Should I use sleep tracking?

Our read is that wearable devices like WHOOP, Oura Ring, and Apple Watch are useful for tracking health metrics and developing intuition about physiological responses to lifestyle choices.

These devices can inform users on how to modify nutrition, exercise, sleep, and lifestyle to maximize health and performance, with some experts noting benefits from consistent, excellent sleep guided by such data.

However, one expert cautions against allowing sleep scores to solely drive perceptions of readiness for work or cognitive function, and another notes that tracking can cause anxiety.

• 01WHOOP technology can inform users on how to modify nutrition, exercise, sleep, and lifestyle to maximize health and performance (Andrew Huberman, 4x).
• 02Wearable devices like Whoop, Aura, and Apple Watch are useful for tracking health metrics and developing intuition about physiological responses to lifestyle choices (Bryan Johnson, 2x).
• 03Whoop is an accurate sleep tracker that helps users recover more quickly from stress, enabling more effective training and better sleep (Andrew Huberman, David Sinclair, 7x).
• 04David Sinclair's resting heart rate is 45 bpm and his heart rate variability is 90 (David Sinclair, 1x).
• 05Oura Ring is helpful for distinguishing between time in bed and total sleep time (Peter Attia, 3x).
• 06Sleep scores from devices like Eight Sleep, Whoop, or Oura rings should not drive the perception of one's readiness for hard work or cognitive function (Andrew Huberman, 1x).
• 07Controlling sleeping environment temperature is crucial for falling and staying deeply asleep, and for waking up refreshed (Andrew Huberman, 1x).
• 08Accumulating personal health data over time allows for aiming for younger physiological states when older (David Sinclair, 1x).
• 09Andrew Huberman has experienced health and focus benefits from consistent, excellent sleep, as guided by WHOOP data (Andrew Huberman, 2x).
• 10Peter Attia recommends the Oura Ring to friends, family, and patients, while disclosing his financial interest (Peter Attia, 4x).
• 11Andrew Huberman's end-of-one study found Aura and Whoop to be top-tier sleep trackers (Bryan Johnson, 1x).
• 12The Oura Ring is an excellent device for tracking heart rate variability (HRV) (Peter Attia, 2x).
• 13Oura Ring's R-squared correlation with EKG readings is excellent (Peter Attia, 1x).
• 14The Whoop is also a favored wearable device (Rhonda Patrick, 1x).
• 15The Oura Ring's R-squared value for RMSSD is comparable to that of a chest strap (Peter Attia, 1x).
• 16The Oura ring is less expensive than a continuous glucose monitor due to its one-time purchase cost (Peter Attia, 1x).
• 17Bryan Johnson's heart was monitored by WHOOP during sleep (Bryan Johnson, 1x).

Paul Saladino does not track sleep metrics with devices like the Oura ring because it can negatively impact his sleep by causing anxiety about sleep scores (Paul Saladino, 1x). Andrew Huberman advises that sleep scores from devices like Eight Sleep, Whoop, or Oura rings should not drive the perception of one's readiness for hard work or cognitive function (Andrew Huberman, 1x). The Oura ring is not intended for nighttime erection measurement (Bryan Johnson, 1x).

The verdict would change if new information emerged indicating that sleep tracking devices are consistently inaccurate, or if the psychological detriments of tracking, such as anxiety, were found to outweigh the health and performance benefits for a majority of users.