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Tuck Sleep > Sleep Products > Best Sleep Trackers – 2022 Reviews and Buyer’s Guide
Written by Tuck Staff
Best Wearable Sleep Trackers
Wearable sleep trackers often provide more than sleep data. Many are fitness trackers that record physical activities day and night. In fact, some of the best sleep tracking technology is found in smartwatches.
Virtually all wearable sleep trackers are worn around the wrist. Most are actigraphy monitors that measure movement using built-in accelerometers. Using these readings, the tracker can determine if the wearer had a restless, fitful night, or if they slept peacefully and relatively still. They also track heart rate, another indicator of one’s sleep state.
Advanced wearable sleep trackers go one step further by evaluating sleep quality based on the duration of different sleep cycle stages, as well as the sleeper’s heart rate. Many will produce graphs or visual displays that pinpoint times of the night when the wearer slept exceptionally well – or when their sleep was at its most fitful.
Wearable sleep trackers tend to have price-points that fall between $150 and $250. Although the cost of a wearable sleep tracker usually corresponds with its features and capabilities, this is not always the case. Most are backed by some sort of warranty, as well.
We’ve reviewed and tested dozens of wearable sleep trackers. Our top three picks in this category are listed below.
Best Non-Wearable Sleep Trackers
Non-wearable (or no-contact) sleep trackers are a great option for those who want to monitor their sleep activity but don’t like wearing devices.
Non-wearable trackers record sleep data using infrared technology and strips of material with movement sensors that go on top of or beneath the mattress. The sensors connect to smartphone apps, and some may also be used with Alexa and other home automation systems.
Many non-wearable trackers also monitor heart rate, though they use ballistocardiography, a non-invasive measurement of heartbeats that can be tracked without coming into contact with human skin. They can also measure respiration, another indicator of sleep quality and duration.
Most non-wearable sleep trackers, unlike wearable models, are exclusively designed to monitor sleep data, and may not be able to track daytime physical activities. As a result, non-wearable trackers tend to have lower price-points – generally $100 or less.
We’ve reviewed some of the leading non-wearable sleep trackers on the market today. Below you’ll find our top three picks.
Best Sleep Trackers Buyer's Guide
If you’ve spent any time outdoors in the past few years, chances are you’ve encountered a person wearing a fitness tracker. Fitness trackers are everywhere these days, smart wristbands that help people meet their fitness goals, eat better, and improve their overall health.
But devices like these aren’t just helpful during your waking hours. Sleep tracking functionality often goes overlooked among fitness trackers, and yet sleep is a critical part of your overall health.Without sufficient sleep, you’ll be less motivated to meet your fitness goals, have cravings for junk foods and sugar, and increase your risk of illness.
Sleep trackers, both standalone bed systems and as part of wearable fitness trackers, are powerful tools for tracking your fitness needs – both during the dayandat night.
The good news is there are dozens of sleep trackers today. That’s also the bad news. With so many sleep trackers available, it can be overwhelming to weed through your options to find the best sleep tracker for your needs.
We’ve written this guide to help you. We’ll review how sleep trackers work, common design features, and important shopping tips to consider. Then, we’ll share our top picks for the best sleep trackers of 2018.
Types of Sleep Trackers
While sleep trackers come with a wide variety of designs and features, they can typically be classified into one of two categories: wearable and non-wearable. We dive into the different varieties of wearable and non-wearable sleep trackers below:
Wearable Sleep Trackers
As noted above, wearable devices typically also serve as fitness trackers. Wearable devices are most commonly worn around the wrist as wristwatches or wristbands, but may also be worn as rings and other accessories on the body.
- Watches. To determine sleep quality, many smartwatches and wrist trackers monitor movement and heart rate throughout the night through the use of sensors. These trackers often connect to mobile apps to present graphs or visual displays of collected nighttime data, so you can review disturbances and get actionable advice for improving sleep the next morning.
