Wearables like Fitbit trackers haven’t always monitored sleep, but the ability to do so is a feature that many people find highly desirable. While that’s the case, it’s important to note that monitoring your sleep isn’t nearly as easy as tracking the number of steps you take each day. With that in mind, sleep trackers are a great starting point for learning more about the quality and duration of your sleep, but they’re not a one-size-fits-all solution for people who are concerned about their sleep. Click here to learn more about the benefits of using a sleep tracker and what you can learn.
What Is a Good Night’s Sleep?
What makes a good night’s sleep depends on various factors, such as the amount of time you spend in light, deep and REM sleep. Those three stages make up the sleep cycle, which is repeated over and over again while you sleep. Rather, the cycle will repeat itself if you allow yourself enough time to sleep. Understanding these sleep patterns is critical to analyzing your particular sleep data.
Recommended Hours of Sleep
How much sleep you should try to get every night depends partially on your age. If you’re a teenager between 14 and 17 years old, the National Sleep Foundation recommends that you get between eight and 10 hours of sleep nightly. If you’re an adult between 26 and 64 years of age, the NSF suggests you try to get between seven and nine hours of shut-eye every night.
Deep Sleep
No matter how much or how little sleep you get, it’s important for you to experience all three stages of the sleep cycle. You’ll generally fall into deep sleep after you experience light sleep for 10 to 15 minutes when you initially nod off. Deep sleep is the phase in which your body will attempt to repair itself from the day’s activities. REM sleep follows deep sleep.
You generally spend most of your sleep time in light and deep sleep because REM sleep stages are shorter than the other two. While your first REM sleep stage may only last 10 minutes, the REM phase of the sleep cycle will get longer the more you sleep.
Sleep Tracker Metrics
Now that you know that a good night’s sleep consists of repetitive sleep cycles that include all three sleep stages, let’s look at some metrics you can use a typical sleep tracker to monitor. Trackers like the bracelet “Jawbone” attempt to measure the amount of time you spend in each stage of the sleep cycle every night. Based on this data, you may be able to identify the ideal time to set your alarm clock each morning.
A sleep tracker can also monitor the number of times you wake up every night, even if you don’t remember waking up. This information can be quite useful to people who wake up exhausted with no idea why, and it can indicate that you have a problem like restless leg syndrome or sleep apnea that’s negatively influencing your sleep.
Many sleep trackers will keep tabs on your sleep habits, such as recording the total number of hours you sleep. By analyzing this information, you can gain insights into whether you’re operating on a sleep deficit and the effects of straying from your usual sleep schedule.
Finance a New Mattress Through Ben’s
While we can’t help you track your sleep, we can help you sleep better at night with affordable financing when you make a purchase at Ben’s. Learn about the financing options that are available to you when you shop at one of our retail locations today. You can shop in-store or try out our online comfort test here.