Garmin Index Sleep Monitor
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Garmin Index Sleep Monitor is offered for $170 in S/M and L/XL sizes.
- The band may be very comfy and light-weight, the monitor tracks as much as seven nights of sleep, and the sleep/restoration metrics are properly built-in into the Garmin Join ecosystem.
- It is nonetheless pretty costly for a single-purpose wearable, though FSA/HSA protection is supported.
extra shopping for decisions
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As an everyday reader of my work, you possible know I am a fan of Garmin watches, particularly for the built-in LED flashlight I exploit every day.
I have been hoping for a sensible ring that might sync with Garmin Join, permitting me to assemble key metrics for restoration and coaching standing with out sporting 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.
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The Index Sleep Monitor is designed to trace every week of sleep and combine that knowledge into your Garmin Join ecosystem and smartwatch. Whereas you need to use the monitor with out a 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 large. Two various lengths can be found, relying in your higher arm circumference. The L/XL measurement matches my arm one of the best, however there’s additionally an S/M measurement obtainable.
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The band weighs solely 16 to twenty grams, relying on the dimensions, and I can’t stress sufficient how extraordinarily comfy it’s to put on each night time. That side of the product could also be its most vital, contemplating it will change one thing simply as delicate as a sensible ring.
The Index Sleep Monitor module can also be mild 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 usually sleep about 7.5 hours per night time, and the marketed battery life has been correct.
I hold the Index Sleep Monitor on my nightstand and slide it on once I go to mattress. I check numerous wearables, however my choice is to not put on a watch once I sleep since I roll, and watches generally get hung up beneath me, inflicting me to lose sleep knowledge.
The Venu X1 has been nice to put on to sleep with its ultra-thin type issue, however my sleep has been even higher when I’m solely sporting the Garmin Index Sleep Monitor.
Past its sleep monitoring capabilities, the Index Sleep Monitor options an alarm with a “Sensible Alarm” perform — a functionality additionally discovered on the Venu X1 and Vivoactive 6. This characteristic can wake you gently throughout a light-weight sleep section as much as half-hour earlier than your scheduled time.
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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 totally.
The Index Sleep Monitor captures a complete set of metrics, together with complete sleep, levels, motion, respiratory disturbances, resting coronary heart charge, coronary heart charge variability, blood oxygen, and pores and skin temperature. This knowledge is essential, because it feeds immediately into Garmin’s Physique Battery, restoration, and girls’s well being calculations.
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Whereas the monitor provides a technique to acquire these insights with out sporting a watch to mattress, its $150 value level is tough to justify provided that many Garmin watches present related 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 perform as a coronary heart charge monitor for actions the place a watch is not allowed or optimum, resembling basketball or soccer, capturing very important efficiency knowledge.
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After a number of weeks of use, the monitor has constantly offered extra correct sleep knowledge than a watch, which generally confirmed gaps. This newfound accuracy, together with the consolation of not sporting a watch to mattress, permits me to totally decide to the Garmin ecosystem, now not needing to complement with a sensible ring for key metrics.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
Carrying a watch to trace sleep can result in irritating knowledge gaps, undesirable battery drain, and discomfort. The Garmin Index Sleep Monitor provides a extra comfy and correct system for capturing key well being metrics. The gadget feeds this knowledge 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.
