Sleep tracking is one of the most essential fitness metrics to monitor. It can help maximize your workouts, improve recovery, and enhance your quality of life. Simply put, it’s the best way to maintain a healthy mind and body.
Nowadays, it’s easy to find sleep-measuring tools in various form factors, including the traditional fitness tracker or smartwatch. These devices use multiple sensors to quantify your sleep quality, often providing information to improve the quality of your sleep, not just a simple sleep score. With that in mind, here are some of the best sleep trackers to help improve your downtime.
Our favorite sleep trackers
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
More than just for workouts
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 has plenty of features, but one that it offers with consistency is good sleep tracking. Not only will it track sleep quality, but it also offers several metrics and sleep coaching to help improve how well your slumber is each night.
- Better sleep-tracking features
- Lightweight and comfortable
- Improving app support
- Shorter battery life
- Optimized more for Samsung phones
- Mild improvements over last gen
Samsung has been chipping away at better sleep tracking for years with its smartwatches, and the Galaxy Watch 6 attempts to take that to a more comprehensive approach. You do get a SpO2 sensor to measure blood oxygen, including a new skin temperature sensor to see if you’re running hotter or colder than usual. The skin temperature helps track fluctuations while asleep, which also plays a role in tracking menstrual cycles for women.
The watch can even detect snoring, which may be a more impactful feature for your partner if you’re keeping them up every night. A Sleep Score on the Samsung Health app lays it all out, and if necessary, you can always go with a month-long sleep coaching program to gauge just how much rest you’re actually getting. The biggest change with the Watch 6 is the sleep coaching that assigns an animal based on your sleep habits, points out sleep stages, and provides some feedback on what you can change to help with sleep quality. There’s even a new Samsung watch face that includes sleep coaching on it.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 review: Bright but never bold
Call it boring, but it’s still the best Android smartwatch, hands down
It also doesn’t hurt that the watch is pretty comfortable to wear while you’re passed out all night. You can even change the strap to something less constricting or chafing if that works for you. Just make sure to keep the battery charged before you hit the sack, so tracking continues unabated.
Withings Sleep Tracking Mat
Just hide it under your mattress
The Withings Sleep Tracking Mat is a powered mat you slide under your mattress, aligned with where you sleep on the bed to track how well you sleep on any given night. Just plug it into an outlet nearby, pair it with your phone, and it will sense breathing patterns and heart rate while you’re in dreamland.
- You don’t have to wear anything
- Easy to set up
- Notices breathing issues during sleep
- No blood oxygen readings
- Does little beyond just sleep tracking
The mere fact the Withings Sleep Tracking Mat lies underneath your mattress says a lot about what it can track while you’re passed out. It will cover the basics, like sleep quality, heart rate, snoring, sleep cycles, and more. Digging deeper, it monitors breathing patterns to look for any abnormalities, like sleep apnea, to give you a sense of how good or poor your slumber truly is. That it notices anything related to breathing stands out among other sleep-tracking devices, especially one that is this non-invasive.
Withings Sleep review: Simplify your snooze
Low-effort sleep tracking, no wearable required
Far from being a medical device, the data it collects could be very useful in conversation with a doctor to get a better grip on how you’re sleeping. Plus, it’s a great alternative if you’d rather not wear something in bed while asleep because it doesn’t require you to put anything on to communicate with it. It syncs data over the Withings Health Mate app on your phone to show you all the details and metrics. There’s even an option to share the data with a doctor in case you both want to keep tabs on breathing or sleep issues.
Xiaomi Smart Band 8
Slim and budget-friendly
Xiaomi Smart Band 8’s compact size and excellent battery life make it the perfect sleep-time companion. The watch packs over 150 workout modes, so it’s an equally great workout partner and offers reliable tracking. You can also set it up just how you like with various customization options and watch faces.
- Compact size
- Affordable at just $50
- Reliable sleep tracking
- Non-standard charger
- Clasp design isn’t perfect
- No way to set a favorite workout mode
Comfort is paramount when it comes to sleep tracking, and few trackers do it better than the Xiaomi Smart Band 8. The compact-sized fitness tracker fits comfortably thanks to its small dimensions and barely-there weight. But don’t let the diminutive size fool you; it can track all your sleep metrics, including deep sleep time, REM cycles, and more. The data is presented in an easy-to-read manner on the app, allowing you to keep track of your sleep trends over time.
