A sleep monitoring device tracks your sleep quality plus outside stimuli and conditions in your bedroom to provide you with data to analyze and improve your sleep. Many fitness trackers have sleep tracking as a built in feature, but some only track limited data or are not very accurate. Dedicated sleep monitors have much more advanced tracking data to give you the most insight into your sleep patterns and help you resolve issues that you’d never even considered.
If you do not use a fitness tracker but would like to track your sleep cycles, a home sleep monitor is a great device to help you do that. They’re also good for people who use a fitness tracker or sports watches that do not have a sleep tracking feature. You should also consider them if you don’t like wearing a fitness tracker wristband at night.
Here are some of the best home sleep monitoring devices available:
Beddit 3 Smart Sleep Tracker
If you want to track your sleep without a band and without attaching something to your pillow, consider the Beddit Sleep Tracker. The sleep monitoring device is a strip placed directly on your mattress and syncs directly with your smartphone so you don’t need a device on your bedside table. It’s unique in its design because you lie directly on it, the Beddit can monitor and record your heart rate as you sleep.
Beddit gives you a sleep score and you can use the app to dig into stats about how your sleep went. The app will give you tips and feedback to help you improve your sleep, but they are more generic suggestions than you would get with the Sense or the S+. Since the strip can only sense one person at a time, you need to buy two if you share your bed with a partner.
Tracks: sleep time, sleep quality, heart rate, breathing.
Notable features: Smart Alarm, Beddit app, Sleep Score, sleep and wellness tips
S+ By ResMed Personal Sleep Monitor Solution
The S+ from ResMed uses 25 years of research in sleep science to help you improve the quality of your sleep. It’s a non-contact sleep system, perfect for anyone who doesn’t want to have to wear a band or attach something to their pillow or bed. It uses respiratory and bio-motion sensors to monitor your breathing and body movement to record the duration and quality of your sleep. It also has sensors to track noise, light, and temperature in your bedroom. It then gives you a Sleep Score after analyzing the various stages of sleep (deep, light, and REM sleep). Using that info, it gives you suggestions to improve your sleep.
One of the nice features of the S+ is that it not only tracks your sleep but also helps you sleep better. The Relax to Sleep sound app plays soothing audio to help you fall asleep. It monitors your breathing and gradually fades to silence as you fall deeper into sleep. Use the Mind Clear app to record “To Do” items for the next day so you’re not worried about them as you fall asleep. The S+ also has a Smart Alarm that wakes you during light sleep, so you feel more refreshed.
Tracks: sounds, light levels, temperature, breathing, movement
Notable features: Syncs with your smartphone or tablet, Relax to Sleep sound app, Mind Clear app, Smart Alarm, Sleep Score, improvement suggestions
Withings Sleep
The Aura Smart Sleep System is the best sleep monitoring device on the market right now. It packs a lot of features into one system, but that means the price is higher than some of the other options. The system has a built-in multi-color LED light that works with special sound programs to help you relax and fall asleep. Once you’re asleep, Aura tracks the environmental conditions of your room. The included sleep sensor (that goes under your mattress) measures your heart rate, breathing, and movement to analyze your sleep cycles.
In the mornings, it uses another light and sound program to gently wake you at the right moment in your cycle. Your sleep data automatically syncs to your smartphone so you can analyze it and improve your sleep quality. You will need to purchase a second sleep sensor if you share your bed.
Bonus features include power nap settings, streaming music with Spotify, and also integrating with Nest to automatically adjust the temperature for perfect sleep conditions.
Tracks: movement, heart rate, breathing, REM sleep, noise, light, temperature
Notable features: smart alarm, Health Mate app, Spotify combatibility, Nest integration
Looking for more ways to track your sleep? Check out the best fitness trackers with sleep monitoring.
If you’re having trouble sleeping, try these free guided meditations for sleep and insomia.