Do you wear your watch for sleep tracking?

[Night Spring]

I go into sleep, scroll all the way to the bottom and go to All Sleep Data. From there I see my sleep logged as many different lines. Where this gets tricky is because I have a sleep disorder and I might sleep a few hours here and there. If you sleep from 10pm to 6am every night, it's easy to figure this out and delete as needed.

If you slept from 6pm-9pm and then 3am to 7am and then had 2 hours of 4 hours you were working logged as sleep, it gets much harder to identify those periods the way Apple shows it to you. It's often difficult to even figure out what day you're looking at because the way Apple Health charts sleep, it doesn't know how to handle an irregular pattern like this.

The one thing I've figured out that makes this easier is that the invalid sleep registered is usually registered as "asleep" instead of the more specific core sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep. Most of the time if I just purge all "asleep" periods, everything becomes correct.

Fitbit would get confused too, but it's just easier to understand and much easier to edit.

It does take a bit of getting used to, and I do feel Apple could have organized this better. But I think you'd eventually get used to this. One thing I do is I use 24 hour time. I don't just do that for sleep tracking, I just like it better than 12 hour time, but it does make it easier to identify which time periods to delete from the sleep data.

 

[goldmac2006]

@goldmac2006

You talk about your 11-hour shift as if it's some big thing -- I'm sure it's a big thing in your life, but in terms of keeping your watch charged, not so much. It'd be an issue if the watch battery lasted only 12 hours, but no, the battery lasts well over 15 hours, in my use case, I get close to 20 hours. You have a plan to charge the watch twice a day, that should be plenty. Now, stop thinking about the watch, surely there are other things to sort out as you get ready for this exciting opportunity.

I am always on the lookout of it, already have actual quantitative evidence of how my Watch will last. Do you fast charge with your Apple Watch Series 8 by any chance?

 

[Night Spring]

I am always on the lookout of it, already have actual quantitative evidence of how my Watch will last. Do you fast charge with your Apple Watch Series 8 by any chance?

Actually, no. I'm stil using the puck I got with my first Apple Watch from back when the original one was released. I know the newer pucks will charge faster, but I just haven't bothered switching pucks -- I haven't felt the need.

 

[Momof2.1107]

Similar to what I was looking for. Thanks for your feedback. Btw does your workplace have a gym, or do you walk during your lunch hour?

I asked the same question to other Apple Watch wearers on other threads and via PMs who work long hours, one AWU2 user like you has asked me to test out the battery endurance through one full charge cycle so I charged it to full battery before I sleep track with it last night, and then never took it off until I finished my workout in the afternoon. Here is a graph of the battery endurance test results:

View attachment 2473031
Today from 11:40 pm to 3:14 pm, my Apple Watch Series 6 gold stainless steel 40mm battery dropped from 100% to 14%. This remarkable battery test reassures me that my Apple Watch will endure an extensive eleven-hour shift during the last week of my internship. I'm grateful for all the helpful tips shared by fellow early-morning or late-night Apple Watch enthusiasts. Although many of these insights came from Apple Watch Ultra users, identified through their apple products they use and shared charging experiences, I now understand how to optimize my charging routine. This is 17 hours of battery life within one full charge. Even I can still squeeze in a half hour workout after I come back from work. 11.3 beta 2.

During the test, I logged two workouts: a comprehensive 1.5-hour Fitness+ stack of strength, dance, and a 45-minute yoga session, plus a 30-minute Time to Walk in the park. I used Low Power Mode and disabled Always-On Display during workouts and mindfulness sessions. The AOD was also disabled during Sleep focus by default.

Apple Watch Ultra users usually favor prolonging battery usage so they only charge once every 1-2 days, 3 days at most. Suggestion included turning off AOD, Low Power Mode, using a keychain charger while on the go or during lunch breaks, and minimizing full charge after workouts/showering and getting ready for bed. 🛌

That’s great that you figured it out. I deliver mail and have walking as part of my route so that’s exercise for me.

 

[goldmac2006]

Actually, no. I'm stil using the puck I got with my first Apple Watch from back when the original one was released. I know the newer pucks will charge faster, but I just haven't bothered switching pucks -- I haven't felt the need.

I still have mines from my first Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Series 1 charging cable outta plastic. But I use the new one in my dock, charged faster. I bring a charging puck that is keychain friendly when I’m out and about, i stick it in a USB port on my laptop or power bank.

That’s great that you figured it out. I deliver mail and have walking as part of my route so that’s exercise for me.

Ohhh postal service?! No wonder you walk a lot. I am glad you gave positive feedback and support on the battery test I have done. I will go with the charging routine you did with the natty titanium AWU1 given that the regular series Apple Watches still need 2 charges per day for a smaller 41mm.

 

[smirking]

It does take a bit of getting used to, and I do feel Apple could have organized this better. But I think you'd eventually get used to this. One thing I do is I use 24 hour time. I don't just do that for sleep tracking, I just like it better than 12 hour time, but it does make it easier to identify which time periods to delete from the sleep data.

Can you switch to 24 hour tracking without switching to 24 hour time on the watch? That might help make it easier.

I have indeed since gotten used to the way the editing interface works. It's awkward, but workable. The main issue for me now is that reading the charts takes a lot of back of the envelope math. How much sleep I got is often arbitrarily split over two days in the Apple Health charts so the summarized info isn't accurate. If you ever fall asleep at 3pm and wake up at 10pm, you'll see what I mean.

I have tried some 3rd party apps that do the charting in a way that's easier for my specific use case, but they have their own flaws. I may eventually get motivated enough to test drive anything I find, but just don't have the energy for that right now.

 

[Night Spring]

Can you switch to 24 hour tracking without switching to 24 hour time on the watch? That might help make it easier.

Er, no, it's a system-wide setting, I'm afraid.

I have indeed since gotten used to the way the editing interface works. It's awkward, but workable. The main issue for me now is that reading the charts takes a lot of back of the envelope math. How much sleep I got is often arbitrarily split over two days in the Apple Health charts so the summarized info isn't accurate. If you ever fall asleep at 3pm and wake up at 10pm, you'll see what I mean.

That actually happens to me a lot. I'm sure there used to be a setting where you could change where the break in day happens, but now I can't find it. There has to be a break in day somewhere, but being able to have the break where it made sense to me helps a lot.