Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the most important factors in being both healthy and happy. So, if you are feeling tired lately or not getting enough shut eye, a sleep tracker might be exactly what you need.
But what are sleep trackers and how do they work? They come in different shapes and sizes — from the familiar wearables like smartwatches and fitness bands, to bed stand gadgets and pads you put under your mattress. Wearables usually track movement and heart rate, while some bed stand sleep trackers use echolocation to detect movement and breathing. Overtime, the collected data gives you an insight into how much you sleep, how long you are in deep, light or REM sleep, how many times you wake up a night, and if your breathing and heart rate is normal. From there, you can adjust your habits and take measures to improve your sleep schedule.
Of course, everyone has different needs. This is why we’ve picked a wide range of devices. So, without further ado, here are the best sleep trackers you can currently buy:
Best sleep trackers:
Editor’s note: We will update this list as new wearables and dedicated sleep trackers launch.
1. The Fitbit family
Fitbit is the current wearables market leader and deservedly so. The brand offers affordable products packed full of useful features. This is why we have included a combined category that features multiple Fitbit products. They not only make excellent fitness trackers, but sleep trackers too.
This is thanks to the Sleep Stages feature found on the companion app. It allows you to see how much time you’ve spent in each sleep stage — light, deep and REM. Of course, that information might not be terribly beneficial by itself, but thanks to the Sleep Insights option you can get tips on how to improve your sleep habits. You also receive access to statistics which let you compare your results with people from similar demographics.
The Inspire HR is one of most accurate wearable sleep trackers.
But which Fitbit should you pick? If you want a slim and versatile smart band, you can’t go wrong with the Inspire HR. It is a particularly good choice thanks to its battery life of up to five days and 24-hour heart rate tracking. Heart rate data is saved at one-second intervals when on the move and one-seconds at all other times, making the Inspire HR very accurate. It is also one of the cheapest offerings, starting at around $99.
If you want to go a bit more high tech, on the other hand, the Charge 3 is the brand’s most advanced tracker to date. It’s not much bulkier than the Inspire HR and it offers better battery life, automatic exercise recognition and smartphone notifications. And if you want a smartwatch that also doubles as a sleep tracker, the Fitbit Ionic is another great choice that won’t break the bank. It offers all the usual features plus storing and playing music during workouts. It also works with wireless headphones and has a battery life of up to five days if GPS is not in use.
Finally, you should have a look at the Fitbit Versa 2. It is one of the brand’s latest devices. It is a dedicated health and fitness smartwatch, which promises even better sleep insights combined with automatic activity and sleep tracking. It is not as slim as the Inspire HR and some others, but it definitely has the most eye-catching design without sacrificing features.
2. Xiaomi Mi Band 4
Xiaomi’s wearables have been gaining a lot of traction as of late, thanks to their low prices and excellent features. The Mi Band 4 is the company’s latest and the greatest smart band addition. It has improved onto its predecessor and it’s by far the best choice in its price range.
How does it fare as a sleep tracker? It is slim and light enough to fit the bill. However, the Mi Band 3 had some known issues. Users reported that the older band did not record them waking up unless they got up and walked out of bed. This problem seems to have been fixed on the Mi Band 4. Just like the Fitbit Inspire HR, the new Mi Band offers 24/7 heart rate monitoring and gives you a sleep score based on how much time you spend in deep, light and REM sleep. It also provides a sleep quality analysis, letting you know if you went to bed too late and more. However, its data is a bit more limited.
The Mi Fit app itself is not perfect either. Your activity history is buried in the multiple menus instead of having a separate tab. However, you have the freedom to use other compatible apps like Google Fit and Sleep as Android.
But the Mi Band 4 does have one serious advantage over other fitness trackers — it has a battery life of up to 20 days. It covers all the fitness basics too — step tracking, calories burned and has a connected GPS. The Mi Band 4 can even work as a smartwatch. You can receive call, text and email notifications, which can be quite useful even if you cannot reply through the band itself. This, combined with its low price, make it the best all-around choice.
3. Samsung Galaxy Fit
Samsung has a variety of wearable offerings, but your best choice for fitness and sleep tracking is the Samsung Galaxy Fit. It is a slim but powerful band that packs many features with up to seven days of battery life to boot. And as almost any Samsung product, the Galaxy Fit comes with an excellent AMOLED display that will spare your eyes if you wake up in the middle of the night.