- Rings. Less obtrusive than your average fitness watch, sleep tracker rings typically slip around the finger to sense body temperature, pulse, and movement as you sleep. As with watches, rings often double as fitness trackers by monitoring things like calories, movement, and heart rate during the day. And like wearable watches, rings may connect to an app to provide you with graphic visual displays of sleep metrics and personalized tips based on your patterns
- Other Wearables. As sleep technology continues to evolve, so do wearable sleep trackers. On today’s market, you can find smart eye-masks equipped with sensors that analyze and track your brainwave activity and sleep patterns while eliminating light leakage and playing soothing audio. Similarly, there are sleep headbands that monitor brain activity and use advanced algorithms to detect sleep patterns and boost periods of deep, restorative sleep in real time by playing special tones. Like other wearables, sleep eye-masks and headbands typically connect to apps to provide insight into your sleep and tips on how to improve it.
Non Wearable Sleep Trackers
Also called “no-contact” sleep trackers, non-wearable trackers are placed under mattresses, on bedding, or built into the actual mattress itself rather than worn on the body. You may prefer a non-wearable sleep tracker if you tend to find wearable technology obtrusive.
- Under Mattress. These sleep trackers are typically thin enough to slip directly under your mattress without notice, where they use sensors to track data like heart rate, respiration, snoring, body movement, and sleep stage cycles. Under-mattress sensors often beam sleep data onto compatible mobile apps to provide you with a visual representation of your sleep patterns and advice on how to improve your habits for a more restful sleep.
- Bedding and smart mattresses. You can also find sleep trackers in the form of smart pillows, mattress covers or attachable sensors—all of which may connect with apps to provide a visual representation of your sleep habits. Beyond bedding, entire “smart” mattresses have been made into sleep trackers. These smart beds may monitor key biometrics like heart rate and breathing while auto-adjusting mattress features like firmness and temperature to enhance restorative sleep during the night.
How Do Sleep Trackers Work?
There are two main kinds of sleep trackers: wearable devices that double as fitness trackers (like smartwatches or wristbands), and standalone no-contact systems that are designed to stay with your bed (typically via a thin fabric strip you place under the mattress or a cover that lies under your sheets on top of the mattress). Sleep trackers are also available as smartphone apps, but you’ll find the more advanced technology in the physical products.
At a minimum, sleep trackers track when you fall asleep, when you wake up, and how much time you spend asleep. How are they able to do this?
In the case of wearable sleep trackers, they monitor your sleep using actigraphy. Actigraphy monitors movement through the accelerometer in the wearable device. Just like the accelerometer in your smartphone, it’s able to sense when you’re moving and calculate how many steps you take. If you’re lying still for an extended period of time, as one does when you’re asleep, the accelerometer notes that lack of movement, and translates it into total sleep time.
Since contact-free sleep trackers are tied to your bed, they can’t sense when you start walking around. Instead, these devices rely on infrared technology and movement sensors in the fabric strip to determine when you wake up. They also use ballistocardiography to measure changes in your heart rate.
Many wearable sleep trackers also include heart rate tracking capability. While its primary purpose with those devices is to assess your cardio fitness level, your heart rate does lower as you sleep and changes during the different stages of sleep.
Advanced sleep trackers asses your sleep quality by revealing the amount of time you spend in each stage of sleep. Each night, we cycle through four stages of sleep, from light to deep to REM, before repeating the cycle again. Based on your total sleep time and changes in your heart rate, sleep trackers will estimate how much time you spent in each stage of sleep.
Whether sleep trackers are effective is still somewhat up for debate within the scientific community. Generally, scientists agree that sleep trackers are reasonably accurate at detecting whether you are asleep or not. However, they’re less bullish on their ability to determine the time spent in individual stages of sleep. Either way, if you want help sticking to a regular sleep schedule and ensuring you get enough sleep each night, monitoring your sleep with a sleep tracker can be a smart way to do it.
To use your sleep tracker, you simply keep wearing the device as normal when you go to bed, or, in the case of no-contact sleep tracking systems, hop into bed.
Common Design Features of Sleep Trackers
Below is an overview of the common features available with sleep trackers. If any stand out to you as especially exciting, make a note to look for that feature as you start shopping.
Advanced sleep tracking
More advanced sleep trackers offer more than just sleep time and sleep stage analysis. They may also include smart listening technology, in order to detect signs of snoring or breathing irregularities.
Contactless sleep tracking systems usually monitor your bedroom environment as well. They’ll track ambient noise from your bedroom, air quality and temperature, and darkness level. For the most restful sleep possible, you need a bedroom that’s dark, quiet, and cool. Contact-free sleep trackers can reveal whether your bedroom is set up for restful sleep, and they’ll provide tips for improvement, such as lowering the temperature.
