How to optimize your sleep with your Apple Watch

Easily track your sleep patterns from your wrist.

Feeling groggy in the morning? Wondering if you're getting enough shut-eye? Your Apple Watch might have the answers you're looking for.

With the built-in sleep app, you can easily track your sleep patterns right from your wrist. It's a great way to get insights into how much rest you're actually getting and the quality of your sleep.

Here's why you might want to give it a try.

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A man wearing an Apple Watch?

5 reasons why you might want to give the built-in Sleep app a try

1. Effortless tracking: Just wear your watch to bed, and it'll do the rest. No need to fiddle with buttons or apps before dozing off.

2. Detailed sleep stages: The app can estimate how much time you spend in Awake, REM, Core and Deep sleep, giving you a clearer picture of your sleep quality. While we sleep, our brains and bodies restore themselves. Each sleep stage plays a different role, but they're all essential to waking up refreshed.

Apple Sleep app’s detailed sleep stages (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

3. Sleep goals and schedules: Set up sleep goals and create schedules to help you maintain a consistent sleep routine.

4. Wake-up alarms: Use gentle, customizable alarms to wake up at the optimal time in your sleep cycle.

5. Sleep Focus mode: Limit distractions before bedtime and during sleep to help you wind down and rest better.

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A woman wearing an Apple Watch (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

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Enable built-in sleep tracking on Apple Watch?

To use the built-in Sleep app on your Apple Watch, ensure your device is running watchOS 7 or later and paired with an iPhone 6s or later running iOS 14 or higher. Also, be sure to update your software by opening the Watch app on your iPhone, navigating to General > Software Update and installing any available updates. Now, here’s how to set up sleep tracking:

Open the Watch app on your iPhone
Click My Watch in the bottom left of the screen
Scroll down and tap Sleep.
Tap Use this Watch for Sleep to enable the feature
Ensure the switches next to Track Sleep with Apple Watch and Charging Reminders are turned on

Steps to enable built-in sleep tracking on Apple Watch (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

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Set up your sleep schedule

Creating a sleep schedule helps you meet your sleep goals. You can set your sleep schedule from the Health app. Follow these steps to set it up:

On your iPhone, open the Health app
Tap the Browse icon at the bottom
Scroll down and select Sleep
In the Your Schedule section, tap Add to set the schedule for tonight
Here, you can adjust Bedtime and Wake up?
Then tap Add in the upper right

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Steps to set up your sleep schedule (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

To set up additional options, tap Full Schedule & Options
You can now set a permanent schedule based on different days of the week by clicking where it says Set Your First Schedule
A calendar or list of days will appear. Tap on the days you want to include in this schedule.
You can adjust the Bedtime and Wake up for each day of the week
Tap Add in the upper right

Steps to set up your sleep schedule (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

You can also change the Wind Down time and indicate the number of hours you’d like to sleep as your goal where it says Sleep Goal?

Steps to adjust additional sleep details (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

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How to set up Focus filters

You can also set up Focus filters to determine how your device behaves when you’re asleep.

On your iPhone, go to Settings
Scroll down and click Focus
Tap Sleep
In the Allow Notifications section, tap People

Steps to set of Focus filters (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

Click Add People with a plus sign above it
Next, select the contacts you want to allow to reach you or send notifications while you’re asleep by tapping the bubble next to their name
Then tap Done
Under PHONE CALLS, select who you want to Allow Calls From by selecting Allowed People Only

Steps to set of Focus filters (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

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How to view your sleep data

In the morning, you can check your sleep data on both your Apple Watch and iPhone:

On Your iPhone:

Open the Health app
Tap Browse
Click Sleep
View a bar graph showing your sleep start and end times.
Tap a specific day, week, month, or 6 months to see detailed sleep data for that period of time
Tap Show More Sleep Data to see specific data on Awake, REM, Core and Deep

Steps to view your sleep data (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

On Your Apple Watch:

Open the Sleep app to see the total number of hours slept, a graph of different sleep stages (REM, Core, Deep) and a record of your sleep over the past 14 days.

Graph on Apple Watch of sleep data (Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson)

To use Siri: On Apple Watch Series 9, using watchOS 10.2 or later, say, "How much did I sleep last night?" your Apple Watch will provide you with information about your sleep duration from the previous night.

Third-party sleep-tracking apps

While the built-in Apple Watch Sleep app is effective, you might want more detailed insights. Several third-party apps offer advanced features. Click this link to check out our article on how to "Sleep better tonight with these top-rated apps."

Kurt's key takeaways

Tracking your sleep with an Apple Watch can provide valuable insights into your sleep patterns and help you improve your overall sleep quality. Whether you use the built-in Sleep app or a third-party app, the data collected can guide you toward better sleep habits. While these features can help improve your sleep habits, they're not a substitute for professional medical advice. If you have serious sleep concerns, it's always best to consult a healthcare provider.

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Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on "FOX & Friends." Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.