Good morning! The age-old question, and quite a popular one these days, how did you sleep last night? What about five months ago, how were you sleeping during those spring months compared with the hot, summer days of August, 2017? Perhaps you don't care, alas, you are reading this article so my hope is you are curious. There are free apps and lost-cost devices to help both you and me monitor, track, and dissect our hours of rest. Out of the 107 methods, which of the following is best?
Method 1 - paper
When you awake in the morning rack your sleep brain and jot down the exact minute you fell asleep based upon some timer or the last time your fuzzy eye sight caught a glimpse of the clock on your nightstand. Night after night you can run some reports and see how those years of high-school math come in handy.
Method 2 - download the Misfit app and sleep with your phone next to you all night. This is free app and provides good feedback. It also works with the built-in accelerometer included with every iPhone since model 5
Method 3 - purchase a fitness tracker ranging in price
Method 4 - choose Garmin - their line of trackers, watches, and smartwatches has just about the right watch for any person. I chose the Garmin vivoactive, originally launched back in 2015. It was on-sale for $99.00
Method 1 - paper
When you awake in the morning rack your sleep brain and jot down the exact minute you fell asleep based upon some timer or the last time your fuzzy eye sight caught a glimpse of the clock on your nightstand. Night after night you can run some reports and see how those years of high-school math come in handy.
Method 2 - download the Misfit app and sleep with your phone next to you all night. This is free app and provides good feedback. It also works with the built-in accelerometer included with every iPhone since model 5
Method 3 - purchase a fitness tracker ranging in price
Method 4 - choose Garmin - their line of trackers, watches, and smartwatches has just about the right watch for any person. I chose the Garmin vivoactive, originally launched back in 2015. It was on-sale for $99.00
Pros
1. you type in a set sleep range and Garmin automatically tracks your sleep start and stop time very accurately
1. you type in a set sleep range and Garmin automatically tracks your sleep start and stop time very accurately
2. there are reports and graphs online and within the app
3. nap mode - you can quickly turn on "Sleep Mode" for naps
Cons
1. there is a cost to purchase the tracker/smartwatch and the software is free
2. All of the Garmin devices I have used and tested did not auto-detect naps over 20 minutes
Method 5 - choose Apple - if you have an iPhone 5 or greater the synchronization and seamless communication among the two devices is amazing! I tried the Apple Watch series 1 when it released back in 2015 and it was an okay experience. I decided a few weeks ago to give it another go and tried the original Apple Watch. Removed the lame battery life it has been more fun then one year ago. Unsure why? There is a free app to download to our iPhone and installs on the watch itself called Sleep++ #sleep++. There are a few great flaws though:
1. you have to remember to turn it on and then off again (same issue as the Fitbit one and many other trackers back in 2013)
2. if you forget to initiate the app you cannot manually add the sleep or nap data for it was not turned on and doesn't run in the background
3. even when you do remember to start and stop the Sleep++ it doesn't always collect data and an error message displays asking to restart the Watch before the app can function aright - bummer and lame if you're sleepy
Method 5 - choose Apple - if you have an iPhone 5 or greater the synchronization and seamless communication among the two devices is amazing! I tried the Apple Watch series 1 when it released back in 2015 and it was an okay experience. I decided a few weeks ago to give it another go and tried the original Apple Watch. Removed the lame battery life it has been more fun then one year ago. Unsure why? There is a free app to download to our iPhone and installs on the watch itself called Sleep++ #sleep++. There are a few great flaws though:
1. you have to remember to turn it on and then off again (same issue as the Fitbit one and many other trackers back in 2013)
2. if you forget to initiate the app you cannot manually add the sleep or nap data for it was not turned on and doesn't run in the background
3. even when you do remember to start and stop the Sleep++ it doesn't always collect data and an error message displays asking to restart the Watch before the app can function aright - bummer and lame if you're sleepy
4. lack of reports
Here are some screenshots for you to compare and gather your own opinions.
Garmin Sleep Data
Apple app - Sleep++
Misfit App
Apple Battery Life - is there enough battery for the average life of an iPhone consumer...?
FRIDAY, 9:38 8/25/2017
08:12, 10% battery life on the Apple Watch
09:36, 2% battery life
09:36, plugged into the wall socket using the Apple OEM AC to USB charger (same as the iPhone) and left the Watch in power reserve mode while charging.
09:40, the Apple Watch automatically took itself out of the Power-Reserve mode and turned itself back on, what? It is also impossible to turn off the Watch while charging for this feature is disabled.
