7 Of The Best Sleep Tracking Gadgets In 2024, Ranked
One in three adults do not get enough sleep. Whether you're a light sleeper, can't get comfortable, or have a baby keeping you up at night, when you don't get enough sleep, your body feels it all over. A lack of sleep can lead to chronic issues like heart disease, obesity, or kidney disease. At the very least, it will leave you moody and unable to live your best life. The key to better sleep starts with knowing how you're already sleeping, and a gadget to help you sleep can put the right data in your hands.
Sleep trackers are wearable devices that monitor your body's activities while you sleep, such as your resting heart rate, REM sleep duration, and more. When you know exactly how your body is resting during the night, you can take proactive steps to improve your sleep (and feel better in the process). We relied on trusted professional reviews and consumer feedback to find seven of the best sleep-tracking gadgets to help you get a more restful sleep. Here are our top picks and why we love them.
7. Armitron Matrix
The Armitron Matrix is a smartwatch that includes sleep-tracking features. While it's not a dedicated sleep device, it has the power to monitor sleep duration and quality. It also measures health data like your heart rate, blood oxygen, and stress levels, which can give you a clearer picture of how you sleep at night.
You can download the companion app to your iPhone or Android smartphone to view your sleep data on a bigger screen. The silicone band is comfortable to wear while you sleep and easy to adjust. It's also magnetic, which helps the watch stay in place even if you're tossing and turning at night. Overall, it's a very basic sleep tracker that can give you a quick overview of your nightly sleep patterns. It's also one of the least expensive gadgets on this list at just $75. You can purchase it directly from the Armitron website.
6. Muse S Sleep Headband
The Muse S Smart Headband gives you a comfortable alternative to a smartwatch (which isn't always comfortable to wear to bed). There's no bright screen to wake you up at night and easily conforms to your head. Touted as a mindfulness device, you can use the headband while asleep or awake to better understand your mind and achieve a restful state. It offers real-time meditation coaching by reading your brainwaves and rewarding you with audio sounds based on your brain activity, heart rate, and other metrics.
Specifically for sleep tracking, the headband tracks your sleeping position (front, back, or side), quantity and quality of deep sleep, and the amount of time you spend in REM, light, and deep sleep stages. It will also give you a personalized sleep score, which will evolve the more you use the headband so you can see how your sleep is changing (ideally improving).
The biggest downside is its price. The Muse S smart headband starts at $399 for the device by itself. There's also a separate fee for the premium app subscription, which is where you'll get the most value from your purchase. The app is the hub for the data your headband collects, giving you a glimpse into your sleep habits and meditation progress. The app is free to download and includes limited features. Premium features like guided meditations may prove useful in unlocking better sleep habits.
5. Whoop Strap 4.0
If don't want to deal with a bright screen of a smartwatch or even a phone on sleep mode while you sleep, the Whoop Strap 4.0 might be worth a try. Unlike smartwatches that light up the night, the Whoop Strap is unobtrusive and screen-free. It uses a wireless battery pack for charging so you never have to take off your Whoop (which means you can keep collecting health data around the clock).
For sleep tracking, Whoop monitors all four stages of sleep, checks your respiratory rate, and calculates duration and quality of sleep. It uses this data to send you personalized recommendations on how to improve your sleep, such as what time you should go to bed, what time to wake up, or whether you got enough sleep to handle your daily activities. Cost-wise, you can get the Whoop Strap for free with a membership. Whoop gives you a few pricing options, including a free one-month trial or discounts on family or multi-year memberships.
4. Apple Watch Series 10
Apple's Series 10 Watch offers all of the functions of a smartwatch and more. The sensors are more advanced than previous generations, and the Series 10 is both larger and thinner, which may make it more comfortable for users to wear while sleeping. For sleep tracking, the watch tracks daily sleep changes so you can see when something might be off.
One of the most notable features in the Series 10 is its sleep apnea detection feature. Sleep apnea is a condition where a person stops breathing while sleeping, which can lead to health issues like hypertension, heart attack, or stroke. Most of these cases go undiagnosed. The Apple Watch Series 10 will send you an alert if it detects signs of sleep apnea so you can explore it further with your doctor. This kind of feature has been making the rounds lately on devices — the Ringconn Gen 2 has a sleep apnea tracker too.