Xiaomi Smart Band 8 review: Fitness tracking on a budget
This is a lot of fitness band for just $50
The long battery life also helps; it can be charged and forget about it for almost ten days at a time. Xiaomi’s Smart Band 8 also works well as a fitness tracker with over 150 workout modes built-in. The only regrettable feature, as noted in our Smart Band 8 review, is that the included strap isn’t all that great. But that’s an easy fix with the wide variety of options available. All in all, the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 is one of the most affordable and comfortable ways to get reliable sleep-tracking data.
Whoop 4.0
No screen, no problem
The Whoop 4.0 is the kind of device that requires a commitment upfront. You need to buy in — literally — to have it tell you what you need to know as far as sleep tracking goes, but it proves itself as one of the best around.
- Excellent sleep tracking
- Plenty of sensors get to work
- Bands are swappable
- No screen
- Requires a monthly subscription
- No GPS connectivity for workouts
The Whoop 4.0 isn’t the tracker you want if your needs are going to be basic. This is a deep tracking device that does a lot to tell you about how active you are, so if that’s you, then you may like how it handles your sleep, too. Whoop’s data integrates your activity and rest to tell you when your body can handle a push, or when it’s time to hold back and give it time to catch up. Basically, it tracks your sleep and tries to help you know what your body can handle based on your recent activity and sleep quality.
Whoop 4.0 review: This fitness tracker skipped leg day
Whoop is great for runners and swimmers, but if your workout regimen includes weightlifting, it’s not worth the price
A haptic alarm can gently nudge you awake, and once you’re up, you’ll probably reach for your phone to see your recovery score. The big catch is that you need to subscribe to get all the comprehensive feedback that makes the tracker worth investing in. If you’re serious about taking that holistic approach, you may want to give this a try.
Fitbit Charge 6
Reliable fitness brand, great functionality
Fitbit’s first tracker with built-in maps and Google Wallet improves on a solid foundation. Not only is the Charge 6 comfortable enough for regular wear, but it also offers reliable fitness and sleep tracking. The band is versatile enough to function as a Bluetooth heart rate monitor for exercise equipment and remains affordable to boot.
- Lightweight, comfortable design
- Granular sleep duration and quality metrics
- Long battery life
- Some features locked behind premium subscription
- Small display
- Media controls locked to YouTube Music
The Fitbit Charge 6 doesn’t reinvent the wheel. Instead, the fitness tracker is laser-focused on improving the user experience with quality-of-life additions like Google Maps and Wallet support. But of course, it excels at fitness and sleep tracking as you’d expect, with basics like sleep duration and stages covered.
Fitbit Charge 6 review: Do you really need a smartwatch?
Quality fitness tracking, more Google than ever
Need more insights? You’ll have to invest in a Fitbit Premium account to access extensive health information, but once in, it’ll log your sleep patterns over a month and address which specific part of your sleep can be improved. It even assigns you a Sleep Animal, a member of the animal kingdom that best fits your sleep pattern. Guidance within the profile also indicates what you can do to improve and get better sleep. The Fitbit Charge 6 makes for an excellent choice if you want a smart sleep tracker with a bit of smarts.
Oura Ring 3
Put a ring on it
Put the Oura Ring 3 on your finger, and it’s supposed to do the rest, which is to track your activity and health tracking, such as how you sleep on any given night.
- A smartwatch alternative
- Light and unobtrusive
- Solid tracking for such a small device
- You need to make sure it fits
- Requires monthly subscription for all data
‘Put a ring on it’ gets a new meaning when it comes to everything the Oura Ring 3 is supposed to track. It can track all activities, but the extra value proposition comes from how it works during sleep. While you’re in dreamland, it measures your heart rate, heart rate variability, body temperature, nighttime movement, and overall sleep quality. It parses that data to provide an overall score and readiness indicator for the day ahead. There’s also a guidance portion to the sleep tracking that tries to pinpoint when you should go to bed, along with tips to get the most out of your time asleep.
