If you’re like most people, you probably spend a lot of time in your Apple Watch’s sleep tracking app. But if you’re like me, you may not know how to set up sleep tracking on your Apple Watch. Here’s how:
- Open the Sleep Tracking App on your Apple Watch.
- Choose the “Sleep” tab and click on the “Set Up Sleep Tracking” button.
- Enter your desired information in the “Sleep Type” field and click on the “Create New Sleep Tracker” button.
- Enter your Apple ID and password in the “Account Name” field and click on the “Create Account” button.
- Click on the “Create Tracker” button to create a new sleep tracker for your Apple Watch.
- In the “Trackers Type” field, choose from either an hourly or daily tracker type and click on the “Create Tracker” button to finish creating your new sleep tracker for your Apple Watch.
Although you can set up sleep tracking on your Apple Watch, it’s much easier to do on your iPhone. First, make sure your iPhone is running iOS 14 or higher, and your Apple Watch is running watchOS 7 or higher. If not, the sleep tracking settings won’t be available.
To get started, tap and open the “Health” app on your iPhone. You can swipe down on the Home screen, and then use Spotlight Search to find it if necessary.
Next, tap the “Browse” tab, and then tap “Sleep.”
You can now schedule your bedtime routine. Having a set schedule helps your Apple Watch start monitoring for sleep activity. It also sets an automatic alarm to wake you in the morning.
Tap “Full Schedule & Options.”
In the “Full Schedule” section, tap “Set Your First Schedule.”
Choose which days of the week you want to use this schedule. Then, set your “Bedtime” and “Wake Up” times.
If you want to fine-tune your alarm, you can do so at the bottom. When you’re finished, tap “Add” at the top right.
You can add as many schedules as you want—just tap “Add Schedule for Other Days” to set more. Most people have one schedule for weekdays, and another for weekends.
When you’re done customizing your schedules, scroll down and set the “Sleep Goal,” “Wind Down,” and “Wind Down Shortcuts” settings. To proceed, tap “Options.”
You can then enable any settings you want in the “Sleep Mode” menu. You’ll likely want to toggle-On both the “Turn On Automatically” and “Track Time in Bed with iPhone” options.
After you do this, “Do Not Disturb” will turn on automatically whenever your iPhone is in Sleep Mode. This will mute all incoming notifications when you’re supposed to be sleeping.
Finally, scroll down and tap “Manage Sleep in the Apple Watch App.”
Enable all the settings you want. Again, you’ll want to toggle-On the “Turn On Automatically” and “Track Sleep with Apple Watch” options.
This will enable “Do Not Disturb” on your Watch and prevent the screen from lighting up while you’re asleep.
That’s it! You’ve now enabled sleep tracking on your Apple Watch. Head to bed, and your wearable will take care of everything else.
When you wake up, you can check the average amounts of time you were asleep and in bed in the iPhone “Health” app.
Unfortunately, the Apple Watch won’t be as accurate as a dedicated sleep-tracking device. However, you can get a rough idea of how well and how much you sleep—just don’t rely on this data if you have a serious medical condition.
RELATED: 20 Apple Watch Tips and Tricks You Need to Know
