Sleep tech runs the gamut from trackers and apps to expensive smart beds, but it doesn’t all address the same issues. Are you trying to see how your sleep impacts your athletic performance? Hoping to mask the sound of a snoring partner? Before you pull out your wallet, you should know how a gadget will help you achieve your specific sleep goals.
One factor to keep in mind is how well a device fits your lifestyle. There’s no point in wrist-based sleep trackers if you wake up in the middle of the night to take them off. If you can’t wear a watch, earbuds, or a ring to bed, you may want to look into non-invasive options like the Withings Sleep or the Google Nest Hub.
a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin [&>a]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-white”>What we’re looking for
- Performance: A good sleep tech gadget doesn’t try to do too much at once. It ought to be excellent at addressing the main issue it’s trying to solve. The rest is gravy.
- Value: Sleep tech can be expensive. If you’re going to shell out, the gadget should make you think “Hell freakin’ yeah, this was totally worth it!”
- Comfort: You can’t sleep well if you’re not comfy. Good sleep tech shouldn’t disturb your sleep. Is a tracker too bulky to be useful? Does a smart mattress cover feel lumpy?
- Context: Data is useless without context. If it’s a sleep tracker, how well does it present your sleep data? Will you learn anything valuable, or is it a mess of graphs that don’t make sense?
- Battery Life: A sleep gadget that can’t last through the night ain’t that helpful. You should be confident the device can last a whole night without dying.
Excellent battery life will also make sleep tracking a lot more convenient. It’s not great if a device can’t reliably last through the night. This is why smartwatches don’t always make the best sleep trackers. But if you’ve got your heart set on using a smartwatch, you’ve got to make peace with adjusting your charging schedule. Fast charging can make this less painful, but if sleep tracking is a huge priority, you might be better off with one of the alternative devices in this buying guide.
Also, take sleep tracking accuracy with a grain of salt. Sleep tech has come a long way in just a few short years, but these aren’t medical devices. Gadgets like the Withings ScanWatch have FDA clearance for monitoring sleep disturbances, but that doesn’t mean they can diagnose you with sleep apnea. No matter how advanced the sensors are, or how many features a product may boast, trackers are meant to help spot when something’s off. Nothing more.
Taking all that into consideration, I’ve compiled these recommendations based on how well a sleep gadget addresses the problems it’s trying to fix. We also considered comfort, accuracy, battery life, and whether it provides good context for its data.
The $299 Oura Ring isn’t a fitness tracker that happens to track sleep. It’s a sleep tracker that happens to track some fitness metrics. The ring has seven temperature sensors, a green LED sensor for measuring heart rate, and red and infrared LEDs to measure blood oxygen. That’s not including the battery or accelerometers.
All these sensors provide a holistic look at your recovery. Each morning, you’re given a report on your readiness, sleep quality, and activity goals for the day. These reports tell you how your sleep impacts your daily ability to take on stress, and whether you should take it easy or challenge yourself. The app also includes wellness features like guided meditations and white noise to help you fall asleep. Oura has also recently added a new chronotype and body clock feature that helps you optimize your sleep schedule based on whether you’re naturally an early riser or a night owl. If you use the Natural Cycles app for digital birth control or fertility planning, it can be used in lieu of a basal body thermometer as well.
a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge
Of all the sleep gadgets I’ve tested, the Oura Ring has the best context for its data, which it presents in an intuitive way. Its version of blood oxygen monitoring is also preferable to the random spot checks found on devices like the Apple Watch and Samsung Galaxy Watch 5. Instead, the Oura Ring passively monitors your blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) levels during sleep and encourages you to check your baseline over a long period of time. It’s not exciting, but it’s a more useful measure for the average person. The Oura is also one of the few devices to include a recovery mode. If you’re sick or injured, you can hit pause on your activity goals until you’re back to full health.
But the main appeal here is the form factor: A ring is infinitely more comfortable than a watch. And although it’s not the most fashionable, it’s nondescript enough to wear to any event. Plus, you get up to a week on a single charge. (Though in my testing, I got four to five days. Enabling SpO2 monitoring will also drain battery.)
The only thing I don’t love is that it now comes with a $6 monthly subscription. However, if you’re truly passionate about monitoring your sleep and willing to commit long-term, it’s well worth the price.