Oura Ring Generation 3 review: Luxury health tracking on your finger
The third-gen Oura Ring is good at what it does, but it starts at $300
The one caveat is the third-generation Ring now requires you to get a monthly subscription to access all the features that the smart ring offers. So, if you want the most detailed or insightful heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking, you will need to spend a few bucks if you prefer to increase your focus on wellness and recovery.
Withings ScanWatch 2
Sophisticated style with wellness features
The Withings ScanWatch 2 offers the smarts of a fitness tracker without a bulky look. The watch’s attractive design hides a small digital display, while the sapphire crystal protects against scratches. Despite its unconventional design, the ScanWatch 2 is capable of excellent fitness and sleep monitoring.
- Appealing analog watch-like design
- Accurate fitness tracking
- Long battery life
- Digital screen shows limited information
- Slow charging
- Long-term insights locked behind a subscription
The Withings ScanWatch 2 is a stunning hybrid watch with all the benefits of a fitness tracker in an analog watch form factor. The upgraded sensors, including a new multichannel PPG sensor, can track all the metrics you need, like daily activity, blood oxygen readings, heart rate, ECG, and body temperature.
Withings ScanWatch 2 review: The smartwatch you wear to dinner
It’s not perfect, but the ScanWatch 2 offers digital features with an analog aesthetic
While the stunning analog-first design limits the information you can see on your wrist, the watch presents all data in an easy-to-read format in the accompanying app that synchronizes with Google Fit and Apple Healthkit. Withings even offers a premium subscription for deeper sleep data insights. Additionally, an added benefit of the hybrid design is the long battery life. The ScanWatch 2 barely sips the battery while sleep tracking and can last up to a month on a single charge.
Garmin Venu 3
Sporty look, large display
Garmin’s fitness watches are known for their accuracy, including excellent sleep tracking. The Venu 3 provides all the required health data on the 1.4-inch AMOLED display and in the Health Connect app. With up to 14 days of battery life, you can also say goodbye to range anxiety.
- Excellent fitness and sleep tracking
- Large 1.4-inch AMOLED display
- 14-day battery life
- Bulky
- Expensive
- Extras like Garmin Coach require a subscription
The Garmin Venu 3 is part of the company’s fitness watch and activity tracker hybrids. It has all the necessary sensors to deliver pro-grade fitness tracking. Garmin’s Body Battery metrics that track recovery are also present and tie in with the built-in sleep tracking function. As is to be expected, the Venu 3 offers sleep phase and quality information. Sleep tracking also includes heart rate variability and blood oxygen tracking for more granular insights into your daily rest and recovery.
On the fitness side of things, you’ll find animated workouts, as well as Garmin Coach support. There’s even a built-in speaker to take calls, making the Venu 3 a solid alternative to a traditional smartwatch. With up to 14 days of battery life, the Garmin Venu 3 is a fantastic fitness companion and an even better sleep tracker.
When it’s time for bed
Sleep tracking tech continues to evolve, which bodes well for anyone, regardless of whether you feel you sleep well. The Galaxy Watch 6 represents another push from Samsung to deliver one of the more detailed and comprehensive assessments you can find on any wearable. Its various sensors work well together to make that happen when you wear the watch every night.
The Withings Sleep Tracking Mat doesn’t force you to wear anything if that’s your preference. It can’t measure things like skin temperature or blood oxygen, but it keeps tabs on heart activity and breathing in ways other devices don’t. It’s not every day you come across a piece of tech you can freely use at home that might warn you about potential sleep apnea. As an early warning system, the mat almost feels like an investment in your long-term health.
If you’re on a budget, look no further than the Xiaomi Smart Band 8. It delivers precise sleep data belaying its affordable price point. But if you need something even more compact, there’s no better solution than the Oura Ring 3. Comfortably sitting on your finger, the Oura ring can easily track all your sleep metrics and even naps.
Samsung Galaxy Watch 6
More than just for workouts
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 has plenty of features, but one that it offers with consistency is good sleep tracking. Not only will it track sleep quality, but it also offers several metrics and sleep coaching to help improve how well your slumber is each night.
