The Importance of Tracking Your Heart Rate During Sleep
Monitoring your heart rate during sleep provides valuable insights into your overall health and the quality of your rest. A stable or well-regulated heart rate during sleep indicates that your body is effectively recovering and managing stress, while variations can signal sleep disturbances or underlying health issues. Scientific studies have shown that metrics like heart rate variability and heart rate dips are critical indicators of restorative sleep. By tracking these metrics, you can better understand your body’s nighttime performance and make informed decisions to enhance your sleep and well-being.
How Pillow Tracks Heart Rate During Sleep
Pillow leverages the power of modern devices to gather comprehensive heart rate data during your sleep. If you use an iPhone in conjunction with an Apple Watch, Pillow collects heart rate information through the watch’s advanced sensors. Additionally, Pillow integrates with Apple Health to ensure that every heartbeat is recorded accurately. You can access all this data directly within the app, where each sleep session features a dedicated "Heart" tab that displays your heart rate information alongside your sleep stages.
What Data Is Presented
Dedicated "Heart" Tab
Every sleep session in Pillow includes a dedicated "Heart" tab. In this section, you’ll find a heart rate chart that is overlaid on top of the sleep stage chart, allowing you to see how your heart rate correlates with different phases of sleep. By swiping through the chart, you can inspect individual heart rate values for a more granular view of your nightly performance.
Heart Rate Trend
Pillow provides an analysis of your heart rate trend throughout the night. This feature presents an overview of your heart rate behavior, including average minimum and maximum values. By examining these trends, you can determine whether your heart rate is optimal during sleep and identify any unusual patterns that might warrant further attention.
Heart Rate Variability
Heart rate variability (HRV) is an important metric that reflects your body’s ability to adapt to stress and recover during sleep. Pillow shows HRV for each sleep session, along with an indication of whether it increased or decreased compared to previous sessions. This insight is invaluable in understanding your overall stress levels and recovery efficiency.
Heart Rate Dip
A heart rate dip refers to a temporary drop in heart rate that often occurs during deeper phases of sleep. This dip is a sign that your body is entering a restorative sleep phase. Pillow highlights this metric, helping you identify the intensity and duration of these dips to assess how effectively you are achieving deep, restorative sleep.
Heart Rate per Sleep Stage
Understanding how your heart rate changes across different sleep stages can provide deeper insights into your sleep quality. Pillow breaks down the average heart rate for each sleep stage—whether you are in REM, light, or deep sleep—enabling you to see how your cardiovascular activity aligns with your sleep cycles.
Trends
Pillow offers a dedicated Sleeping Heart Rate Trend section that allows you to view your heart rate data over weekly, monthly, and annual periods. This trend view not only shows how your sleeping heart rate evolves over time but also enables you to compare it with other health metrics such as sleep quality, sleep duration, steps, dietary calorie consumption, and more. By correlating these metrics, you can uncover patterns and make informed decisions to improve your overall health.
Tracking Your Sleeping Heart Rate at a Glance
For those who appreciate quick insights, Pillow’s home screen widget offers an at-a-glance view of key heart rate values from your last night's sleep. This vital information is also available on your Apple Watch, ensuring that you can access your data anytime, anywhere. Additionally, Pillow’s sleep report notification includes essential heart rate details, so you are always informed about your nighttime performance.
Ready to Optimize Your Sleep?
Tracking your heart rate during sleep provides a window into your body's recovery and overall well-being. With Pillow, you have a comprehensive suite of tools—from detailed per-session metrics to long-term trends and at-a-glance widgets—that empower you to understand and improve your sleep. Take control of your health and experience the benefits of better sleep by downloading Pillow today.
