Why do you sleep track? And is it worth the battery wear?

[Pianoplayah]

Hey there! I’ve searched a bit for this topic and haven’t seen anyone discussing it, so here goes. First a little background:

My wife got a hand-me-down  watch 4 in 2019. A year later I got a brand new  watch 5. Fast forward to now: my newer watch’s battery barely lasts an hour. When I try to use it, it now goes so slow to do a basic task it’s useless. Like opening the workout app for instance sometimes takes a good 30 seconds. Essentially it’s bricked. Battery health is like 70%, terrible. Meanwhile, hers still lasts all day, at least 8 hours usually, sometimes 10, and she uses it for all the normal stuff—calls, texts, workouts, Siri, etc with no issues. The only major difference in how we use our watches is that I track my sleep and she doesn’t. So my conclusion is that all the sleep tracking cooked the battery on my watch.

So my questions are: has anyone else had this experience? Anyone else frustrated that Apple and those who review Apple products have been silent about the impact of sleep tracking on the product’s lifespan? And if you sleep track, what’s the reason? I’m gonna get a new watch when the next gen comes out, and I’m deciding whether the juice is worth the squeeze re: sleep tracking. Do I really need that data if it’s gonna so drastically reduce my watch’s life span? I’ve honestly sorta been doing it just cuz—I don’t really use that data for anything meaningful right now. What are your arguments for sleep tracking, apart from if you suspect you might have a sleep disorder? How has sleep tracking helped you improve your health? Cheers!

 

[BenGoren]

The only major difference in how we use our watches is that I track my sleep and she doesn’t.

That may be the only major difference in how you use your watches, but that emphatically doesn’t mean that that’s the reason your battery is toast.

First, there are all sorts of other factors that might not be the same between the two. Maybe the battery in yours left the factory good enough to pass quality control checks but in worse condition than your wife’s did. Maybe yours got exposed to heat, or a wonky charger, or …

Second, the S5 is old enough that non-trivial numbers have degraded batteries — but this is essentially random, and plenty of even older models (such as your wife’s) are holding up just fine. Why does one car die at 120,000 miles, but another makes it past a million?

Last, a significant portion of people use their watches for sleep tracking, but their watches die at the same rate as those who don’t. There’s no evidence of sleep tracking being detrimental to watch health.

In other words, it’s the luck of the draw, and you got the short straw. It sucks, sure, but a sample size of one has no significance whatsoever as far as determining the cause. Might as well assume that your horse lost the race because you forgot your lucky rabbit’s foot.

As to why you might want to track your sleep? Well, if you put a bit of effort into it, you can discover trends, such as how other habits correlate with sleep quality. Does an extra glass of wine with dinner make you sleep worse? What does a strenuous workout do? What if the workout is in the morning or the evening? A warm cup of milk at bedtime? Watching TV in bed? But don’t make the same mistrake of extrapolating from a single observation you just did with the battery! Aim for at least a couple dozen observations before making your first tentative conclusions.

b&

 

[Pianoplayah]

That may be the only major difference in how you use your watches, but that emphatically doesn’t mean that that’s the reason your battery is toast.

First, there are all sorts of other factors that might not be the same between the two. Maybe the battery in yours left the factory good enough to pass quality control checks but in worse condition than your wife’s did. Maybe yours got exposed to heat, or a wonky charger, or …

Second, the S5 is old enough that non-trivial numbers have degraded batteries — but this is essentially random, and plenty of even older models (such as your wife’s) are holding up just fine. Why does one car die at 120,000 miles, but another makes it past a million?

Last, a significant portion of people use their watches for sleep tracking, but their watches die at the same rate as those who don’t. There’s no evidence of sleep tracking being detrimental to watch health.

In other words, it’s the luck of the draw, and you got the short straw. It sucks, sure, but a sample size of one has no significance whatsoever as far as determining the cause. Might as well assume that your horse lost the race because you forgot your lucky rabbit’s foot.

