Best Sleep Trackers in 2026

Wrist-worn devices achieve 70-80% agreement with polysomnography for sleep stage classification. Ring-form devices like Oura score slightly higher in studies, around 80-85%. All consumer devices struggle with light sleep versus wake detection and undercount brief awakenings. For tracking trends over time, this accuracy suffices. For diagnosing sleep disorders, clinical testing remains necessary.

Not necessarily. Bed-based systems like Eight Sleep and Withings Sleep track without wearing anything. They're less accurate for sleep staging but still capture useful metrics like movement and breathing patterns. The tradeoff is losing daytime data (HRV, activity) that wearables provide. Choose based on whether 24/7 tracking matters to you.

Heart rate variability (HRV) and resting heart rate trends reveal recovery and readiness better than sleep stage breakdowns. A declining HRV trend suggests accumulated stress or inadequate recovery even if hours slept look fine. Sleep consistency (same bedtime and wake time) correlates strongly with sleep quality across all studies. Focus on metrics that drive behavior change.

At $2,000+ for hardware plus subscription, Eight Sleep costs significantly more than wearables. Its value proposition is active intervention with temperature control that can improve deep sleep duration for some people. If you run hot at night or share a bed with someone who prefers different temperatures, the pod may justify its cost. For pure tracking, wearables deliver comparable data at a fraction of the price.

Apple Watch and Garmin provide solid sleep tracking as part of general fitness watches. They're convenient if you already wear one. However, Oura and WHOOP offer deeper sleep-specific insights and algorithms trained specifically on sleep data. If sleep optimization is your primary goal, dedicated trackers generally provide better analysis. If sleep is one of many metrics you track, multi-function watches work well enough.