watchOS 7 Adds New Sleep Tracking Feature to Apple Watch

Apple today during its WWDC keynote unveiled watchOS 7, which comes with a new sleep tracking feature for Apple Watch.

Apple watch watchos7 sleep health app 06222020
The new sleep tracking feature helps users to make recommendations about waking up and when to go to sleep. A "Wind Down" feature minimizes distractions to create a personalized evening routine.

iPhones can be set to display a Wind Down screen before users go to bed. It turns on do not disturb, and can suggest things like meditation or quiet music listen to.

Wind Down puts Apple Watch in sleep mode, and when it's time to wake up, it can wake up with quiet alarms, or a silent haptic-only alarm. It can also wake up with a friendly greeting to start the day.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, a bedtime routine helps the body prepare for sleep. To support this, Wind Down allows Apple Watch and iPhone users to create a customized routine before bed, including setting up a specific scene in the Home app, listening to a soothing soundscape, or using a favorite meditation app. In Sleep Mode, Apple Watch turns on Do Not Disturb and automatically darkens the screen overnight.

In the morning, the wearer will see a visualization of their previous night's sleep, including periods of wake and sleep. They will also see a chart showing their weekly sleep trend.

Apple watch watchos7 sleep duration goal 06222020
Sleep tracking uses machine learning to sense motion, and detects micro motions from the rise and fall of the breath. There's also a new sleep section in the health app, including a view of trends over time.

Depending on personal charging behavior, if the battery is too low within an hour of bedtime, Apple Watch will remind users to charge it ahead of sleep. Sleep data is encrypted on device or in iCloud with ‌iCloud‌ sync, and data is always in the user’s control.

Sleep tracking, Schedule, Wind Down, and Sleep Mode will also be available on iPhone without a watch with iOS 14.

Related Forum: iOS 14

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Top Rated Comments

ericg301 Avatar
64 months ago

I'm excited about this! Sleep tracking, and silent haptic-wake alarms were some feature I was sad to lose when I swapped my FitBit for an Apple Watch.


I just charge my watch for the first 30min of my work day once I get to the office.
charge it 30 minute before bed....30 minutes after waking up.

really shocked they didnt push this as a "hardware only" feature' for the Series 7


Please improve on the battery first, I ain't have time to wait for the watch to be charged in the morning... Come on Apple upgrade the battery with the new S6 processor.
i've used 3rd party apps to track my sleep for years. it never uses more that 5-8% of battery overnight, and i imagine that this OS-level sleep tracking will be even more power efficient.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Matthew Goldman Avatar
64 months ago
This is great, but when are we supposed to charge it?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BrennanWDavis Avatar
64 months ago
I'm excited about this! Sleep tracking, and silent haptic-wake alarms were some feature I was sad to lose when I swapped my FitBit for an Apple Watch.


This is great, but when are we supposed to charge it?
I just charge my watch for the first 30min of my work day once I get to the office.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hitteam Avatar
64 months ago
Please improve on the battery first, I ain't have time to wait for the watch to be charged in the morning... Come on Apple upgrade the battery with the new S6 processor.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
satchmo Avatar
64 months ago
Nothing on oxygen monitoring.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AVEGA Avatar
64 months ago
I am so glad this isn't married to the newest watch model.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)