As to why you might want to track your sleep? Well, if you put a bit of effort into it, you can discover trends, such as how other habits correlate with sleep quality. Does an extra glass of wine with dinner make you sleep worse? What does a strenuous workout do? What if the workout is in the morning or the evening? A warm cup of milk at bedtime? Watching TV in bed? But don’t make the same mistrake of extrapolating from a single observation you just did with the battery! Aim for at least a couple dozen observations before making your first tentative conclusions.

b&

Thanks for the thoughtful response! That's all super interesting info. I guess part of my reason for posting this was to find out if anyone had the same experience because as you rightly say, I only had a sample size of one. So this was my attempt to gather more data. So I'd be interested to know if anyone else had a similar experience. But, you're quite right that it could be other factors that aren't readily apparent. Hopefully I have better luck with my next watch!

 

[jz0309]

Hey there! I’ve searched a bit for this topic and haven’t seen anyone discussing it, so here goes. First a little background:

My wife got a hand-me-down  watch 4 in 2019. A year later I got a brand new  watch 5. Fast forward to now: my newer watch’s battery barely lasts an hour. When I try to use it, it now goes so slow to do a basic task it’s useless. Like opening the workout app for instance sometimes takes a good 30 seconds. Essentially it’s bricked. Battery health is like 70%, terrible. Meanwhile, hers still lasts all day, at least 8 hours usually, sometimes 10, and she uses it for all the normal stuff—calls, texts, workouts, Siri, etc with no issues. The only major difference in how we use our watches is that I track my sleep and she doesn’t. So my conclusion is that all the sleep tracking cooked the battery on my watch.

So my questions are: has anyone else had this experience? Anyone else frustrated that Apple and those who review Apple products have been silent about the impact of sleep tracking on the product’s lifespan? And if you sleep track, what’s the reason? I’m gonna get a new watch when the next gen comes out, and I’m deciding whether the juice is worth the squeeze re: sleep tracking. Do I really need that data if it’s gonna so drastically reduce my watch’s life span? I’ve honestly sorta been doing it just cuz—I don’t really use that data for anything meaningful right now. What are your arguments for sleep tracking, apart from if you suspect you might have a sleep disorder? How has sleep tracking helped you improve your health? Cheers!

as to the why track your sleep, this thread might help a bit:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/how-accurate-is-sleep-tracking-with-apple-watch.2415994/

As for the battery life, the S5 was the first with AOD and hence the battery draw was higher, it's improved in later models.
As for sleep tracking impacting battery life: on my Ultra 2 my battery usage is ~ 7-10% for sleep tracking. I wear the U2 for ~ 38hrs straight. Then, on the 2nd day I wear my S7 for sleep tracking (while U2 is being charged overnight) and it uses ~ 15-20% of battery.
Most important for battery life is to avoid deep discharging, eg running it down to 10% or even less on a daily basis.

 

[mtbdudex]

I’ve used my sleep tracking to identify awake time and reason among other things. I do this in spurts, say night wear it 2-3 weeks, then not possibly 1-2 months. If you have a iPhone pointing at you - for clock , it will give you general stats like shown in green.
For me; less awake mitigation is being better prepared for the next day or upcoming event.

 

[Bandoholic]

I just use it to track how often I’m awake during sleep time.

 

[Pianoplayah]

as to the why track your sleep, this thread might help a bit:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/how-accurate-is-sleep-tracking-with-apple-watch.2415994/

As for the battery life, the S5 was the first with AOD and hence the battery draw was higher, it's improved in later models.
As for sleep tracking impacting battery life: on my Ultra 2 my battery usage is ~ 7-10% for sleep tracking. I wear the U2 for ~ 38hrs straight. Then, on the 2nd day I wear my S7 for sleep tracking (while U2 is being charged overnight) and it uses ~ 15-20% of battery.
Most important for battery life is to avoid deep discharging, eg running it down to 10% or even less on a daily basis.

Ooh that's interesting! Could be the AOD, I did not think of that. And also maybe I let it go to 0% too often. Thanks for that!

 

[Pianoplayah]

I’ve used my sleep tracking to identify awake time and reason among other things. I do this in spurts, say night wear it 2-3 weeks, then not possibly 1-2 months. If you have a iPhone pointing at you - for clock , it will give you general stats like shown in green.
For me; less awake mitigation is being better prepared for the next day or upcoming event.

