Apple Watch study says you need to get more sleep

Posted:
in Apple Watch
Data generated by the Apple Watch for the Apple Heart and Movement Study indicates that most people don't get enough sleep at night, and that people in Idaho get more sleep than West Virginia.

Wear an Apple Watch at night to see how well you sleep.
Wear an Apple Watch at night to see how well you sleep.


The Apple Heart and Movement Study was formed by Apple and Brigham and Women's Hospital, as well as the American Heart Association, in 2019 to initially look into early warning signs for atrial fibrillation (AFib). In a March data release, the same data demonstrates that people need to spend more time sleeping.

An update focusing on sleep released on March 7 reveals the average amount of time spent sleeping by project participants was 6 hours and 27 minutes. A mere 31.2% of people manage to achieve seven or more hours of sleep, meeting the minimum recommended by the AHA.

Most people manage between six and seven hours, with 39.7% of sleep reporters reaching that. Another 20.3% get between five and six hours a night, and 8.8% have less than 5 hours.




Sleep is considered an important area for health and wellness, with duration and consistency linked to various health topics including cardiovascular disease, metabolism, and brain health, explains BWH.

The same data set also revealed that participants in Washington, South Dakota, and Idaho are more likely to meet the minimum sleep recommendation. Those in Hawaii, Mississippi, and West Virginia are least likely to do so.

Researchers also spotted a fair bit of variance in when people go to sleep on a weekday versus a weekend. As you would expect, most people go to sleep before midnight on a weekday, with 66.4% doing so.

However, by the weekend, the chart as a while shifts later, with 56.6% hitting the hay before 12am.

The data is based on results from over 42,000 people who opted into the study on their Apple Watch and iPhone, via the Apple Research app.

The BWH offers advice to track sleep and improve sleep habits, including establishing a routine and staying as consistent with your sleep as possible. To measure slumber, it's suggested to set up sleep tracking on the Apple Watch, so you can see how you're resting over time.

