How does the Xiaomi Amazfit Watch detect sleep?

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In this age of constant rush, it is crucial to keep track of one’s health and well-being. To facilitate this, Xiaomi has launched its smartwatches known as Amazfit.

It is evident that nowadays, to rest is to rust. In this relentless age of rush, Xiaomi’s Amazfit smartwatches emerge as a friendly companion which measures and monitors our health. Read on to know its features and how exactly it helps us even while we sleep.

Studies have shown that sleep deprivation around the world is gradually becoming a huge problem. The average American reportedly gets an average of only 6.8 hours of sleep. Keeping in mind the rising obesity rate, the omens are not terribly good. If you are wondering if sleep trackers work, then you aren’t alone.

Xiaomi’s Amazfit watches have, therefore, managed to become that reliable companion which accurately measures not only the quantity of sleep in hours but also the quality of sleep.

The Amazfit watches accurately measure the heart rate of its owner and can easily distinguish between each stage of sleep to comprehend whether or not its wearer has caught up on some quality sleep. 

Created using top-of-the-line technology, Amazfit smartwatches are the ideal solution to every grumbling office-goers’ woe and how! Read on to know more about the benefits and features of the line of Amazfit smart-watches and how it is ideal for the corporate man on the go

In A nutshell

The Amazfit Watch uses a combination of technologies such as gyroscope, heart rate monitor to detect sleep. The watch is able to distinguish sleep through frequency of the heart beat. The heart beat of a human while sleeping has certain patterns which makes it easy for the watch to distinguish.

What is good sleep, actigraphy, and why is it important to keep track of your sleep?

It has already been established worldwide that the average adult needs at least 7-8 hours of healthy sleep to stay in optimal shape. 

Good sleep is generally defined as a healthy habit of sleeping that is in keeping with recognized patterns of sleep or sleep cycles having the non-REM and the REM stage. As time goes on, the REM phase of good sleep increases. Each cycle would continue for 1.5 hours.

According to Wikipedia definition, actigraphy is a non-invasive method to measure human rest/activity cycles. The device or actigraph is worn on the non-dominant wrist and is useful for measuring circadian rhythms or sleep cycles.

Ergo, keeping track of the quality of your sleep is not that simple as one must accurately measure all the stages of sleep, such as 

• Stage 1 or light sleep
• Stage 2 or deep sleep
• Stage 3 or very deep sleep
• Stage 4 or Rapid eye movement (REM) or dream stage.

A healthy night’s sleep not only lowers the risk of a plethora of diseases such as heart diseases, obesity, cancer, diabetes, but it also increases cognitive abilities, concentration and creativity. 

Now that you know what a night of good sleep is and why you should track not only your sleep duration but even the individual stages, let’s take a look at exactly how Xiaomi Amazfit watches manage to exactly do so.

How does the Amazfit watch detect sleep?

For the Amazfit watch to detect sleep, you need to slap it onto your wrists. Equipped with the latest technologies, the Amazfit watches can accurately detect how much-undisturbed sleep you get. Using various technologies like the gyroscope, pedometer, Amazfit looks for any movement or sleep-walking to determine whether the sleep you are getting is a healthy amount for you or not, irrespective of the hours.

If you are restless in your sleep, i.e., you toss and turn, the sleep cycle would reset with the subsequent sleep cycle again starting from light sleep.

The watch can automatically detect sleep from 6 PM on the previous day to 10 AM on the next day. You need to sync the Amazfit smartwatch with your smartphone to get all subsequent details the following morning.

What sleep parameters does Amazfit watch track?

The Amazfit watch tracks all your sleep stages and gives you a sleep score accordingly. It combines the findings of your heart-rate monitor and your gyroscope to detect the different stages of sleep :

How it detects light sleep

After you wear the smartwatch to sleep, it strives to produce optimized results with each sleep stage divided by the heart rates. 

The light sleep stage features heartbeats on the low-end of your normal heartbeat range. Coupled with a minimal rate of movement as measured by the inbuilt accelerometer, the algorithm of the Zepp app ascertains the duration of light sleep.

How it tracks deep sleep

The heart rate is greatly reduced in this stage with little to no movement. The brain activity is solely focused on repairing the body. The Amazfit smartwatch differentiates this stage from the light sleep stage by recognizing these factors, and its algorithm in the Zepp app measures the time accordingly.

How it tracks REM sleep, lucid dreaming, etc

Before the onset of the REM stage of sleep, one tends to slip into the light sleep stage briefly. The Amazfit smartwatch recognizes the REM sleep stage by the increased heart rate but with little to no movement. 

The heart rate is higher than it is during light sleep, but what differentiates REM sleep from the former is the little to no movement.

Additionally, if you toss or turn during light sleep or REM sleep, the sleep cycle would reset. 

How does the Amazfit watch detect daytime naps?

As mentioned, the Amazfit watch detects sleep automatically from 6 PM of the previous day to 10 AM of the next day.

With the new update in the firmware versions of the GTR and GTS models, the smartwatch can detect sporadic daytime naps as long as it is at least 20 minutes long.

This feature has been made available on the firmware versions 1.3.5.77 of the Amazfit GTR as well as 0.0.9.12 of the Amazfit GTS, respectively.

Is it safe to wear the Amazfit watch while sleeping?

The Amazfit watches guarantee a comfortable and safe product experience, with function gaining precedence over an already-stylish form. There is also little to no risk of infection or reduced blood flow due to tightness, as the watch’s bands can be easily changed and adjusted for maximum comfort.

There is also little risk of radiation or blue-light as the AMOLED screen automatically filters out aberrant sources of light, and the UI is predominantly dark. The non-ionizing radiation is too weak to affect human health or brain waves, but it is still recommended not to keep the watch too close to your head while sleeping.

Sleep-tracking accuracy

With all the latest sensors and technology at their disposal, the Amazfit smartwatches are now able to be more impeccable in their analysis than ever.

 It is estimated that the Amazfit smartwatch can accurately measure, categorize and represent your sleep patterns and habits to be reviewed at your leisure. The accuracy rate is estimated to be more than 80%, which is why you need to grab one now.

The Zepp app’s algorithm further enhances this feature as it accounts for the time taken to fall asleep. All measurements and estimates are computed through the app.

How to activate the sleep tracker?

To activate the sleep tracker, you need to synchronize your watch with the Zepp app on your phone. Then it would automatically register when you fall asleep when you wake up, the quality of your sleep.

To know the latest results, pull down on the home screen of your Zepp app.

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