Tracking Sleep With Wearable Technology

In our modern day and age, we are lucky to be able to connect with the world around us, all thanks to technology. Like with most things, technology has its ups and downs, but it has enabled us to know more, learn more and discover ourselves in ways we could not imagine.

Data, technology, and the science behind it enables us to use and understand a huge amount of data and extract valuable insights. For instance, sleep trackers, health watches and smart rings enable us to track our sleeping behaviour with the aim of adjusting this behaviour and avoiding bad sleeping habits.

Many of us would benefit from gaining a better understanding of how we sleep, the quality of sleep we are getting and how to potentially restore good sleep. So, what if you could make your sleep more efficient by tracking your sleep with wearable technology?

How Do Sleep Trackers Work?

One of the ways in which sleep trackers work is through accelerometers. According to Philips, accelerometers are small motion detectors that measure how much movement you are making while you sleep and an algorithm is then used to determine sleep time and quality of sleep. Other sleep trackers have the ability to track REM sleep when you are dreaming, as well as deep and light sleep through measuring a person’s heart rate. Others use a microphone that capture noises like snoring, talking in your sleep or waking up during the night.

There are also sleep trackers that can measure the room temperature and let us know when it is too hot. The recent UK heatwave meant that everyone’s sleep was impacted and maintaining a cool temperature was important, emphasising the need to track our sleep and manage our bodies and room’s temperature.

However, Mayo clinic claims the only way to accurately determine the sleep stage you are in is through measuring your brain activity whilst you sleep; therefore, none of the devices on the market can accurately capture this type of data. Although smart rings have recently challenged this statement.

Smart Rings – Have You Heard Of Them?

Ōura Health Oy is a Finnish health technology company, best known for the Oura Ring. It has been widely talked about and even encouraged by NBA league officials, scientists, and doctors. It measures electrodermal activity (EDA). According to Science Direct, this is a measure of neurally mediated effects on sweat gland permeability, observed as changes in the resistance of the skin to a small electrical current, or as differences in the electrical potential between different parts of the skin.

The Oura ring is known to accurately track the quality of your sleep based on the time spent in each sleep stage and your key vitals. Unlike other wearables, Oura factors in your key vitals like body temperature, heart rate, and HRV to determine your quality of sleep. Doctors measure heart rate on your finger for a reason, as the pulse signal is stronger and more accurate than the wrist.

Due to this, NBA players were encouraged to wear Oura rings, having purchased thousands of them to detect changes in the players' body temperature, heart rate, sleeping patterns and respiratory rate — and most importantly, to provide early warning signs if a player is in danger of contracting the coronavirus, according to Forbes.

According to Fierce Healthcare, the leading source of healthcare management news for healthcare industry executives, for people who are suffering from cardiovascular diseases, wearing a smart ring is an ideal choice to monitor the condition of your heart. This allows people and doctors to catch any irregularities and avoid further harmful complications. Healthcare workers using the rings can use this information to better understand early warning signs of infection and to seek treatment, isolate themselves or stay home from work.

Researchers have hypothesised that the Oura ring could even anticipate COVID-19 by as many as two to three days before the onset of more obvious symptoms, like coughing. This is a revolutionary wearable technology and the needs for understanding our sleep are very much there.

TEMPUR® And Its Belief In Innovation

If there is one thing TEMPUR® believes in, it is restful sleep. TEMPUR® Material is memory foam that is viscoelastic, meaning both fluid and spring-like - achieved by billions of ultra-sensitive open cells existing between a solid and a liquid state which respond to your body’s shape, weight, and warmth, precisely adapting and aligning to every inch of you.

TEMPUR® encourages innovation and believes consumers should strive to learn more about their sleeping habits and help you sleep better, which is why TEMPUR® encourages you to track your sleep! If wearable technology isn’t for you or is out of your budget, perhaps consider sleeping tips from TEMPUR® here. We are always in search of comfort, and TEMPUR® mattresses and pillows definitely fit the template. The moment you lie down feels like pure magic as billions of ultra-sensitive cells instantly respond to your body. So, why not try it out?

Would you invest in smart technology to improve your sleep?