Apple Health brings sleep tracking, scheduling and long-term analysis in one place, with your iPhone acts as a hub and the Apple Watch perform all-night monitoring. Once everything is set up, Apple Health can show how long you sleep each night, how consistent your sleep schedule is and how much time you spend in different stages of sleep. Here’s how to get started, track your sleep and review your data.

Apple Health sleep tracking relies on two things: You need to set up the Sleep in Health app on your iPhone, and you need a compatible Apple Watch to wear to bed. While you can set sleep schedules without a watch, detailed sleep data — including sleep stages — requires an Apple Watch.

How to set up Sleep in Apple Health

Sleep tracking is available on all watchOS 8 (or later) models and setup starts with Health app on your iPhone. TOMORROW HEALTHtap Browsing and then tap Sleep. If this is your first time setting it up, you will see a startup option. Apple Health guides you through choosing a sleep goal, setting a bedtime and wake-up time and deciding whether you want one sleep schedule every day or different schedules for weekdays and weekends.

During setup, you can also enable sleep reminders and a no-wind period. WIND reduces distractions before sleep by activating features such as Focus mode and dimming notifications at set times before bed. These settings are optional but they help keep your schedule consistent, which improves the quality of the data Apple Health collects over time.

Once Sleep is configured, Apple Health will automatically sync the settings to your Apple Watch. You can change your sleep schedule later by returning to the Sleep Health section and tapping Full Schedule and Options. Any changes you make here will be updated on your iPhone and Apple Watch.

How to prepare your Apple Watch for sleep tracking

To track sleep, your Apple Watch must be worn overnight and have enough battery to last until the morning. If the battery drops below 30 percent before bedtime, your watch will prompt you to charge it first. Sleep tracking is also reliable Focus on Sleep which automatically activates based on your sleep schedule. Once Sleep Focus is set, open the Settings app on your Apple Watch, tap Sleep and ensure that Sleep Tracking with Apple Watch turned on. With both features enabled your watch can monitor sleep automatically without any manual start or stop every night.

Comfort is important when wearing a watch to sleep, so many people prefer a softer band to sleep. As long as the watch fits securely and stays in contact with your wrist, it can track sleep without issue.

How the Apple Watch tracks your sleep

When Sleep Focus is active, the Apple Watch uses its accelerometer and heart rate sensor to determine when you’re asleep and awake. The new models also track sleep stages, including time spent in REM, core and deep sleep. Apple Health combines this information into an overnight record that appears in the Sleep section the next morning.

You don’t need to start or stop sleep tracking manually. As long as you follow your sleep schedule or enable Sleep Focus before going to bed, the Apple Watch will do everything automatically. If you wake up earlier or go to bed later than planned, Apple Health will adjust the data based on actual movement and heart rate rather than your scheduled times. Additionally, some Apple Watch models (SE 3 or higher) support on-device Siri, which lets you ask questions like “how much sleep did I get last night?” for a quicker response.

How to view your sleep data in Apple Health

To view your sleep data, open the HEALTH app on your iPhone and tap BrowsingTHEN Sleep. At the top of the screen, you’ll see a chart showing how long you slept last night. Tapping on this chart reveals a detailed breakdown, including sleep time, bed time and sleep stages (if available).

Scrolling down shows trends over a longer period of time. You can switch between daily, weekly, monthly and six-month views to see patterns in the duration and consistency of your sleep. Apple Health also highlights whether you’ve met your sleep goals and how regular your schedule is.

Under Highlights, Apple Health can show insights such as changes in average sleep time, changes in sleep stages or your nightly sleep score. Sleep scores provide a simplified summary of how well you sleep, and are based on factors such as duration, consistency and restfulness. These summaries update automatically as more data is collected over time.

Understanding sleep stages and trends

If your Apple Watch supports sleep stages, Apple Health shows how much time you spend in REM, core and deep sleep. These episodes provide context to your overall sleep quality, although Apple highlights trends on a nightly basis. Occasional short nights or unusual stage distribution are normal.

Over time, Apple Health makes it easier to see patterns. Frequent short sleep durations, irregular bedtimes or frequent awakenings may become clearer when looking at weekly or monthly summaries. This makes the Sleep section useful not only for nightly check-ins but for understanding longer-term habits.

Edit and manage sleep data

Apple Health allows you to add or edit sleep data manually if needed. on Sleep section, tap input Data to log sleep that is not automatically recorded. This can be useful if you forget to wear your watch or sleep without it.

You can also manage which devices are contributing sleep data by scrolling to the bottom of the Sleep screen and tapping Data Sources and Access. This is helpful if you use third-party sleep apps or multiple devices.

Once set up, Apple Health sleep tracking runs quietly in the background. With a consistent schedule and a charged Apple Watch, your sleep data becomes a clear picture of your nightly rest, all stored securely within Apple’s health platform.