How To Sleep Smarter With Apple Watch And HomePod: 5 Ways They Can Help
Apple Watch and sleep metrics
1 Routine Is Crucial
While being described as predictable never sounds like a compliment, choosing a regular time to go to bed can make a big difference. You can create a Sleep Schedule on your Apple Watch to remind you to start winding down before you turn in. This can take a little getting used to, especially if you choose to introduce Sleep Focus at this point, which can minimize distractions not just on your Watch but your Mac and iPhone as well.
Still, even if you just ask your Watch to remind you it's nearly bedtime — something that other devices such as the Whoop band also do — it can be a useful way of setting up a regular schedule.
2 HomePod mini Can Help You Drift Off
Say, 'Siri, play Ambient Sounds,' for instance, and your HomePod or HomePod mini can start playing one of the soundscapes available on Apple Music. You don't need the smart speaker to do this as obviously Apple Music plays through other devices, but the sound quality is at its best on the HomePod or HomePod mini. The soundscape options include rain, forest noises, white noise and more. When it's playing, say, 'Siri, set a sleep timer for 7 minutes,' or whatever, and it'll stop playing at the right time.
3 Track Your Sleep
Sleep stages shown on the iPhone
This is the key metric. The Sleep setting on the Watch means the display stays dark, so you won't accidentally wake yourself when you move. And in the morning, it will give you a breakdown of how much you were awake in the night (moments of wakefulness are normal), and divide your sleep into Core, Deep Sleep and REM stages. Other trackers talk about Light sleep but Apple calls this Core, probably because there's nothing light about it.
It's useful to see how much of your sleep is REM and Deep, as these are the most restorative. And there's a psychological element here: if I wake up feeling weary and think that I've only slept for an hour or so after a bad night, checking in with my Watch to find I slept much better than I thought instantly makes me feel better.
4 Check Your Vitals
This is a newish Apple Watch app and it's designed to compare your metrics from night to night, so it can tell when your readings are exceptional. It looks at sleep duration, heart rate, respiratory rate and wrist temperature. Your natural readings may be different from the average, and the advantage of Vitals is how it compares your personal readings to establish what's normal for you.
5 Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea is that condition where your breathing stops repeatedly to cause disrupted sleep. Huge numbers of people remain undiagnosed, but Apple Watch can check each night and let you know if it spots any signs.
Of course, you need to recharge your Watch on a regular basis. It takes half an hour for the battery to go from flat to 80% (perhaps while you're showering and brushing your teeth is a good time) and if you find your Watch is running low before you go to bed, a 15-minute charge is enough for eight hours of sleep tracking.
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