In addition to the amount of sleep, the quality of sleep depends primarily on the so-called sleep stages. Roughly speaking, sleep medicine distinguishes between two stages: dream sleep and deep sleep. In a healthy night's sleep, these stages alternate four to seven times a night. For example, how much we move at night depends on the sleep stage:
Dream sleep = the body is completely relaxed so that we do not act out our dreams (The dream stage (REM sleep) is used for mental recovery. Daytime experiences are processed and enriched knowledge and experiences are stored in the memory)
Deep sleep = the body tosses and turns (The deep sleep phase is used for physical recovery. During it, the body forms building blocks to maintain and repair the organs)
In deep sleep, all bodily functions are throttled back; the body temperature drops. Pulse and breathing slow down. In contrast to REM phases, the eyeballs are completely still.
Sleep trackers record movement during sleep, register all sounds in the environment and recognize whether a deep sleep or dream phase is currently in progress. Changes in heart rate are also recorded. This data is combined and then used to determine the duration and quality of sleep.
The sleep monitoring includes
- Number and percentage distribution of sleep phases in the circadian sleep rhythm,
- sleep duration,
- body movements during sleep,
- heart rate
- breathing rate are measured.
Sleep trackers can therefore help you get to know your own sleep patterns and sensitize you to restful sleep. However, this only applies to healthy people.
If you have chronic sleep problems, apps are no substitute for medical treatment. A sleep expert should be consulted if sleep is permanently disturbed.
Disadvantages of sleep tracking apps
- It is merely an assessment of sleep - not an analysis
- Real sleep monitoring requires more data such as muscle movements, eye movements or brain waves
- There is no concrete and evaluative differentiation between light sleep and deep sleep phases (only measurable using electrical brain activity (EEG))
- Sleep trackers generally classify even lying still as sleep
- Harmful effects on the psyche (similar effect to staring at an alarm clock when having trouble falling asleep)
- Partly falsified suggestion that there is no serious sleep disorder