Read on AppleInsider
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 22
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,746member
    This is shocking. Umm, not. Next thing you know they’re going to do is conduct an extensive survey to tell us that a lot of those folks who aren’t sleeping enough are also under a lot of stress, suffering from anxiety, or they over-stimulated by devices and gadgets that spew media, entertainment, and doom & gloom into their eyes and ears 24x7x365. Sorry for the negative slant on this, but I didn’t get enough sleep last night - and for the past 20 years. 
  • Reply 2 of 22
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,851member
    I am surprised that so many people wear them at night. I am retired, but if I was still having to go to work I would not have time to charge it before leaving.  What do people still working do about that? By the way, I get congratulations all the time from my Apple Watch for beating my sleep goal, one of the many joys of retirement!
  • Reply 3 of 22
    MacPro said:
    I am surprised that so many people wear them at night. I am retired, but if I was still having to go to work I would not have time to charge it before leaving.  What do people still working do about that? By the way, I get congratulations all the time from my Apple Watch for beating my sleep goal, one of the many joys of retirement!
    I wear mine at night and I got an extra charger for my desk at work. It takes about 45 minutes to recharge it and then I'm good to go until the next day. I use a sleep tracker app called Autosleep, which detects when I fall asleep and measures sleep duration and depth. It's helped me get my average up from around 6.5 hours to 7.5 hours.
  • Reply 4 of 22
    igorskyigorsky Posts: 774member
    MacPro said:
    I am surprised that so many people wear them at night. I am retired, but if I was still having to go to work I would not have time to charge it before leaving.  What do people still working do about that? By the way, I get congratulations all the time from my Apple Watch for beating my sleep goal, one of the many joys of retirement!
    I usually end my day with anywhere from 40-50% batter left.  That's plenty for overnight sleep tracking.  After I wake up I drop it on the charger charger and it's usually close to full by the time I'm ready to leave the house.
    edited March 2023
  • Reply 5 of 22
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,763member
    igorsky said:
    MacPro said:
    I am surprised that so many people wear them at night. I am retired, but if I was still having to go to work I would not have time to charge it before leaving.  What do people still working do about that? By the way, I get congratulations all the time from my Apple Watch for beating my sleep goal, one of the many joys of retirement!
    I usually end my day with anywhere from 40-50% batter left.  That's plenty for overnight sleep tracking.  After I wake up I drop it on the charger charger and it's usually close to full by the time I'm ready to leave the house.
    I do the reverse: I charge it before I go to bed. My charger is on my night table, so I don't forget to put it back on. Plus I change to a more comfortable (breathable fabric) band at night.
    StrangeDays
  • Reply 6 of 22
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,851member
    igorsky said:
    MacPro said:
    I am surprised that so many people wear them at night. I am retired, but if I was still having to go to work I would not have time to charge it before leaving.  What do people still working do about that? By the way, I get congratulations all the time from my Apple Watch for beating my sleep goal, one of the many joys of retirement!
    I usually end my day with anywhere from 40-50% batter left.  That's plenty for overnight sleep tracking.  After I wake up I drop it on the charger charger and it's usually close to full by the time I'm ready to leave the house.
    Good to know, thanks.  Maybe mine, being a little older, doesn't stay charged as long as newer models.  Mine is a Series 4,40mm.  Maybe time for an upgrade.
  • Reply 7 of 22
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,851member
    auxio said:
    igorsky said:
    MacPro said:
    I am surprised that so many people wear them at night. I am retired, but if I was still having to go to work I would not have time to charge it before leaving.  What do people still working do about that? By the way, I get congratulations all the time from my Apple Watch for beating my sleep goal, one of the many joys of retirement!
    I usually end my day with anywhere from 40-50% batter left.  That's plenty for overnight sleep tracking.  After I wake up I drop it on the charger charger and it's usually close to full by the time I'm ready to leave the house.
    I do the reverse: I charge it before I go to bed. My charger is on my night table, so I don't forget to put it back on. Plus I change to a more comfortable (breathable fabric) band at night.
    All good strategies.  I bet in a version or two, we will see even longer battery durations.
  • Reply 8 of 22
    auxioauxio Posts: 2,763member
    MacPro said:
    auxio said:
    igorsky said:
    MacPro said:
    I am surprised that so many people wear them at night. I am retired, but if I was still having to go to work I would not have time to charge it before leaving.  What do people still working do about that? By the way, I get congratulations all the time from my Apple Watch for beating my sleep goal, one of the many joys of retirement!
    I usually end my day with anywhere from 40-50% batter left.  That's plenty for overnight sleep tracking.  After I wake up I drop it on the charger charger and it's usually close to full by the time I'm ready to leave the house.
    I do the reverse: I charge it before I go to bed. My charger is on my night table, so I don't forget to put it back on. Plus I change to a more comfortable (breathable fabric) band at night.
    All good strategies.  I bet in a version or two, we will see even longer battery durations.
    Indeed. My son has a Fitbit, and since it doesn't do as much as my Apple Watch, it tends to last for 3-4 days without charging. It would certainly be nice if the AW lasted that long between charges.

  • Reply 9 of 22
    chadbagchadbag Posts: 2,028member
    I wear it at night.  I specifically made the decision to do so and formed a routine of setting it to charge before I go to bed.  I don’t usually need to charge it during the day.  I will occasionally do a quick top off in the morning if I remember while I am doing my morning routine.  But I usually forget.  But since I got the latest a few months ago I’ve had no issues with battery.  Previously I was in a series 4 and that battery had degraded such that by evening it was often in its last legs. 

    Besides sleep tracking I like the way it wakes me up for alarms.  Doesn’t make noise to wake up my better half.  

