How does sleep tracking work?

RA over 2 years ago

How does Garmin Sleep Tracking work?

I have sleep hours entered on the device.

1 If i've understand this correctly, sleep time (tracking) is measured only inside entered Sleep Times? Naps can be recorded outside Sleep Times?

2. How does the device track naps? On Garmin sites it says that additional rest periods are "added as nap times and shown as separate sleep time". How I understand this, is that your normal sleep data shoud not be replaced or overwritten by a nap.

3. On Garmin sites it says, that naps is only included as additional rest periods as nap time in the total sleep time when the device is placed in sleep mode.

What does this mean, can you set the device on sleep mode manually, outside the normal sleep hours? I thought you can't do that, and the device automaticly detects if you're taking a nap. Again, in this case by Garmin sites, normal sleep time should not be overwritten, it shoud be added as a separate sleep time?

Here is what garmin sites say about sleep and nap time,

"While a device that does Activity Tracking will track sleep activity during normal sleep times, they will only include additional rest periods as nap time in the total sleep time when the device is placed in sleep mode. These separate rest periods will not be added to the graph.

When initially setting up a device, there will be a request to enter normal sleep hours. The device will use this information to determine sleep time for the graph in the Sleep Widget (both website and mobile app) or full sleep page. When the watch is put into sleep mode, either at night or during additional rest periods (i.e. naps), it will use this information for total sleep time and the nap time will be shown as separate sleep time for that day when viewing this on the full "SLEEP" page. (e.g. Total sleep: 8 hours + 30 min Nap.)"

Top Replies

9974930 over 2 years ago +2

The short answer is that it simply doesn’t work. At least not on the Epix 2. If you have to tell a device you’re asleep or awake, it isn’t doing the tracking. Other brands do not work like that. They don…

All Replies

0 entify over 2 years ago

in garmins head there is no such thing as "naps".. Your watch is OK to detect sleep time and awake times at night but everything in between (sleep stages) is just a joke. Look up quantified scientist on youtube if you want a real review on Garmins sleep tracking compared to a real medical sleep tracker.. If you want a good sleeptracker buy a Dreem 2, Apple watch or Fitbit.

0 RA over 2 years ago in reply to entify

entify said:
in garmins head there is no such thing as "naps"

Did you read what I wrote? Garmin says that naps are added to sleep time, so there is a thing called "naps".

0 entify over 2 years ago in reply to RA

no there is not. Garmin devices dont record naps..... Keep on dreaming

0 KrapfenKringel over 2 years ago in reply to RA

Yea that's strange, the watches don't do that..

https://support.garmin.com/en-HK/?faq=aYDeOCoVgd4PW3A4mvejP6

It's mentioned there but it does not happen that way. If I remember correctly a Fenix3 could do that, but not the modern ones. Maybe that support page is really really old.

0 Z over 2 years ago

forums.garmin.com/.../night-sleep-data-gets-replaced-by-daytime-sleep

0 RA over 2 years ago

Can someone say, how sleep tracking really works. How can sleep data be overwritten by naps outside sleep times, if there is no naps?

@garmin_chris

0 Shaman Tom over 2 years ago in reply to RA

Upvoting :) I'd like to see some detailed, in-depth explanation of Garmin's sleep tracking methodology. Especially since I also use an Oura Ring and these guys provide very detailed info on sleep tracking. I also get huge discrepancies between Garmin and Oura. If I e.g. dismiss an alarm I forgot to switch off and go back to sleep for another 2-3 hours or even unwillingly press any button or touch the screen after the automation switched it back on before I wake up, the watch assumes I'm awake and day is on. Like if Fenix would ignore the heart rate remaining low and lack of motion. I know we have no skin temperature sensing, unlike Oura, so Garmin needs to focus only on HR, HRV and motion signals from the accelerometer. Still it should know I'm still in bed, asleep and not running around the house, prepping to leave ;)

The actual sleep, when it is tracked gives me quite good data that is fairly close to what I get from the ring, which obviously, by design should be a much better sleep tracker, even though it cannot even anyhow compete with a Fenix watch in terms of activity tracking, navigation and pretty much anything that involves a display :)

I still want to know the details of sleep tracking logic used by Garmin and have some improvement that would prevent sleep tracking from assuming that I'm awake due to even accidental interaction with buttons / touch screen.

0 Sbassios over 2 years ago

Garmin have to do something with the sleep widget... either to have the option turn it off or add manually the different hour's you slept or fix the software..today I slept 3 different times and the watch from 23:00 until 10:00 the morning recorded only the middle which was 4 hours and all the widgets tell me to have a rest day..its annoying

0 KrapfenKringel over 2 years ago in reply to Sbassios

You can adjust the hours manually.

0 Sbassios over 2 years ago in reply to KrapfenKringel

The 2nd option to add the different hour's manually is for the hour's i slept..22:00-00:30, 02:00-06:00 and 08:00-10:00,garmin now has the option to add from 22:00 to 08:00 but isnt true and ofc the metrics don't change for the widgets