* power reserve mode is also disabled while charging
09:40
09:43 - Watch reads 1,384 steps while the Apple Health app read 1,478 steps
10:35 - placed the Watch into Airplane Mode and now the battery = 60%
11:48 - 100% battery
22:00 - 9% battery after 30 min of GPS and normal use
Test 3,329 - Monday, 8:47 8/28/2017
Apple Watch Usage updates
08:47 - battery at 59%
Usage - 1 Hour, 43 minutes
Standby 13 Hours, 29 minutes (most of that time was in Airplane or Theatre modes)
Keeping the Watch in Airplane Mode all night while I slept and I used the "Sleep++" to monitor my sleep. Using less notifications is not too bad at all and there are many watch features to use even when the iPhone is not consistently connected.
12:00 - 11% battery, turned back on the Theater Mode (this mode turns off sounds and disabled the screen display for notifications and wrist movement).
13:00 - 8%
14:37 - 2% yeah, when the Watch battery drops below 10% you may only have less than an hour of tracking left. I was about to turn off Airplane mode and sync and then it turn off. Plugged in the Watch and only Power-Reserve mode is available for when the device gets critically low it need to charge for a bit before the OS is available. If you recall, your iPhone and many other smart devices follow the same process.
Usage 3 Hours, 34 Minutes
Standby 19 Hours, 20 Minutes
Yeah, not the best smartwatch for daily use when it cannot last a full 24 hours when switching among, Sleep, Theater, and Airplane Modes. Granted, this is the original Apple Watch released back in 2015. The Watch 1 - had a new processor, faster, and battery upgrades. With the release of Watch 2 (series 2), they added waterproof resistance for swimming, a faster processor, and longer battery life still. I'll be returning the this device to my friend for enough data has been collected. And now the question - would I recommend the Apple Watch series 1 or 2 to a friend, coworker, or family member? Nope, the battery life is far too short to spend $250.00 for a refurbished model. I already charge my smartphone once a day. Perhaps, on September 12 Apple will announce major charging technological advances and the Watch 3 may last four days as the newly debuted Fitbit Ionic. Time and more testing will the tests of time...
FRIDAY, 9:38 8/25/2017
08:12, 10% battery life on the Apple Watch
09:36, 2% battery life
09:36, plugged into the wall socket using the Apple OEM AC to USB charger (same as the iPhone) and left the Watch in power reserve mode while charging.
09:40, the Apple Watch automatically took itself out of the Power-Reserve mode and turned itself back on, what? It is also impossible to turn off the Watch while charging for this feature is disabled.
* power reserve mode is also disabled while charging
09:40
09:43 - Watch reads 1,384 steps while the Apple Health app read 1,478 steps
10:35 - placed the Watch into Airplane Mode and now the battery = 60%
11:48 - 100% battery
22:00 - 9% battery after 30 min of GPS and normal use
Test 3,329 - Monday, 8:47 8/28/2017
Apple Watch Usage updates
08:47 - battery at 59%
Usage - 1 Hour, 43 minutes
Standby 13 Hours, 29 minutes (most of that time was in Airplane or Theatre modes)
Keeping the Watch in Airplane Mode all night while I slept and I used the "Sleep++" to monitor my sleep. Using less notifications is not too bad at all and there are many watch features to use even when the iPhone is not consistently connected.
12:00 - 11% battery, turned back on the Theater Mode (this mode turns off sounds and disabled the screen display for notifications and wrist movement).
13:00 - 8%
14:37 - 2% yeah, when the Watch battery drops below 10% you may only have less than an hour of tracking left. I was about to turn off Airplane mode and sync and then it turn off. Plugged in the Watch and only Power-Reserve mode is available for when the device gets critically low it need to charge for a bit before the OS is available. If you recall, your iPhone and many other smart devices follow the same process.
Usage 3 Hours, 34 Minutes
Standby 19 Hours, 20 Minutes
Yeah, not the best smartwatch for daily use when it cannot last a full 24 hours when switching among, Sleep, Theater, and Airplane Modes. Granted, this is the original Apple Watch released back in 2015. The Watch 1 - had a new processor, faster, and battery upgrades. With the release of Watch 2 (series 2), they added waterproof resistance for swimming, a faster processor, and longer battery life still. I'll be returning the this device to my friend for enough data has been collected. And now the question - would I recommend the Apple Watch series 1 or 2 to a friend, coworker, or family member? Nope, the battery life is far too short to spend $250.00 for a refurbished model. I already charge my smartphone once a day. Perhaps, on September 12 Apple will announce major charging technological advances and the Watch 3 may last four days as the newly debuted Fitbit Ionic. Time and more testing will the tests of time...
Thank you for reading my blog and feel free to add comments if you have any questions. And may tonight's rest be better than two nights ago...
Sincerely,
Orange Runner
Sincerely,
Orange Runner
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