    ( I still use the series 4 when doing “rough” work where possible screen damage could happen.  We’re building a house using ICF and when I am working with rebar or similar I’ll switch watches). 


    auxio
  • Reply 10 of 22
    netroxnetrox Posts: 1,505member
    That's bad. I sleep 7+ hours a day. Will not tolerate animals, humans included, on my bed. 
  • Reply 11 of 22
    One issue with a study like this is exactly what happened to me last night. I went to bed a little later than normal, but not much, and my alarm went off at me regular time. However, I stopped the alarm and kept sleeping to another 2 hours. The problem is the watch stopped my sleep tracking at the time my alarm was set for and didn’t register the additional 2 hours. As such it shows I only had 6 hours 15 minutes of sleep, when the reality is I had over 8. Maybe this is an anomaly but if something similar happens enough times to enough people it can easily throw off the study. 
  • Reply 12 of 22
    cm477cm477 Posts: 99member
    dewme said:
    This is shocking. Umm, not. Next thing you know they’re going to do is conduct an extensive survey to tell us that a lot of those folks who aren’t sleeping enough are also under a lot of stress, suffering from anxiety, or they over-stimulated by devices and gadgets that spew media, entertainment, and doom & gloom into their eyes and ears 24x7x365. Sorry for the negative slant on this, but I didn’t get enough sleep last night - and for the past 20 years. 
    While this may seem obvious, it is helpful to get evidence so we can make informed conclusions, recommendations, interventions etc. That's why we call it evidence-based medicine, and technology is helping us gather data. We don't have answers for everything, but we are trying our best. 
    StrangeDays
  • Reply 13 of 22
    cm477cm477 Posts: 99member
    MacPro said:
    I am surprised that so many people wear them at night. I am retired, but if I was still having to go to work I would not have time to charge it before leaving.  What do people still working do about that? By the way, I get congratulations all the time from my Apple Watch for beating my sleep goal, one of the many joys of retirement!
    It would be great to get even more rapid charging and longer battery life. I still have my Series 4, which I wear at night while I charge my Series 7. Otherwise, I would probably top off the charge at night before bed and in the morning after waking up. 
  • Reply 14 of 22
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,851member
    One issue with a study like this is exactly what happened to me last night. I went to bed a little later than normal, but not much, and my alarm went off at me regular time. However, I stopped the alarm and kept sleeping to another 2 hours. The problem is the watch stopped my sleep tracking at the time my alarm was set for and didn’t register the additional 2 hours. As such it shows I only had 6 hours 15 minutes of sleep, when the reality is I had over 8. Maybe this is an anomaly but if something similar happens enough times to enough people it can easily throw off the study. 
    That doesn't seem to happen with mine.  I can get up and get a drink of water or use the bathroom in the middle of the night, and it tracks the total time, by adding the two segments with no problem.
    StrangeDays
  • Reply 15 of 22
    MacPro said:
    One issue with a study like this is exactly what happened to me last night. I went to bed a little later than normal, but not much, and my alarm went off at me regular time. However, I stopped the alarm and kept sleeping to another 2 hours. The problem is the watch stopped my sleep tracking at the time my alarm was set for and didn’t register the additional 2 hours. As such it shows I only had 6 hours 15 minutes of sleep, when the reality is I had over 8. Maybe this is an anomaly but if something similar happens enough times to enough people it can easily throw off the study. 
    That doesn't seem to happen with mine.  I can get up and get a drink of water or use the bathroom in the middle of the night, and it tracks the total time, by adding the two segments with no problem.
    I can get up in the middle of the night without interrupting the watch gathering data, too. It seems to happen when the alarm goes off. Once the alarm is triggered that’s the end of my “sleep”, even if I continue to sleep. 
  • Reply 16 of 22
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,746member
    cm477 said:
    dewme said:
    This is shocking. Umm, not. Next thing you know they’re going to do is conduct an extensive survey to tell us that a lot of those folks who aren’t sleeping enough are also under a lot of stress, suffering from anxiety, or they over-stimulated by devices and gadgets that spew media, entertainment, and doom & gloom into their eyes and ears 24x7x365. Sorry for the negative slant on this, but I didn’t get enough sleep last night - and for the past 20 years. 
    While this may seem obvious, it is helpful to get evidence so we can make informed conclusions, recommendations, interventions etc. That's why we call it evidence-based medicine, and technology is helping us gather data. We don't have answers for everything, but we are trying our best. 