In terms of sleep tracking, the Samsung Health app used with the fitness band is among the best. In the sleep section, you will find the information on how much time you spent in each sleep stage, but also total time awake, total time asleep, calories burned during the night, sleep trends over time, averages and consistency targets. All of this data combined gives you a clear picture of your sleeping habits and helps you improve them.
Here’s how to sync your Samsung Health Data with Google Fit
However, since the Galaxy Fit uses an optical heart rate sensor, the device is not always 100% accurate. This means its sleep tracking data might have some gaps too. While that is true of many wearables, Samsung definitely has room for improvement compared to the competition. Nevertheless, the Galaxy Fit does a good job and covers more than the fitness basics — it keeps track of steps taken, distance traveled, active time and even stress. It also comes with some smartwatch features — you can receive notifications from any app installed on your phone and reply with preset responses. So, while the Galaxy Fit is not perfect, it is still a great choice for sleep tracking even with its slightly higher price.
4. Oura Ring 2
If a fitness band is too uncomfortable for you no matter how slim or light it is, a ring might be the best choice. The Oura Ring 2 is a ring tracker that is both small and comfortable. Unlike its bulky Kickstarter predecessor, it offers a multitude of sensors without looking any different than a regular piece of jewelry.
It offers an infrared heart rate monitor, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and not one, but three temperature sensors. That allows the Oura Ring 2 to measure changes in your skin color, detect when you fall asleep and of course how much time you spend in each sleep stage. It is one of the most accurate sleep trackers out there, although even the Oura Ring 2 sometimes struggles with daytime naps. However, the information you get on the companion app is plentiful. You not only see how much you’ve slept, but how restorative your rest was, what your resting heart rate was throughout the night, how many times you’ve woken up and more.
The Oura Ring 2 provides some of the most detailed sleep tracking data.
The inclusion of a temperature sensor is particularly useful, since it tracks your body temperature during the night. This can help you see if you rest better at lower or higher temperatures and adjust your AC accordingly.
The Oura Ring 2 comes in matte black, glossy black, rose gold and chrome and it looks a lot like a wedding band. The negatives are few and far between and there really is no better choice for a discreet but powerful sleep tracking.
5. Withings Sleep
Not all sleep trackers come in the form of smart bands or rings. If you want a specialized sleep tracking device that you don’t have to put on your wrist or finger, look no further than Withings Sleep (formerly Nokia Sleep). This smart pad can be placed under your mattress to track your sleeping patterns without sacrificing comfort.
Withings Sleep offers some features that can't be found on wearables.
As expected, it collects data throughout the night and displays it on the companion app for you in the morning. The pad tracks all the basics — sleep duration in each phase, interruptions and heart rate. However, it offers some extras you won’t find on a wearable sleep tracker. The Withings Sleep has a built-in microphone that can help detect breathing disturbance and identify signs of chronic conditions such as sleep apnea.
The app also gives a lot of detailed information, including a sleep score and tips on how to improve your sleeping habits. But one of the best things about Withings Sleep is that it’s a smart home gadget. It’s compatible with Alexa, allowing to you can set up routines such as turning off the lights and adjusting the thermostat when you go to bed without lifting a finger.
Nevertheless, the Withings Sleep is not perfect. It is quite accurate, but if you spend a lot of time on your phone in bed before falling asleep, the device might count this towards your sleeping time. But if you want a dedicated and comfortable sleep tracker, it still should be one of your top picks.
6. SleepScore Max
If you need more information on the environmental factors that might be disturbing your rest, many sleep trackers won’t do. But SleepScore Max is designed exactly for this purpose. This bed stand device uses echolocation to track breathing patterns, providing amazing accuracy without disturbing you in any way.
Using l0w-energy radio waves, it scans your body 16 times per second and detects even the slightest movement. Just like the other trackers on the list, the SleepScore Max also detects sleep stages and provides you with sleep insights and an overall sleep score. But as mentioned, the environmental sensors are the feature that sets it apart.
The SleepScore Max can detect light and noise in your room.
They can detect noise, light and room temperature. Combined with the machine learning algorithm on the companion app, you get powerful insights into what may be preventing you from getting enough rest. You can even manually enter additional data such as diet, coffee and alcohol intake for better results.
However, the SleepScore Max is not without its downsides. It needs to be paired to your smartphone via Bluetooth to function. It doesn’t automatically track sleep either — you need to remember to start it via the app manually. But these are minor downsides, considering how accurate the device is. It might be pricier than others on the list, but it is still one of the best sleep trackers you can buy.
These are our picks for the best sleep trackers! We will be sure to update the list as new and interesting devices launch.
