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Sleep Aging and Sleep Sleep Science Sleep Better

Activity trackers are all the rage, and millions of wrists now sport devices that monitor everything from your heart rate and oxygen consumption to the number of steps you take each day.

Among their many functions, activity trackers can also shine a light on your biggest source of inactivity: sleep.

But do they actually work? Read on to learn what sleep tracking devices can tell you (and what they can't.)

What Do Sleep Trackers Monitor?

A wide variety of sleep trackers have hit the market, with more being released all the time. Many are wearable trackers that you can strap to your wrist. Others clip on your pillow or sit on your bedside table.

Features of these devices vary, but some common capabilities include:

Sleep duration: By tracking the time you're inactive, the devices can record when you fall asleep at night and when you stir in the morning.

Sleep quality: Trackers can detect interrupted sleep, letting you know when you're tossing and turning or waking during the night.

Sleep phases: Some tracking systems track the phases of your sleep and time your alarm to go off during a period when you're sleeping less deeply. In theory, that makes it easier for you to rouse.

Environmental factors: Some devices record environmental factors like the amount of light or temperature in your bedroom.

Lifestyle factors: Some trackers prompt you to enter information about activities that can affect sleep, such as how much caffeine you've had, when you've eaten or whether your stress level is high.

What Does a Typical Sleep Cycle Look Like?

Recognizing Sleep Patterns

While sleep trackers can collect a lot of information about your slumber habits, they don't measure sleep directly.

Instead, they often measure inactivity as a surrogate for estimating sleep. Most sleep tracking devices make some guesstimate as to how much you're actually sleeping.

For exact data about your sleep habits, you'd have to do a medical sleep study, which monitors brain waves to analyze the stages of sleep you cycle through during the night. Such studies are helpful for diagnosing conditions like sleep apnea and other sleep disorders.

Still, tracking devices can definitely be useful for helping you recognize patterns in your sleep habits. Do you feel sluggish when you sleep from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. but energetic if you shift your shuteye to 11 p.m. to 7 a.m.? Do you sleep better when your bedroom is cooler or on days you exercise? Is your sleep disrupted if you have caffeine after lunchtime?

The tracker will give you something to reflect on, often with user-friendly graphs or reports that make it easy to spot trends.

If you have any concerns about the quality of your sleep, it's a good idea to talk to a health practitioner. If you're an otherwise healthy person who just wants to gain some insight into your sleep routine , tracking devices might be a good option. Just take the numbers with a grain of salt.

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While sleep trackers can collect a lot of information about your slumber habits, there's one important thing they generally don't do: measure sleep directly.

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and more against stress

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As a bonus mention, the iPad 2 is a handheld treasure trove of stress relief, thanks to Apple's robust app store. To see if an iPad holds the key of relief to your lock of stress, go have a relaxing look through our "10 stress-relieving apps for iPad" gallery. Between storm simulators, white noise apps, HD time-lapsed landscapes and more, the iPad is my personal primary means of stress relief!

Caption by: Stephen Chapman

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10 stress-relieving gadgets everyone needs 2 - Page 2 | ZDNet

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We all experience a fair share of stress in our lives, so why not arm yourself with a gadget or 10 to help reduce it when you do have to deal with it? These should help to get you started. - Page 2

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and more against sleep

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Working nights? Pulling long shifts? Stretched too thin during the holidays? Here's a list of apps and gadgets to make sure you don't fall asleep on the job.

Most people think datacenters run on electricity, but, personally, I've found they run on caffeine. Servers and work stations really should dispense coffee, soda, and energy drinks right out of their sides. This is especially an issue during the holidays when vacations leave every IT department short-staffed. IT pros could find themselves doing longer shifts than normal or even covering the night shift for the first time in a long time.

To help you stay awake during those long shifts, I've pulled together a list of gadgets, apps, and products to help you stay alert through the days when you wish you were settling in for a long winter's nap.
[See 7 Data Center Disasters You'll Never See Coming.]
I can't personally endorse one over the other, but each offers a different strategy for keeping you awake, from relying on alarms and sensors to biofeedback. Depending on your role, not all of them will work for you because some could be distracting or too noisy to your fellow workers. But I've listed a lot of options. One might be perfect for you.

Of course, nothing can replace getting the right amount of sleep before clocking in. But when holidays or emergencies make that impossible, technology can bail you out. Take a look at the list to see if one of these choices is right for your needs, and then head over to the comments to tell us how you stay awake when you get stuck with the wrong shift.
**New deadline of Dec. 18, 2015** Be a part of the prestigious InformationWeek Elite 100! Time is running out to submit your company's application by Dec. 18, 2015. Go to our 2016 registration page: InformationWeek's Elite 100 list for 2016.
David has been writing on business and technology for over 10 years and was most recently Managing Editor at Enterpriseefficiency.com. Before that he was an Assistant Editor at MIT Sloan Management Review, where he covered a wide range of business topics including IT, ... View Full Bio

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8 Apps, Gadgets To Keep IT Pros Awake On The Job - InformationWeek

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Working nights? Pulling long shifts? Stretched too thin during the holidays? Here's a list of apps and gadgets to make sure you don't fall asleep on the job. Most people think datacenters run on electricity, but, personally, I've found they run on caffeine.