    This particular sleep related survey is probably one of hundreds or maybe thousands that all lead to the same exact conclusion - we all don't get enough sleep. Apple conducting another sampling to confirm once again what we already know to be true is simply adding more evidence to the pile of evidence we already have. Is this additional evidence going to contribute anything beyond what we already know that will possibly change the outcome? I hope so but I'm not holding my breath.

    I see most of these sleep monitors in much the same way as I see weight scales, and especially "smart scales." Do you really need a smart scale to know that you're fat?  Not fitting into your pants is to weight as fighting to stay awake at 3:00 pm in the afternoon is to sleep. The smart device isn't the key to change, dealing with the underlying behavior or condition is. If the device and what it's telling you is truly telling you something you don't already know, and if you are committed to taking steps to meet targets the device sets for you, and if you are seeing benefits from the changes to your behavior and/or professionally recommended treatment - life is good.

    I'm not at all belittling the results of the Apple survey in question. I'm just saying that it is repeating what we already know. I must also add that some of the probable contributing factors to sleep deficiency, at least in younger adults and children, are due to misuse or overuse of the devices that Apple profits tremendously from, including iPhones and iPads. Apple knows this and has taken steps to reduce the overuse of such devices. But it's so much more than the devices themselves. It's more about where the devices take them, like social media and doom-scrolling, places where the devices make it so easy to ignore basic human needs like daily restorative sleep. Is a smart watch or sleep monitor going to be the antivenom that helps them break unhealthy habits? For a few, maybe, but for the masses of sleepy people, probably not.

    One thing I must emphasize is that this is not a problem that Apple or any device maker can solve. It goes far beyond anything that Apple can directly influence.

    edited March 2023 muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 17 of 22
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,851member
    MacPro said:
    One issue with a study like this is exactly what happened to me last night. I went to bed a little later than normal, but not much, and my alarm went off at me regular time. However, I stopped the alarm and kept sleeping to another 2 hours. The problem is the watch stopped my sleep tracking at the time my alarm was set for and didn’t register the additional 2 hours. As such it shows I only had 6 hours 15 minutes of sleep, when the reality is I had over 8. Maybe this is an anomaly but if something similar happens enough times to enough people it can easily throw off the study. 
    That doesn't seem to happen with mine.  I can get up and get a drink of water or use the bathroom in the middle of the night, and it tracks the total time, by adding the two segments with no problem.
    I can get up in the middle of the night without interrupting the watch gathering data, too. It seems to happen when the alarm goes off. Once the alarm is triggered that’s the end of my “sleep”, even if I continue to sleep. 
    Yep, that makes sense now.  There should be a 'continue sleeping' button.  I wish I had one of those in my head too!  LOL
    edited March 2023
  • Reply 18 of 22
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,851member
    dewme said:
    cm477 said:
    dewme said:
    This is shocking. Umm, not. Next thing you know they’re going to do is conduct an extensive survey to tell us that a lot of those folks who aren’t sleeping enough are also under a lot of stress, suffering from anxiety, or they over-stimulated by devices and gadgets that spew media, entertainment, and doom & gloom into their eyes and ears 24x7x365. Sorry for the negative slant on this, but I didn’t get enough sleep last night - and for the past 20 years. 
    While this may seem obvious, it is helpful to get evidence so we can make informed conclusions, recommendations, interventions etc. That's why we call it evidence-based medicine, and technology is helping us gather data. We don't have answers for everything, but we are trying our best. 

    This particular sleep related survey is probably one of hundreds or maybe thousands that all lead to the same exact conclusion - we all don't get enough sleep. Apple conducting another sampling to confirm once again what we already know to be true is simply adding more evidence to the pile of evidence we already have. Is this additional evidence going to contribute anything beyond what we already know that will possibly change the outcome? I hope so but I'm not holding my breath.

