Sleep Tracking

Sleep tracking in 2026 is mature — most consumer wearables get sleep stages roughly correct. The differentiation is what you do with the data, not raw measurement accuracy. Picking comes down to: do you already wear a watch / ring / band, or do you want a non-wearable sensor (mat, mmWave, contact)?

Sister sections: Apple Watch, Garmin, Oura & Whoop, HRV & Heart Rate, Presence & mmWave, Smart Home Hubs, Home Assistant Add-ons, Quantified Self DIY, Breathwork & Vagus.

Wearable-based (the default)

If you wear a watch or ring overnight, the wearable's sleep tracking is usually better than any phone-only app.

• ★ Apple Watch + AutoSleep — built-in sleep stages plus paid AutoSleep app (~$5 one-time) for richer auto-detection. See Apple Watch.
• ★ Oura Ring — best comfort + accuracy; ring form factor; paid sub. See Oura & Whoop.
• ★ Whoop strap — sleep coach + recovery; paid sub-only. See Oura & Whoop.
• ★ Garmin watch — passable sleep + HRV; free with hardware. See Garmin.
• Fitbit / Pixel Watch — solid sleep stages; Premium gates the deeper insights.
• Withings ScanWatch — hybrid analog; long battery; sleep apnea screening on ScanWatch Nova.

Phone-only (no wearable)

• ★ Sleep Cycle — paid + free; iOS + Android; phone on the bed mic-and-accel; 15+ years old; smart alarm.
• ★ Sleep As Android — paid + free; Android; powerful smart alarm; integrates with mmWave / Pulsar / Withings Sleep / chest straps; the Android sleep nerd's pick.
• Pillow — paid + free; iOS + Apple Watch; nice graphs.
• Snoremap, SnoreLab — paid + free; phone-mic snore detection.

Non-wearable hardware sensors

• ★ Withings Sleep Mat — paid (~$130); under-mattress pad; sleep stages + HR + snoring + apnea risk; pushes to Apple Health / Health Connect; no subscription required.
  • https://www.withings.com/us/en/sleep
• ★ Apollo MS24 + sleep automations — mmWave-based room presence; combine with bed-load-cell for sleep zones; see Presence & mmWave.
• Aqara FP2 with sleep zone — ceiling-mount mmWave; sleep / wake detection without anything on you.
• Beddit (Apple-owned) — discontinued 2022; firmware still works on existing hardware.
• Pulsar + Sleep As Android — radar/mmWave option that publishes to Sleep As Android.
• Eight Sleep Pod 4 — paid ($2500-5000) + paid sub ($200/yr) for the AI-temperature mattress cover; aggressive luxury tier; legitimate sleep impact via cooling/heating.

Sleep apnea / breathing-focused

• ★ Withings ScanWatch Nova — FDA-cleared SpO2 nocturnal apnea detection on a hybrid analog watch.
• Apple Watch SpO2 — back in US Series 9/10/Ultra2 in 2024; not FDA-cleared but an apnea cue.
• Wesper / NightOwl — paid mail-order home sleep tests; lighter than full PSG.
• CPAP data: ★ OSCAR (FOSS) — Open Source CPAP Analysis Reporter; reads ResMed AirSense / Philips DreamStation SD cards; the CPAP user's homelab tool.
  • https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/

Bedroom environment matters

Sleep quality is environmental before it's gadgety. Track / control:

• ★ Temperature 16-19°C / 60-67°F — single biggest sleep environment factor. See HVAC.
• ★ CO2 < 800 ppm in the bedroom — Aranet4 / Airthings; high CO2 = poor sleep. See Air Quality (Aranet) — actually under Energy.
• Light — blackout curtains; Apple Watch / Hue ambient sunrise.
• Sound — white noise / Hatch Restore.

Hatch Restore / smart alarm

• Hatch Restore 2 — paid hardware (~$130) + paid sub for premium; sound machine + sunrise alarm + smart-night-light. Polished.
• Loftie Clock — paid hardware; Hatch alternative; analog dial.
• DIY: an LED smart bulb on a HA automation with a sunrise color script — free if you already have HA.

Self-host / FOSS

• ★ OSCAR (above) — CPAP FOSS analytics.
• ★ GadgetBridge — pulls sleep data from Mi Band / Amazfit / PineTime locally; no cloud. See GadgetBridge & Aggregation.
• HA sleep_as_android integration — pushes Sleep As Android sessions to HA; correlate with bedroom CO2 / temp / light.
• Home Assistant + InfluxDB — log sleep sessions alongside HRV / weight / training load; see Home Assistant Add-ons.

Cost / license honesty

• AutoSleep / Pillow / Sleep Cycle — $5-30 one-time or low-monthly subs.
• Oura — $349-499 hardware + ~$70/yr.
• Whoop — $30/mo (no separate hardware).
• Apple Watch sleep tracking — free with hardware.
• Garmin sleep tracking — free with hardware.
• Withings Sleep Mat — ~$130, no sub required.
• Eight Sleep Pod 4 — ~$2500-5000 + $200/yr sub.
• OSCAR — GPL-3.0 FOSS.

Reality check

• Don't optimize sleep tracking before optimizing sleep. Bedroom temp / CO2 / consistent bedtime get 80% of gains; the wearable is a metric, not the cause.
• Stage detection (REM / deep / light) is loose across all consumer wearables; trust the trend, not the nightly breakdown.
• HRV during sleep is more reliable than HRV during day — see HRV.

Pick this if…

• Already wear an Apple Watch: AutoSleep + watch native.
• Want a ring, willing to pay forever: Oura.
• Don't want anything on your body: Withings Sleep Mat (under-bed) or Apollo MS24 (mmWave room).
• Snoring / apnea concern: Withings ScanWatch Nova → consult a doctor; OSCAR if you have CPAP.
• Android nerd who loves smart alarms: Sleep As Android + a chest strap or mmWave sensor.
• Luxury / temperature-controlled mattress: Eight Sleep Pod 4 (very expensive).