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.

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.

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.