    I see most of these sleep monitors in much the same way as I see weight scales, and especially "smart scales." Do you really need a smart scale to know that you're fat?  Not fitting into your pants is to weight as fighting to stay awake at 3:00 pm in the afternoon is to sleep. The smart device isn't the key to change, dealing with the underlying behavior or condition is. If the device and what it's telling you is truly telling you something you don't already know, and if you are committed to taking steps to meet targets the device sets for you, and if you are seeing benefits from the changes to your behavior and/or professionally recommended treatment - life is good.

    I'm not at all belittling the results of the Apple survey in question. I'm just saying that it is repeating what we already know. I must also add that some of the probable contributing factors to sleep deficiency, at least in younger adults and children, are due to misuse or overuse of the devices that Apple profits tremendously from, including iPhones and iPads. Apple knows this and has taken steps to reduce the overuse of such devices. But it's so much more than the devices themselves. It's more about where the devices take them, like social media and doom-scrolling, places where the devices make it so easy to ignore basic human needs like daily restorative sleep. Is a smart watch or sleep monitor going to be the antivenom that helps them break unhealthy habits? For a few, maybe, but for the masses of sleepy people, probably not.

    One thing I must emphasize is that this is not a problem that Apple or any device maker can solve. It goes far beyond anything that Apple can directly influence.

    I beg to differ with your scale/weight comparison.  The scales and your weight are simple facts.  Thinking you are lighter is easily disproved.  Not so much with sleep.  The use of the Apple watch makes users like us aware of the actual state of our sleep, especially if we think we are getting enough, but are not.  It could help people look into why they are not (besides the obvious of staying up).  If mine were telling me I didn't, even though I am, as far as I know, asleep for at least eight hours, I'd want to know why.  There are several reasons a visit to the doctor could be in order. Being fat has a simple fix in 99% of cases.  Eat less!
  • Reply 19 of 22
    dewmedewme Posts: 5,746member
    MacPro said:
    dewme said:
    cm477 said:
    dewme said:
    This is shocking. Umm, not. Next thing you know they’re going to do is conduct an extensive survey to tell us that a lot of those folks who aren’t sleeping enough are also under a lot of stress, suffering from anxiety, or they over-stimulated by devices and gadgets that spew media, entertainment, and doom & gloom into their eyes and ears 24x7x365. Sorry for the negative slant on this, but I didn’t get enough sleep last night - and for the past 20 years. 
    While this may seem obvious, it is helpful to get evidence so we can make informed conclusions, recommendations, interventions etc. That's why we call it evidence-based medicine, and technology is helping us gather data. We don't have answers for everything, but we are trying our best. 

    This particular sleep related survey is probably one of hundreds or maybe thousands that all lead to the same exact conclusion - we all don't get enough sleep. Apple conducting another sampling to confirm once again what we already know to be true is simply adding more evidence to the pile of evidence we already have. Is this additional evidence going to contribute anything beyond what we already know that will possibly change the outcome? I hope so but I'm not holding my breath.

    I see most of these sleep monitors in much the same way as I see weight scales, and especially "smart scales." Do you really need a smart scale to know that you're fat?  Not fitting into your pants is to weight as fighting to stay awake at 3:00 pm in the afternoon is to sleep. The smart device isn't the key to change, dealing with the underlying behavior or condition is. If the device and what it's telling you is truly telling you something you don't already know, and if you are committed to taking steps to meet targets the device sets for you, and if you are seeing benefits from the changes to your behavior and/or professionally recommended treatment - life is good.

