Fitness trackers are all the rage these days. Loaded with features that keep tabs on your heart rate, distance covered, time spent exercising vs time spent idle, etc, it’s no surprise that a wide range of people now uses these wearables as an integral part of their active lifestyle.
There is one feature becoming more and more popular that many people don’t realize is essential to a healthy body- sleep tracking!
Many of the major fitness trackers are also capable of tracking sleep. Some are more advanced than others but even the more basic ones can give you vital insight into your bedtime.
Whether you’re just curious about how well you’ve been sleeping or are trying to figure out why you’ve been waking up tired, here are 3 trackers that will give you info on your sleeping habits.
Jawbone UP3
Jawbone has four different bands available, with their UP3 model being one of their most popular. This brand has ranked very highly for its fitness tracking capabilities but also has great sleep
tracking features.
If you prefer the look of a sleek, almost jewelry-like wearable, the UP3 will instantly catch your interest.
Details & Features:
- 8 color options – Black Twist, Ruby Cross, Silver Cross, Sand Twist, Teal Cross, Indigo Twist, Black Gold Twist & Twilight Cross
- Bluetooth 4.0 compatible
- Bioimpedance analysis of heart rate, respiration and GSR
- Uses LED light for notifications
- Band made of hypoallergenic rubber
- Splash-proof
- 7 day battery life
- Complete activity tracking including pace, distance, steps, intensity, calories burned, etc
- Built-in virtual coach to keep you on track
- Informs you of heart health, including Active, Resting and Passive heart rate
- On the go food logging to keep your diet on point
- Idle Alert reminds you to spend some time being active
- Ability to set silent alarms
- Advanced sleep tracking measures sleep type, time spent asleep and sleep advice
The UP3 has excellent all-around sleep tracking abilities. The band’s technology has Automatic Sleep Detection so the device will begin tracking sleep as soon as your body has gone into a state of rest. There are 3 stages of sleep- Light, Deep and REM. The UP3 will track how long you’ve slept in
each stage.
Goal setting is an integral part of the UP3, with sleep goals available as well. The UP3 dashboard on your computer or phone app will show whether you’ve met your sleep goal.
This dashboard will also show you all sleep data, like time spent asleep, how long you were in Light/Deep/REM sleep, heart rate while asleep and more. You can even find out how long it took you to fall asleep and how many times you woke up while asleep, such as when you shifted around in
your sleep.
This band also comes in handy for naps since you can manually turn on the sleep button. Naps can be an important part of overall health and being able to see how long it took you to fall asleep as well as how restful the nap was is very helpful.
Misfit Shine
The idea behind the Misfit brand name is obvious when you see the way this device looks. While the Shine tracker is able to do pretty much everything any other tracker can do, its design certainly sets it apart from the rest. You can wear it as a bracelet, on your ankle or clip it to your jacket.
If versatility and uniqueness are important to you, this unusual device might be your best choice for keeping track of your sleep patterns.
Details & Features:
- 9 color options – Grey, Jet, Topaz, Champagne, Storm, Coral, Wine, Sea Glass and Coca Cola Red
- Extremely durable aluminum tracker disc that is lightweight
- The battery life of up to 6 months + one month of data collection capacity
- Display-less design with LED lights for time & notifications
- Compatible with iOS and android systems
- The activity tracker is exercise-specific for cycling, swimming, running or sports-specific for tennis, soccer and more
- Sleep trackers show light and deep sleep time, sleep goals, and silent alarms for a peaceful morning
- Works with companion gadget Beddit
The original Misfit Shine has great basic sleep features, such as time tracking and goal-setting. However, where the Shine really does shine is with the Misfit Beddit Sleep System. This additional device is sold separately but an absolute must for those that need to track their sleep habits as accurately
as possible.
The Misfit Beddit Sleep System is a sensor pad that sits directly on your mattress, under a cover sheet. This sensor will keep track of your sleeping cycles based on various signals from your body, such as your breathing, heart rate, movement and even sounds like snoring. Even more impressive is that you don’t need to wear your Shine band while sleeping if you have the Beddit.
Even on it’s own the Shine is really an impressive device for sleep tracking, but for a complete experience, the Shine + Beddit blows the competition out of the water.
Fitbit Charge
Fitbit is one of the best-known fitness tracker brands, so it’s no surprise that many of their trackers can also handle sleep. The Fitbit Charge is a very well-liked model that is ideal for people who rely heavily on their smartphones since the Fitbit app is easily one of the best dashboards.
Details & Features:
- 4 color options – Black, Slate, Burgundy and Blue
- Fitness tracking covers steps, distance, active & hourly time, floors climbed and more
- Syncs with smartphone so you get caller ID and other notifications right on the wristband
- App allows for diet tracking, community connection, virtual badges for achievements and more
- Sleep tracking features include automatic sleep state recognition, silent alarms, and sleep type
- Battery life of up to 10 days
Similar to other sleep devices, the Charge can tell when you’ve gone to sleep and will automatically begin tracking. However, unlike other devices, the Charge has a few differences that set it apart. One difference is that there are two sensitivity modes- Normal or Sensitive.
The Normal mode will track any significant changes in your sleep, such as rolling over, while the Sensitive mode will essentially track every little change in your sleep. The Sensitive mode is ideal for people who have sleep disorders or want all information of their sleep pattern just for curiosity.
Once in sleep mode, the device will be able to tell when your body has gone from a state of restful sleep to movement while asleep. The device and technology is smart enough to be able to tell when you’ve moved so much that you were awakened from your slumber, even if you weren’t conscious of it.
The app will also give you a sleep efficiency rating after every night’s sleep, which is calculated from time spent asleep, time spent asleep
but restless and time you moved enough that you woke up during sleep.
The Charge has a little bit of everything and is ideal for those that want a complete experience from their tracker.
Twenty five years of the average adult lifespan is spent asleep. Sleep may seem just like any other part of life but making an effort to not only get enough rest, but truly peaceful rest, can greatly improve your overall health and wellbeing. While a sleep tracker alone isn’t going to make you sleep better, it will give you insight into how you sleep now and show you where you can improve.
Other great alternatives for Sleep Tracking include
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- Best Prime Day Fitness Tracker Deals – Fitbit Deals, Garmin Deals, Moov Deals, and More! – October 6, 2020
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