Sleep tracking is nothing new in Garmin’s fitness watches, but the company’s latest wearable is a dedicated smart sleep band. The Index Sleep Monitor offers week-long battery life with continuous pulse ox tracking for monitoring your blood oxygen saturation while you sleep.
Garmin’s tracker is worn on the upper arm — which should hopefully make it more comfortable — where it tracks a variety of metrics: skin temperature; light, deep and REM sleep stages; and variations in your heart rate and breathing. The data is then combined to provide an overall personalized daily sleep score that can be viewed in the Garmin Connect app. If you already use a Garmin smartwatch but don’t sleep with it on your wrist, the Index Sleep Monitor is designed to add the missing metrics to the insights you’re already getting from the watch.
Skin temperature tracking gives you a better idea of how your sleep environment affects the quality of your sleep, while flagging potential illnesses indicated by temperature changes. This metric also extends to menstrual health tracking, with skin temperature changes useful for tracking cycles, past ovulation estimates and offering what Garmin describes as “improved period predictions.”
Garmin’s Index Sleep Monitor will also monitor your energy levels, providing you with its “Body Battery” measurements that advise you to take more rest when the reading is coming in low. Again, these insights should be more accurate and reliable when combined with a compatible smartwatch worn during the day. The sleep band will also track your stress throughout the night, and features a smart alarm that attempts to wake you gently during lighter sleep stages so you’ll feel less tired.
The Index Sleep Monitor is available in S-M and L-XL sizes and costs $170.
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