    I'm not at all belittling the results of the Apple survey in question. I'm just saying that it is repeating what we already know. I must also add that some of the probable contributing factors to sleep deficiency, at least in younger adults and children, are due to misuse or overuse of the devices that Apple profits tremendously from, including iPhones and iPads. Apple knows this and has taken steps to reduce the overuse of such devices. But it's so much more than the devices themselves. It's more about where the devices take them, like social media and doom-scrolling, places where the devices make it so easy to ignore basic human needs like daily restorative sleep. Is a smart watch or sleep monitor going to be the antivenom that helps them break unhealthy habits? For a few, maybe, but for the masses of sleepy people, probably not.

    One thing I must emphasize is that this is not a problem that Apple or any device maker can solve. It goes far beyond anything that Apple can directly influence.

    I beg to differ with your scale/weight comparison.  The scales and your weight are simple facts.  Thinking you are lighter is easily disproved.  Not so much with sleep.  The use of the Apple watch makes users like us aware of the actual state of our sleep, especially if we think we are getting enough, but are not.  It could help people look into why they are not (besides the obvious of staying up).  If mine were telling me I didn't, even though I am, as far as I know, asleep for at least eight hours, I'd want to know why.  There are several reasons a visit to the doctor could be in order. Being fat has a simple fix in 99% of cases.  Eat less!
    You hit on the same point that I mentioned: "If the device and what it's telling you is truly telling you something you don't already know..." which is what you're describing I totally agree with you. If the Apple Watch is helping people discover an undiagnosed sleep issue it is not analogous to being obese. I hope not. I'd say that undiagnosed obesity is not something encountered on a frequent basis. I'd also add that people who suffer from undiagnosed sleep deprivation, sleep apnea, and excessive daytime sleepiness are not totally unaware of their condition, unless of course the resulting cognitive decline or massive ingestion of "energy drinks" and coffee has altered their body self-awareness.

    Yes, it is not a perfect analogy and does not apply to discovering undiagnosed conditions. But there has been a strong demand for sleep tracking devices for several years for a reason, long before Apple dipped its toe into the water with the Apple Watch. I don't think the demand is driven as much by a lot of people wondering whether they have sleep issues, but rather by people who know they have sleep issues and are trying to get these issues under control. So seeing yet another study that states "we need to get more sleep" seems like we're simply restating what we already know at a very wide and deep level.

    Again, Apple is doing pretty much everything it can do to help people get the help they need in this area. Screen time limits, blue light reduction, sleep monitoring, promoting healthy lifestyles, etc., reiterate Apple's awareness and knowledge of sleep issues. I hope they continue to build on what they've started by adding snore detection, oxygen saturation level monitoring, temporary loss of breathing detection, restless leg syndrome detection, and similar diagnostics from the sleep health field. Apple knows there is a well known problem and has been building products that hope to address the known issues, as have many other vendors. 
  • Reply 20 of 22
    StrangeDaysStrangeDays Posts: 13,101member
    auxio said:
    MacPro said:
    auxio said:
    igorsky said:
    MacPro said:
    I am surprised that so many people wear them at night. I am retired, but if I was still having to go to work I would not have time to charge it before leaving.  What do people still working do about that? By the way, I get congratulations all the time from my Apple Watch for beating my sleep goal, one of the many joys of retirement!
    I usually end my day with anywhere from 40-50% batter left.  That's plenty for overnight sleep tracking.  After I wake up I drop it on the charger charger and it's usually close to full by the time I'm ready to leave the house.
    I do the reverse: I charge it before I go to bed. My charger is on my night table, so I don't forget to put it back on. Plus I change to a more comfortable (breathable fabric) band at night.
    All good strategies.  I bet in a version or two, we will see even longer battery durations.
    Indeed. My son has a Fitbit, and since it doesn't do as much as my Apple Watch, it tends to last for 3-4 days without charging. It would certainly be nice if the AW lasted that long between charges.

    It stands to reason that for the AW to get as much battery life as the FitBit, it must do as less as the FitBit does. The AWU has a 60-hour mode disabling a bunch of stuff. But for me, I charge my phone daily and don’t mind charging my AW every other day, either in the morning or before bed. 
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