating an optimal sleep space and investing in quality sheet sets that stay in place while you move and don’t overstimulate your mind when trying to relax can help you create the perfect environment for rest. Using an effective sleep tracker app is an excellent way to confirm your customizing an ideal sleep space where you can fall, stay asleep, and wake to feel rested in the morning.

Sources:

Marshall, S. (2024). Sleep Statistics and Facts.

The Effects of Sleep Deprivation. (2024).

Using electronics before bed can ruin sleep. (2024).

What Happens During Sleep? (2024).