The best tech for sleep tracking
Updated
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Getting a good night's sleep can be the difference between you having a good day or a great day, it can change your attitude during the day and is one of the key things we can all control that influences our well-being day to day.
The question is, how do you know you're getting good sleep or not?
Of course, most of us know how much sleep we got the night before because we know when we went to bed and when we woke up. But even with that simple metric of time, are you able to chart that data against your mood and other health metrics? Not easily, unless you look at some of the amazing technology around us that can do this and much much more for you.
NOTE: Prices are accurate at time of publishing.
Smartwatches
Let's start with smartwatches, something a lot of people might have, or perhaps you've been looking for a reason to get one that will tip you over the edge and give you the confidence to make the purchase.
There are many smartwatches on the market but it's hard to go past the two biggest brands, Apple and Samsung.
Made for owners of those same brand smartphones, both companies have upgraded the capabilities of their smartwatches over recent years to have a new and strong focus on sleep.
Apple Watch Series 10
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Apple's latest Series 10 Apple Watch along with the larger Apple Watch Ultra have the most advanced sensor technology, but an Apple Watch Series 8 or later can do most of the functions, including wrist temperature, that feed into the new Vitals app on Apple Watch OS11.
The Vitals app analyses your sleep over time, and gives a more holistic view of your overnight health metrics, bringing together heart rate, breathing metrics, temperature and duration of sleep to give you a "score" and some additional info to help you understand your sleep patterns.
For an iPhone user, it's a game-changer.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 7
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For Samsung phone owners, the latest Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 has many similar metrics, bringing together movement during sleep, latency of sleep, and heart rate that all feed into what they call an "AI-powered sleep analysis".
With all that data, you get a daily Sleep Score between 1 and 100, as well as insights into your sleep stages and sleep consistency over time.
You will be assigned a "sleep animal" that best represents your sleep patterns and offers personalised coaching to improve your sleep quality.
Overseas, there has been approval for additional features on both Samsung and Apple to detect Sleep Apnea, but those are not yet approved in Australia.
Withings ScanWatch
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If you're looking for a different brand, or don't have a phone compatible with the others, then I've always loved the Withings ScanWatch range of smartwatches.
These look like a traditional analogue watch because they still have a dial and hands, but under the hood, they are advanced smartwatches that can also detect your sleep patterns.
My personal favourite is the ScanWatch Nova or ScanWatch Horizon as they look like a classic dress watch, hiding some amazing features.
Smart Rings (so you don't have to wear a watch to bed!)
The introduction of smart rings into the market has been a game-changer for people (like me) who don't want to wear a watch to bed. Particularly because smartwatches need to be charged quite often and bedtime is often the best time to do that.
Samsung turned the spotlight on this market late last year with the release of the Samsung Galaxy Ring in Australia.
Samsung Galaxy Ring
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Just for clarity, this is a ring, you wear on your finger, it looks like any other ring, weighs the same as any other ring but it's able to monitor your steps and heart rate during the day, and your sleep at night. Remarkable.
At $699 it's not cheap, and you need to buy the ring sizing kit first – the cost of which is refunded after you buy an actual ring, because, of course, you need to know what size to wear.
Importantly though, you need to wear the sizing ring for a few days, decide on which finger you'll wear it and how comfortable it is.
Once that's done, pick a size and off you go.
Your Galaxy Ring will last 6-7 days on a single charge, and charges easily in a sleek and included case.
The Samsung Galaxy Ring will report all your key sleep metrics including cycles of sleep, duration and heart rate all within the Samsung Health app – but it's only for Samsung smartphone users.
Kogan Aura Ring
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I was extremely sceptical of a cheaper version of a Smart Ring from Kogan – but figured, if it's out there, it's worth a try.
Let me tell you, it's amazing.
I bought the silver one, and its finish is more chrome-like than Samsung's, and the size and weight are hard to differentiate. It does not come with a charging case like the Samsung Galaxy Ring but there is one available at an extra cost. I'd recommend it for simplicity.
What I was most impressed with here was compatibility, so this Aura ring from Kogan has an app called QRing, which works on iPhone or Android, it has a great design, a good representation of data and gives you a sleep score each night as well as details of that sleep like duration, heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and sleep stages.
Fantastic value, and possibly the perfect sleep-tracking device.
Set and forget
Withings Sleep Analyser
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For those who want a set-and-forget solution, I've sworn by the Withings Sleep Analyser for years now. I change phones a lot, so apps and linking devices can be a challenge, not to mention forgetting to charge your smart sleep device like a watch or ring.
The Withings Sleep Analyser goes under your mattress, not under your sheets, under the mattress on the bed-boards or base.
It's plugged into USB power and then, just works. All its data is uploaded to a secure Withings Health cloud for you to see in an app or online.
Critically, it is medically certified to detect sleep apnea.
You get a daily sleep score and a colour rating (green, yellow, red) which means you can look at a glance at a whole month and get a sense of how you're doing.
Plus you get information about how long it took you to get to sleep, how long you slept, the depth of sleep, interruptions, heart rate, snoring and sleep apnea.
And you don't have to do a thing, ever. Just lay down and sleep.
For under $200, it's amazing value.
The ultimate sleep gadget?
Eight Sleep Pod 4
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Eight Sleep has been doing a lot of online marketing so you may have seen this one.
It's a sleep solution, it's not cheap either. Thousands of dollars for a mattress cover?
This (looks like an old tower computer) which sits near the bed and regulates the whole system. Water is at a temperature to suit your sleep needs.
For those sharing a bed, each side can be a different temperature, allowing two people to get a perfect night's sleep even if their bodies react to different temperatures differently.
You then get complete sleep tracking thanks to sensors in the pod, including sleep stages, heart rate and more.
And you'll never miss an alarm, the Eight Sleep can wake you via slow temperature changes as well as vibration on the mattress.
Too hot? In a relaxed motion just tap your hand on the side of the mattress to adjust the temperature – no smartphone needed.
This is a game-changer, and buying Eight Sleep means you are really, really taking your sleep seriously.
Oh and if you really want to take it to the next level, their "Ultra" version also has a bed base that can move to support you and move you when you snore too.
READ MORE: An iPhone user's honest thoughts on the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra
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