Anecdata: 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…
Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
111–120 of 182 posts
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#112The body battery is another thing that is quite magical in indicating my resources. Two days ago I found myself at 10/100 midday. At 4pm my concentration and deep thinking ability was almost inexistent.
From the engineering perspective I noticed that the SP02 sensors attached to the finger, to the smart watches and other devices tracking pulse, O2 and heart functions they use pretty much the same technology to read the pulse, blood oxygenation levels etc.
There is a lot of software and signal engineering that lays on top of the sensor readings that differs on each manufacturer. To get these settle to accurately predict REM and VO2 and other more advanced activity labelings they do need a lot of data and iterations. Fitbit and the Apple watches went through thousands of data points and they do seem to be miles away now.
So far I found that with each software update the Garmin Fenix is getting a lot better at these predictions. Certainly for all these devices there is a learning curve and we are quite frankly at the beginning of it.
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#113I recall reading a paper that found that compared to clinical sleep study equipment (you know, electrodes all over your head) that most devices were random at best in terms of measuring REM sleep. I did a lot of research when a friend went all in on sleep monitoring and wound up worse than when he started (worrying over data). I didn't exhaustively research but based on un-biased available science I found at the time…
I have pretty big doubts about the usefulness of clinical sleep tests after having had one a few years ago. Perhaps they work well for very deep and immediate sleepers. But with the electrodes, a strange location, multiple interruptions, a sleep position I never sleep in, etc, it was probably one of the worst nights of sleep in my life. The doctor seemed to disregard all of that and treat it as my typical night sleep…
What did the doctor recommend?
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#114Anecdata: 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…
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#115I have a Garmin Fenix 6 Pro and I find it pretty accurate. I set the watch to watch for sleep between 10pm and 8am. Recently with COVID-19 I've been going to bed past 2-4pm. In the morning the first thing I do is check the sleep stats. I find them very accurate. They correctly track my pit stop runs in the middle of the night as well. Today I woke up at 11.43am and the watch got it right. Interestingly after I wake u…
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#116Do you feel tired? You didn't sleep enough. Do you feel fine? You slept enough. C'mon OP. What's a computer going to tell you that you 3-million year-old endocrine system doesn't already know?
Sometimes information can be handy, even if all you're getting is an automated way of collecting information you already had access to.
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#117Are some of the suggestions FOSS and/or privacy-respecting?
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#118I recall reading a paper that found that compared to clinical sleep study equipment (you know, electrodes all over your head) that most devices were random at best in terms of measuring REM sleep. I did a lot of research when a friend went all in on sleep monitoring and wound up worse than when he started (worrying over data). I didn't exhaustively research but based on un-biased available science I found at the time…
I have pretty big doubts about the usefulness of clinical sleep tests after having had one a few years ago. Perhaps they work well for very deep and immediate sleepers. But with the electrodes, a strange location, multiple interruptions, a sleep position I never sleep in, etc, it was probably one of the worst nights of sleep in my life. The doctor seemed to disregard all of that and treat it as my typical night sleep…
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#119I recall reading a paper that found that compared to clinical sleep study equipment (you know, electrodes all over your head) that most devices were random at best in terms of measuring REM sleep. I did a lot of research when a friend went all in on sleep monitoring and wound up worse than when he started (worrying over data). I didn't exhaustively research but based on un-biased available science I found at the time…
I have pretty big doubts about the usefulness of clinical sleep tests after having had one a few years ago. Perhaps they work well for very deep and immediate sleepers. But with the electrodes, a strange location, multiple interruptions, a sleep position I never sleep in, etc, it was probably one of the worst nights of sleep in my life. The doctor seemed to disregard all of that and treat it as my typical night sleep…
Re: Ask HN: Best sleep trackers?
#120I have found the built in sleep tracking of my samsung active 2 to be good. Maybe you could strap the watch to your ankle instead of your wrist?
I've found my Samsung Galaxy Watch Active2 to be hilariously incorrect with estimating sleep tracking, and I miss my Fitbits for getting that measurement. Example: on Sunday, I woke up, drove 20 minutes to a trailhead, proceeded to strenuously hike for an hour, drove 20 minutes back. When I checked the sleep log later that day, the watch had automatically assumed I had been sleeping through the entire hike. I like mo…