The watch also tracks sleep patterns, time spent asleep, how much time you spend in each sleep stage, and what time you're going to sleep and waking up. You can use this data to adjust your bedtime routines and see how activities in your previous day might have impacted your sleep quality. The Series 10 retails for $399; you can also scoop up a Series 9, which also sends sleep apnea notifications, for about $100 less.
3. Withings ScanWatch 2
Where many sleep tracking gadgets fall short, the Withings ScanWatch 2 fills the gaps and then some. Many users agree this watch is comfortable for wear for a long time, including when you're sleeping. And unlike your traditional smartwatch with a bright LED screen, the Withings watch takes a more classic approach with its traditional face, and real hands. Yes, there's also a screen (albeit smaller than the watch face itself), where you can access health metrics and features.
For sleep tracking, the Withings ScanWatch 2 measures your sleep throughout deep and light stages, including how long you sleep, how many interruptions you experience, and your sleep regularity. It uses this data to calculate your sleep score, which you can track over time to see how your sleep improves. While the Withings does offer a subscription plan, you don't need a subscription to access your data. It also delivers up to 30 days of battery life on a single charge. You can order the Withings ScanWatch 2 from the retailer's website or Amazon for $349.99.
2. FitBit Inspire 3
FitBit had led the fitness wearable pack for years, and the Inspire 3 for sleep tracking is no different. With a face smaller than your average smartwatch, the watch doesn't overwhelm you with details. For sleeping, the Inspire 3 tracks your light, deep, and REM sleep and your sleeping heart rate to gauge the consistency of your sleep patterns. It also gives you a Sleep Score, which rates the quality of your sleep night after night. On the app, you can see what time you fell asleep and woke up, and whether you're meeting sleep goals. It also compares data by day, week, month, and year so you can see how your sleep habits change.
The Inspire 3 gives you a healthy battery life, which means you don't have to remember to charge it every day. Like many fitness wearables, it also includes other health metrics and features, like daily stress scores, active zone minutes, blood oxygen, and changes to your resting heart rate. Sleep is one component of your health, so combining sleep data with other metrics can help you make lifestyle changes for a healthier you. The Inspire 3 retails for $99.95 on the FitBit website or Amazon and includes six months of FitBit Premium at no cost (at the time of publishing).
1. Oura Ring 4
Saving the best for last, the Oura Ring 4 has consistently been rated as one of the best sleep tracking gadgets available. It's small, discreet, and comfortable, giving you an alternative to watch-style wearables. The ring constantly collects data from your body like blood oxygen, heart rate, movement, and more. For sleep tracking, Oura monitors the amount of time you're asleep during the night, how much REM, light, and deep sleep you receive, and how much sleep you lose to disruptions. It uses this data to give you daily Readiness and Sleep Scores so you can see if you're getting enough sleep or should adjust your bedtime routine. It can also point out areas for improvement as it learns more about your optimal sleep schedule.
With Oura, you're not just looking at data and metrics. Oura spells out for you what the data means and what you can do better. This helps remove the guesswork from finding the best sleep schedule, helping you make impactful changes to your daily life. As an added bonus, the Oura Ring is also HSA/FSA eligible to help offset out-of-pocket costs. The Oura Ring 4 starts at $349 and can be as much as $499 (depending on finish). It's a bit expensive compared to other gadgets if you're shouldering the whole cost out of pocket.
Methodology
Every gadget in this list works a little differently, but the end goal is largely the same: to help you understand your sleep habits so you can rest more peacefully at night. To do this, we examined gadgets that offered tracking across all sleep stages. We took form, comfort, and style into consideration. We also looked at the price point of each gadget (including ongoing subscription costs) and how the price compared to the features offered. Some gadgets simply give you more for your money, so it depends on how comprehensive you expect your data to be.
Most importantly, we took professional reviews and consumer feedback into account. We looked at trusted review sites as well as star ratings and reviews on the product listings to learn what real customers liked or disliked.
Keep in mind that even the best sleep-tracking gadgets aren't a silver bullet for better sleep. In fact, some experts argue that sleep-tracking gadgets can make a person feel more stressed and decrease the effectiveness of the tracker. The word "best" is highly subjective, so consider your needs and budget while exploring this list.