You try to do all the right things to enhance your sleep, and rest your body. Sleep masks and bedtime rituals included, of course. But how do you know that it’s working? We’ve rounded up our favourite tools and trackers that will help you understand what’s happening while you’re asleep. And maybe give you some extra tips on how to optimise it even further. 

Wearables for accuracy

Oura ring

The Oura ring is our pick of the bunch. It is discreet – a ring-sized device that sits on your finger – and perfectly positioned for accurately reading things like heart rate, blood oxygen, stress rates and activity levels. You will wake up every morning to a sleep report showing you easy-to-understand information on hours slept, phases and cycles, efficiency and heart rate recovery. And because it’s small and sits on your finger like any other ring, it doesn’t get in the way like some of the bulkier watch-based trackers do.

Whoop

The Whoop brand prides itself on giving you the most comprehensive analysis on your health data – but luckily it doesn’t feel overwhelming, instead it aims to play coach and empower you to keep doing the right things, or make good changes. It will track your sleep stages, measure recovery and keep on top of any sleep ‘debt’ that you might need to catch up on. It will even recommend what time you should go to bed. You wear a Whoop device around your wrist, but there is no screen so you never need to worry about pesky notifications.

Apps that turn your phone into a sleep tracker

SleepWatch

SleepWatch is a highly rated app that can be used with your iPhone (or Apple Watch for more accurate tracking). It uses sonar technology to listen to your breathing and movement and measure your sleep stages through the night. It can also record sounds that might be affecting your sleep quality, such as snoring, coughing or sleep talking. It gives you sleep scores, as well as tips, trends, smart alarms (that wake you at an optimal time in your sleep cycle) and the option to log activity notes so you can see what might be helping or hindering your sleep.

Pillow

This app does a lot of the same – tracking movement and breathing via sound (and heart rate if you’re using it with a Watch) to map your sleep stages and give you a daily assessment of sleep quality. You can use it with an iPhone or Apple Watch, and set smart alarms that wake you at the perfect time. But what this app offers that convinced us it deserves a spot here… is an ever-expanding collection of meditations, stories, soundscapes and tunes that are designed specifically to help you get a good night’s sleep. Plus, it’s free.

Sleep tracking as a pen and paper ritual

Sleep: A Day and Night Reflection Journal

The Insight Editions sleep journal is designed to be used morning and night, with prompts that help you check in with yourself, and create a little self-care ritual around your sleep tracking. The morning practice asks you to take note of how you slept and how you felt when you woke up, while the evening practice lets you set some sleep goals and intentions and gives some prompts for winding down. It’s a much more intentional way to log your sleep habits. It won’t log the data for you!

A program for those who struggle to sleep

Stellar Sleep

This psychology-based program (delivered through an app) focuses on behavioural therapy for navigating insomnia. You take a quiz, and the algorithm delivers you a program of lessons, listenings and journal prompts. The curriculum was developed with sleep experts and underwent clinical validation with leading sleep researchers at Harvard Medical School. They claim to be the number one app for helping you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer, so if sleep is an issue for you, it might well be worth a try. 

Optimise your sleep with our bestselling sleep essentials here.