Rest easy using a sleep monitor
Withings Sleep Monitor From €130
★★★★ ★
Most people who want to monitor and track their sleep patterns have invested in a smartwatch or fitness tracker. However, for those who don’t want to make that investment or don’t like the idea of wearing a watch to bed, there are a few other options.
The Withings Sleep is a mat 637mm long and 190mm wide. It’s only 5mm thick and the idea is to slide it between your bed mattress and base. It should be positioned around the area where your chest lies.
Once fitted to the bed, the included USB charger needs to be plugged in for constant power.
However, that’s all the set-up that’s required and I had mine fitted in just a few minutes.
The free Withings Health Mate app for iOS and Android is required to activate the mat. The Withings app is one of the best I’ve used and has an easy to follow set-up function for new devices, which again takes just a few minutes.
Once the mat is activated on the app, you can pretty much forget about it and return to your routine.
Overnight, the Sleep mat will monitor your heart rate, breathing and even movement thanks to the built-in pneumatic sensor.
In the morning you can review how you slept and the app breaks down your night’s rest with six indicators that contribute to an overall sleep score. The insight into deep, REM and light-sleep is fascinating and the indicators are colour-coded so you know how you did with a single glance in the morning.
There’s also a useful ‘Regularity’ function which I found prompted me to start going to bed earlier, and at the same time, every night.
While many fitness trackers do that, the Withings Sleep has additional, deeper analysis. It monitors snoring and can also detect sleep apnoea. It also classifies the apnoea as low, moderate or severe.
This feels like a step-up towards really insightful monitoring. It’s not cheap, but with its one-time set-up, the Withings Sleep is easy to use and is a good addition for anyone looking for a deeper, more meaningful view of their general well-being.