Are some of the suggestions FOSS and/or privacy-respecting?
Almost none of them are, unfortunately, and they will stop working if the company goes out of business (that happens quite a bit).
Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
41–50 of 182 posts
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#42In my mind there are 4 kinds of sleep trackers, differentiated by the kind of data they collect. I've personally used a product from each of these categories at some time in the past:
- The kind that measure brain activity, like as Dreem or Philips SmartSleep - these, in my experience are by far the most accurate and useful devices you can buy. Dreem even has a self-run study comparing the devices to a proper sleep study setup. They are however, quite expensive.
- The kind that lays under/on top of the bed and indirectly measures heart-rate, breathing rate and body movements. These are okay as far as accuracy goes. They can't directly tell you how your sleep is but they capture enough indirect information that they can make a decent guess, at least regarding how much sleeo you get. They're differentiated from the wrist-based trackers in that they can detect any kind of body movement and they can measure your breathing rate as well. They also don't require you to have a potentially uncomfortable device strapped to your wrist.
- The kind that you wear on your wrist like Apple Watch and fitness bands - these, in my experience, are garbage. Like the under/over-bed devices, they measure your sleep indirectly but unlike those devices, they capture less useful information and require wearing a potentially uncomfortable device when you're trying to sleep.
- Smartphone apps - these, in my experience, are absolute garbage. They're not sensitive enough to pick up any useful information about your sleep state. All they can really do is tell you if you're moving or not. Maybe they can pick up snoring.
If you're interested in accurately measuring your sleep state and catching things like short periods of wakefulness or the precise amount of time it takes you to get to sleep and wake up, I can't recommend Dreem enough. I've owned one for over a year now and it's been spot-on every time. Since it's attached to your head it takes a little bit of getting used to but I don't even feel it anymore.
Since you say you're interested specifically in tracking your leg movements, I think it's pretty clear that the on/under-bed trackers are appropriate for you. Personally, I use an Emfit QS for the insane amount of data and analysis it gives you but there are a number of other products like Withings. There are also mattresses that come with the technology built-in.
I would never rely on a smartphone app or fitness band. They're better than nothing so might be good if you happen to have one on-hand but I wouldn't go out of your way to buy one for the purpose of tracking sleep.
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#43I keep a text log and add entries manually every morning. I add my best guesses for when I actually fell asleep and when I woke up. I also log when I woke up in the middle of the night and for how long.
I'm interested in using a device, but I'm skeptical of the accuracy for data like how long my REM cycle were: https://www.menshealth.com/health/a26932734/sleep-trackers-a...
For just knowing roughly how long I'm sleeping each night (and how consistent my bed and wake times are), my text log has been good enough.
I'm not even sure I should be keeping track at all. As the article points out, it may exacerbate sleeping problems by causing me to worry too much about sleep in the first place.
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#44Dreem 2* is probably the best tracker you can get to use at home. The band is not uncomfortable (after a couple of nights, it's very strange at first) and it will give you lots of insights other solutions can't. You do have to put it on before bed and take it off and charge in the morning though. And it's expensive. * https://dreem.com/en
+1 for this one, I am also a happy user. I needed to send it back after a week of use which was annoying, but after they fixed it it's pretty much perfect.
I did significant research into the sleep trackers before deciding and the bottom line I found out is that anything on your wrist/fingers etc. Just can't accurately tell which sleep phases you're actually in and the offsets are huge, check the user reviews and research, they were comparing all the trackers against a proper sleep lab.
So I decided for dreem2 and have been extremely happy, especially with the deep sleep stimulation functionality, since I didn't buy it because I'd have any sort of sleep issues.
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#45I haven't seen Withings Sleep mentioned - https://www.withings.com/us/en/sleep . This one is basically "set it and forget it". You put it under your mattress and calibrate it, then it tracks automatically. I like it because I don't have to bring any gadgets into the bedroom, or remember to turn on tracking. It seems pretty accurate from what I've seen so far, although I don't have anything to compare it to. I've foun…
I second Withings Sleep. I've tried various other things but invariably forget to turn it on etc.
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#46https://ouraring.com/ is pretty awesome. I've started sleeping more, at more consistent times, and consuming less caffeine and alcohol. $75 off - http://ouraring.com/partners/rohannatraj - doesn't benefit me, just a coupon I received myself.
Agree with the Oura recommendation, and there's a separate reason to be interested in Oura -- it records body temperature, which might be useful in predicting infection. Here's a project my spouse is working on to see whether it's possible to warn you when you're getting sick using the combination of resting heart rate (from Fitbit), temperature (from Oura) and sleep data: https://quantifiedflu.org/
On more than one occasion Oura told me to take things easy because I might be getting sick (colds), and it was right. Great product.
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
I second this, Autosleep has amazingly fitted A LOT of data into their screens, a bit surprising for the price of it. As well I can relate to changing habits because of measuring sleep. I used it as a controlling device for experiment with dropping alcohol & coffee, for instance, and results were clear as day.
I...third this. Autosleep is a very well put together app and it's incredibly useful.
Fourth on this. AutoSleep is epic and awesome.
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#48One of the reasons I bought my Fitbit is to look at my sleep patterns. (In hindsight, I only look once every few months) The data is surprisingly accurate, and sleeping with a watch on doesn't bother me one bit. (I use a silicon watch band, the dressier watch bands would probably bother me.)
One great thing about a smartwatch is that you don't have to remember to put it on before going to bed. Better yet if it's one of the models with a long enough battery that you can just wear it and forget about it completely.
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#49Anecdata: Have sleep apnea, so am interested in better sleep, and I'm hooked up to a CPAP machine which registers every breath I take. I've tried several devices (withings, 2 garmin smart watches and a fitbit), and quite frankly, the results have been appalling.
Some random observations:
* My latest garmin has an "SpO2" sensor. Which is basically a random number generator with red LED. When I compare the results with an actual on-finger SpO2 monitor, there is zero correlation.
* Both the fitbit and the garmins have mistaken masturbation for deep sleep. You would think that the wrist movement would be a clue to not being asleep, but no. Deep sleep.
* The deep sleep vs REM classification seems to be based more on time-of-day than on anything else. Apparently I always start my nights with a block of deep sleep, followed by an alternating pattern of light & REM. This is true even when I'm awake during this "deep sleep" malarky.
* My CPAP, on the other hand, is very useful for telling apart sleep & waking. Breathing rate becomes much more steady when asleep. I can see when I woke up, even if it's just for a few seconds while I change position.