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As a daily reader of my work, you doubtless know I am a fan of Garmin watches, particularly for the built-in LED flashlight I exploit each day.
I have been hoping for a sensible ring that would sync with Garmin Join, permitting me to collect key metrics for restoration and coaching standing with out carrying a cumbersome watch to mattress. Whereas a sensible ring is not but an choice, Garmin has launched a single-purpose wearable to fill the void: the Index Sleep Monitor.
The Index Sleep Monitor is designed to trace every week of sleep and combine that information into your Garmin Join ecosystem and smartwatch. Whereas you should use the monitor with no Garmin watch, you may be restricted to viewing sleep particulars within the smartphone app.
The system consists of an ultra-comfortable band that measures 2.5 inches vast. Two various lengths can be found, relying in your higher arm circumference. The L/XL measurement matches my arm the most effective, however there may be additionally an S/M measurement accessible.
The band weighs solely 16 to twenty grams, relying on the scale, and I can not stress sufficient how extraordinarily snug it’s to put on each evening. That side of the product could also be its most vital, contemplating it will exchange one thing simply as delicate as a sensible ring.
The Index Sleep Monitor module can also be gentle at 14.5 grams (0.5 ounce) and prices up with an ordinary Garmin charging cable. Garmin advertises as much as seven nights of sleep monitoring with eight hours of sleep. I typically sleep about 7.5 hours per evening, and the marketed battery life has been correct.
I maintain the Index Sleep Monitor on my nightstand and slide it on once I go to mattress. I check quite a lot of wearables, however my choice is to not put on a watch once I sleep since I roll, and watches typically get hung up beneath me, inflicting me to lose sleep information.
The Venu X1 has been nice to put on to sleep with its ultra-thin kind issue, however my sleep has been even higher when I’m solely carrying the Garmin Index Sleep Monitor.
Past its sleep monitoring capabilities, the Index Sleep Monitor options an alarm with a “Sensible Alarm” operate — a functionality additionally discovered on the Venu X1 and Vivoactive 6. This function can wake you gently throughout a lightweight sleep part as much as half-hour earlier than your scheduled time.
The alarm itself is a vibration with three adjustable depth ranges. A double faucet on the monitor will snooze the alarm for 10 minutes, whereas 4 faucets will cease it completely.
The Index Sleep Monitor captures a complete set of metrics, together with complete sleep, phases, motion, respiration disturbances, resting coronary heart price, coronary heart price variability, blood oxygen, and pores and skin temperature. This information is crucial, because it feeds immediately into Garmin’s Physique Battery, restoration, and ladies’s well being calculations.
Whereas the monitor affords a approach to acquire these insights with out carrying a watch to mattress, its $150 value level is tough to justify provided that many Garmin watches present comparable performance. A value nearer to $99 would make its worth proposition extra compelling.
At its present value, the Index Sleep Monitor may function greater than only a sleep tracker. Its smooth design and band are well-suited to operate as a coronary heart price monitor for actions the place a watch is not allowed or optimum, resembling basketball or soccer, capturing important efficiency information.
After a number of weeks of use, the monitor has constantly supplied extra correct sleep information than a watch, which typically confirmed gaps. This newfound accuracy, together with the consolation of not carrying a watch to mattress, permits me to totally decide to the Garmin ecosystem, not needing to complement with a sensible ring for key metrics.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
Sporting a watch to trace sleep can result in irritating information gaps, undesirable battery drain, and discomfort. The Garmin Index Sleep Monitor affords a extra snug and correct system for capturing key well being metrics. The gadget feeds this information into the Garmin ecosystem, offering a holistic, full-body standing report that has tremendously improved my outlook.
I simply want the gadget had been extra accessibly priced, as its $170 sticker tag could make it tough to justify for some shoppers, particularly for being a single-purpose gadget.