I DID NOT KNOW THAT about the phone facing you!! That's amazing. And interesting to hear about your tracking use. Thanks for sharing!

 

[waw74]

also, try resetting and re-pairing the watch. I had one once that had something go wrong on a software update, it would drain in a couple hours. A re-pair and it was fine, I was even able to use the backup, and everything came back.

 

[oMc]

I don't see why sleep tracking would toast your battery any faster than any other activity you can do on the watch. When you track sleep, if you use the built-in sleep mode, the screen is off, and that alone greatly helps to conserve battery. Doing workouts a lot and living in a country where the watch is exposed to extreme hot/cold temperature quite often would be what wears down the battery faster, imho.

I got my Apple Watch S4 in 2018 and started tracking my sleep in 2018 or 2019, can't remember, with AutoSleep. In 2022 I got the Ultra and continued with AutoSleep but also using the sleep mode of the watch to get wrist temperature readings. Anyway, just to say that I still have my S4 that I use from time to time, and the original battery is still running strong at 87% battery health. Not bad for a 6-years old device.

Then again, if your battery is at 70%, it is toasted and any kinda "tricks" like unpair-repair it or whatever won't do any magic to it. Just get a new watch or have the battery replaced, if it is even a service Apple provides.

 

[Thomas Davie]

I sleep track because I am a dialysis patient with diagnosed insomnia and use it to get medication adjustments and to track my sleep SPO2 because I take a synthetic hormone > increase Haemeglobin, thus allowing me to measure efficiency of treatments.

Tom.

 

[Pianoplayah]

I don't see why sleep tracking would toast your battery any faster than any other activity you can do on the watch. When you track sleep, if you use the built-in sleep mode, the screen is off, and that alone greatly helps to conserve battery. Doing workouts a lot and living in a country where the watch is exposed to extreme hot/cold temperature quite often would be what wears down the battery faster, imho.

I got my Apple Watch S4 in 2018 and started tracking my sleep in 2018 or 2019, can't remember, with AutoSleep. In 2022 I got the Ultra and continued with AutoSleep but also using the sleep mode of the watch to get wrist temperature readings. Anyway, just to say that I still have my S4 that I use from time to time, and the original battery is still running strong at 87% battery health. Not bad for a 6-years old device.

Then again, if your battery is at 70%, it is toasted and any kinda "tricks" like unpair-repair it or whatever won't do any magic to it. Just get a new watch or have the battery replaced, if it is even a service Apple provides.

Interesting! Yeah you def got better longevity out of yours than I have, just like my wife with her S4. It's seeming more and more like maybe I just got a dud that didn't last as long because of a defect in the battery. For a while I was running it on beta updates, so maybe that had something to do with it as well, like they had poor power management. Thanks for your perspective!

 

[Pianoplayah]

I sleep track because I am a dialysis patient with diagnosed insomnia and use it to get medication adjustments and to track my sleep SPO2 because I take a synthetic hormone > increase Haemeglobin, thus allowing me to measure efficiency of treatments.

Tom.

That's awesome that you're able to use it as a useful medical tool! Thanks for sharing. I have anxiety/adhd related insomnia too so hopefully I can use it to see how I do with some new medications I'm starting, once I get a new watch that can last through the night! 😂

 

[bigglow]

Hey there! I’ve searched a bit for this topic and haven’t seen anyone discussing it, so here goes. First a little background:

My wife got a hand-me-down  watch 4 in 2019. A year later I got a brand new  watch 5. Fast forward to now: my newer watch’s battery barely lasts an hour. When I try to use it, it now goes so slow to do a basic task it’s useless. Like opening the workout app for instance sometimes takes a good 30 seconds. Essentially it’s bricked. Battery health is like 70%, terrible. Meanwhile, hers still lasts all day, at least 8 hours usually, sometimes 10, and she uses it for all the normal stuff—calls, texts, workouts, Siri, etc with no issues. The only major difference in how we use our watches is that I track my sleep and she doesn’t. So my conclusion is that all the sleep tracking cooked the battery on my watch.