Read my review of the Oura Ring (third-gen)
The $349.99 Google Pixel Watch might seem like an odd choice, given that it’s a first-gen smartwatch. And while it’s true there are some growing pains, the Pixel Watch gets you access to Fitbit’s sleep tracking platform.
Fitbit might be floundering a bit these days, but it was early to sleep tracking and it shows. Of course, you get sleep stages, but you can also view how your sleep compares to other people of your age and sex. Like the Oura Ring, it eschews SpO2 spot checks for passive overnight tracking (via the Estimated Oxygen Variation metric) and also provides a Daily Readiness Score based on your long-term activity and sleep quality. Since launch, Google also added Fitbit’s Sleep Profile feature to the Pixel Watch. After 14 days of sleep data in a month, the following month you’ll be assigned a cute sleep animal based on your sleep habits. The idea is to help you better understand your circadian rhythms and how it impacts sleep. Fitbit Premium subscribers also get access to a ton of wellness content, if that’s your thing. Apple and Samsung are still catching up here in terms of accuracy, battery life, and the level of detail in their sleep metrics.
a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Compared to the Oura Ring, you’re going to get better exercise-tracking capabilities with the Pixel Watch’s built-in GPS. Although Oura has beefed up its exercise tracking, it’s still barebones. And the Pixel Watch is handier in day-to-day life because you can set silent alarms, use it for contactless payments, and receive notifications. It also supports Google Assistant.
If you’re wary of Google, or just aren’t too happy with Fitbit as a whole these days, then the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 is a good option for Android users. Samsung’s accuracy isn’t quite as good, but the company’s fleshed out its advanced sleep features in the past year. It too has a sleep profile feature that’s similar to Fitbit’s, though it arguably has a better selection of cartoon animals. (The Galaxy Watch 5 said I was a cautious deer but spiritually, I identify as a nervous penguin.)
For iOS users, the Apple Watch is the best smartwatch overall but its native sleep-tracking features have a long way to go. If you’re set on having an Apple Watch, they’ll get you the basics and you can set sleep schedules that sync with your phone’s Focus modes. However, if you want great sleep tracking and are dead set on an Apple Watch, you’re better off downloading a third-party sleep app or getting one of the other options in this buying guide.
Read my review of the Google Pixel Watch
As far as recovery goes, no sleep tech gadget goes the extra mile for athletes quite like Whoop. It primarily tracks your body’s ability to take on cardiovascular strain, but its take on sleep is unique. Instead of focusing on sleep quality, it zeroes in on your sleep debt and whether the sleep you’re getting is enough to fuel your training.
If you’re into scrutinizing how certain factors impact your sleep, Whoop is far ahead of the competition. You can log how anything from the COVID-19 vaccine to magnesium supplements affects your sleep. It’s not a necessary feature, but it’s a bonus if sleep journaling is important to you.
Unlike with most modern wearables, you’ll get next to nothing in the way of notifications or smart features. However, that also means it’s got good battery life. The Whoop 4.0 also comes with a portable battery pack that slides onto the tracker itself. The result is you can go several days without ever having to take the tracker off. Whoop also gives you flexible options for wearing the device. For example, you can opt to wear it on your bicep, in your leggings, or even in a sports bra.
a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge
That said, this is a niche product best suited for athletes who engage in intensive cardio sports. (It’s not the best at tracking strain from activities like strength training.) The device costs nothing, but the $30 monthly subscription is steep. Whoop recently discounted its prices for annual and 24-month memberships, but if you’re a casual athlete, your money is still better spent elsewhere. But if you are someone who’s always training for an event or prone to overtraining, the Whoop 4.0 can get you that extra edge.
If this option is too pricy — or a minimum 12-month membership isn’t appealing — then you may want to consider a Garmin tracker or smartwatch. Like Whoop, you’ll get long battery life coupled with robust training features that factor in your sleep quality when determining your recovery. Garmin doesn’t have the best sleep stage accuracy, but the fitness insights make up for it. Especially if your real goal in improving sleep is to enhance athletic performance. There are dozens of Garmins to pick from, but if you’re on a budget, we really like the $179.99 Vivomove Sport or the $249.99 Venu Sq 2. The $449.99 Forerunner 265S is also another excellent midrange option for runners or triathletes.
$409
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