How Garmin Calculates Sleep Score and Tracks Your Sleep
Garmin’s sleep tracking and score features provide insights into sleep quality and duration. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one-third of American adults sleep fewer than seven hours per night, which has been linked to health issues such as high blood pressure, asthma, and depression. A Gallup poll published in 2024 reported that over half of Americans need more sleep, with the number of people sleeping fewer than five hours rising from 14 per cent in 1990 to 20 per cent in 2023.
Garmin’s advanced sleep tracking uses heart rate, heart rate variability, and body movement data to estimate sleep and wake times and time spent in light, deep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep stages. Some Garmin devices also track respiration rate and blood oxygen saturation. Users set a daily sleep schedule, which can be adjusted, and compatible Garmin watches enter a do-not-disturb mode during sleep hours.
Source Garmin.com
Garmin’s sleep score, powered by Firstbeat Analytics, rates sleep quality from 0 to 100. The score is based on total sleep time and the distribution of sleep stages. The CDC recommends seven to nine hours of sleep for most adults, though individual needs vary. Sleep quality factors include time spent in deep and REM sleep, wakefulness during the night, and stress levels during sleep, measured using heart rate variability.
Garmin provides sleep insights to help users interpret their sleep data. For example, a sleep score of 82 may indicate good sleep quality, while a score of 49 could suggest increased fatigue due to poor recovery. In 2024, the average Garmin user recorded a sleep score 71, with only 5 per cent reaching an “excellent” score of 90 to 100.
For users interested in additional motivation, Garmin Connect offers achievement badges for sleep tracking. These include the Sleep Savant badge for tracking sleep for 30 days, the Sleep Streak badge for maintaining a sleep score of 75 or higher for seven consecutive days, and the Mythical Sleep badge for achieving a perfect sleep score 100.
Thoughts From Garminology
Understanding sleep patterns and making adjustments based on data can help individuals improve their overall well-being. Whether the goal is better recovery from exercise or simply feeling more rested, tracking sleep metrics may provide helpful insights for developing healthier habits.