So my questions are: has anyone else had this experience? Anyone else frustrated that Apple and those who review Apple products have been silent about the impact of sleep tracking on the product’s lifespan? And if you sleep track, what’s the reason? I’m gonna get a new watch when the next gen comes out, and I’m deciding whether the juice is worth the squeeze re: sleep tracking. Do I really need that data if it’s gonna so drastically reduce my watch’s life span? I’ve honestly sorta been doing it just cuz—I don’t really use that data for anything meaningful right now. What are your arguments for sleep tracking, apart from if you suspect you might have a sleep disorder? How has sleep tracking helped you improve your health? Cheers!

I have a 2018 Series 4 and will replace it for a 2024 Series 10 because I want better health sensors.

I value the sleep data and I dont mind replacing a 6yo device.

Sleep data provides me with information that I need to improve my sleep for better health outcomes.

Is it worth replacing a device sooner if I live longer?

 

[oMc]

For a while I was running it on beta updates, so maybe that had something to do with it as well, like they had poor power management.

Yeah I often see people complaining that beta software ruins the battery health faster. It might, after all we see overheating problems reported more often under beta software (rarely my case though, maybe once or twice last year with iOS 17 beta on my iPhone 12). Also beta are less optimized, use more battery during the day = you put more cycles than usual into your battery.

Then again, I personally run beta software every summer since many years and I don't see anything dramatic regarding my battery health.

My 6-year old S4 is at 87%, my 2-year old U1 is at 89%, and my 3.5-year old iPhone 12 was at 87% when I sold it in March. All on original batteries. I feel like the AWU1 is the one wearing out faster because of the fast charging, but then again it may remain stuck at 89% for many months before dropping again like my iPhone 12 did.

 

[Thomas Davie]

A 2018, 12.9 IPP is at 73% battery and off warranty. Not an issue b/c I just bought an M4 12.9 IPP to be my iPad I take with me to dialysis.. The 2018 model is just fine for using at home. Not even bother to look at the battery for an iPhone 15PM or an M1 MBA that stays permanently docked to a Samsung M7 monitor.

Whenever theres an issue an Apple device I have it taken care of, pass that to my sister and buy a new device. I still use a Dell 2016 2-in-1 where the battery doesn’t work at all. It stays pkugged in at home and acts as a media server.

Tom

 

[Christopher Kim]

I have a S7, and before that, had the S5. I've sleep-tracked for years. I really like the data of being able to look back over long periods of time to see how long I'm sleeping, any changes, etc. I've never noticed it affecting my battery health in any meaningful way.

I charge at 2 points in the day:
- Get home from work, watch is usually at ~40%-50%, charge until after I've showered, and getting ready to go into bed ~9pm. It's easily at 100% by then (~3hrs of charging)
- Usually in bed / not sleeping for 1-2hrs, sleeping between 10pm-11pm
- Wake up in the morning (I wake up around 6:30am), take off the watch (it's usually around 85%, so lost ~15% for the 1-2hrs before I sleep plus overnight). Charge while I do morning routine getting ready for work and kids ready for school, then put watch back on right before I leave (~8am), when it's back up to 100%

Also, if you want, given your S5's battery health is at 70%, if you live in the US, you can get a battery replacement directly from Apple / at an Apple store for $99. With watches, rather than actually replace the battery, they give you a like-new/refurbished device. It's a great price to effectively get a new watch / new battery / "reset", especially if the watch is otherwise fine.

That being said, with the Series 10 about to be released on Sep 10, you might as well wait and see what they announce. You can always do the battery replacement thereafter, but you might decide it's worth it pay up for a new S10 (or a brand-new discounted S9 or S8 on Amazon)

 

[StaceyMJ86]

I have been tracking my sleep with my Apple Watch since the S2 in 2017 with the app SleepWatch. I then upgraded to the S4 in 2018 and held onto that until 2022, when I upgraded to the Ultra1. I charge my watch for an hour when I get home from work, and hour after waking up before work. My watch can last me more than a day without charging. I primarily use my Apple Watch at night to track my sleep as well as my SPO2 to work alongside my cpap machine and Wellue O2 ring to see when my oxygen drops below 90%. My Ultra1 has a battery capacity at 88% and I plan to keep it until my battery reaches 79% for a replacement and when Apple turns the blood oxygen sensor back on.