Detailed analytics
Many sleep trackers include advanced analytics, so you can gain a better picture of your overall health. You can track your bed- and wake-times from the past few days, weeks, or months, and see how your overall sleep time is affected. Advanced sleep trackers will overlay snoring and sleep stage metrics, too. Some trackers will give you a Sleep Score based on these metrics, giving you a goal to work towards with suggestions on achieving better sleep.
With wearable sleep trackers, you can view your activity level alongside your sleep patterns, allowing you to better understand how your sleep affects your daily life, and vice versa.
Smart alarms
Because it is easier for us to wake from light sleep than deep sleep, many sleep trackers also offer “smart alarm” capabilities. You specify a time frame in the morning that you want to wake up (say between 7 and 7:30am). Then the device uses your total sleep time to make an educated guess on when, during that time frame, you’ve entered light sleep, in order to wake you up at the ideal moment (such as 7:22am).
Both wearable sleep trackers and contact-free bed systems usually offer “silent” alarm technology, waking you up through vibration instead of a noisy alarm clock.
Smartphone app
Nearly all sleep trackers come with an accompanying smartphone app. Since wearable devices have a small LED screen, and bed monitors have no screen at all, the smartphone app is an easier way to view all of your metrics.
You’ll also sync your phone with the sleep tracker via Bluetooth or a wireless connection, in order to view your analytics on the app. With wearable devices, this sync technology enables you to receive smartphone notifications, like texts and phone calls, on the device itself.
Material design
Wearable sleep trackers are designed to be comfortable to wear 24/7. They typically feature a minimal design in a variety of colors, to suit different preferences. They’ll come with adjustable wristbands in a few sizes so you get one that matches your wrist size.
However, some people may find the fabric irritating, or that the displays snag on bedding when you move during sleep, waking you up. Read online reviews before purchasing to see how other customers’ experiences are to ensure you find a good fit.
No-contact sleep trackers are usually made from a thin strip, fabric pad, or thin cover that lies on your mattress.
Battery life
Contact-free sleep trackers must stay plugged into the wall in order to work, although some may also offer USB charging.
Wearable sleep trackers boast long battery lives, lasting several days. This way, you can take it with you on long trips, forget your charger, and not be out of luck. However, you will need to take it off periodically in order to let it charge. Most people do this while they shower or get ready in the morning.
Important Tips for Sleep Tracker Shoppers
Before you shop for a sleep tracker, review the following questions. Your answers will narrow your search significantly.
- Which kind of sleep tracker do you want? If you’ll find it uncomfortable to sleep wearing a wristband at night, you’ll be better served with a sleep tracker designed to work with your mattress.
- Do you want to track more than just sleep? If you’re interested in tracking your activity level, nutrition, and more, a dual fitness/sleep wearable is the right choice.
- What’s your budget? Depending on the type and model, the price of a sleep tracker can range from $50 to $300. The more features and analytics included, the higher the price tag. Contact-free sleep tracking systems tend to be more expensive than wearable sleep trackers.
- What kind of phone do you have? Your sleep tracker won’t do you much good if you can’t actually see what it’s tracking. Most high-quality sleep trackers have apps for both iOS and Android, but double-check to make sure your phone is compatible before buying.
- Do you like the app? Speaking of the app, check to see if you actually like how it works, as you’ll be using it often to view your analytics and get sleep tips. Watch preview videos on the manufacturer’s website, look at screenshots in the app store, and read the online reviews .
- How do I clean my sleep tracker? With contactless sleep trackers, you can typically wipe down the fabric with a damp cloth and let it dry before placing it back on your mattress. If the sensor lives within a removable fabric cover, that cover may be machine washable, provided you remove the sensor first and unplug it. Even with waterproof sleep tracker wearables, most manufacturers recommend a quick rinse with a soap-free cleanser after you’ve worn it while sweating, or wearing heavy lotion or sunscreen.
- What color and size do you want? You’ll be wearing your sleep tracker if you choose one that’s part of a fitness tracker, so make sure you like how it looks! Typically they’re available in a variety of fashionable colors and different band sizes, so you can choose one that looks good on your wrist.
