The Sleep Tracking Mat is the third generation developed by Withings. As always, the design and performances are flawless. No need anymore to wear your smartwatch at night to learn about your sleep pattern. The major novelty relates to the detection of sleep apneas. The sleep sensor goes beyond detecting the heart, respiration, and sleep cycles but offers innovative algorithms to detect and quantify breathing disturbances. For less than $100, the Withings Sleep Tracking Mat provides a non-intrusive way to analyze sleep and make the necessary lifestyle adjustments to live a healthy life. The excuse of a charging smartwatch will not be an excuse anymore for bad sleep.
Sleep Tracking Mat by Withings
Price when reviewed: $74
When trying to quantify your life, smartwatches provide data on everything we can dream of: activity, heart rate, blood pressure, and even sleep patterns. The only drawback of these wrist healthcare powerhouses is that we have to wear them all the time.
Wearing a watch at night is disturbing and not always possible as they need to be recharged very regularly. The Withings sleep tracking mat is from a different breed.
The sleep mat fits under the mattress and will always be ready to record your sleeping pattern. When we say that it fits under the mattress, it is not a typo. It really slips beneath the mattress and not the bedsheets.
As always, the French Startup offers a perfectly designed and engineered product with impressive performances.
Once positioned at the chest level and connected to the Fitbit Health Mate app. the mat will record movements, heart rate and analyze the amount of sleep in the different phases (awake, light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep).
Detecting snoring and sleep apneas episodes are also part of the numerous amount of analyses provided to assess sleep quality.
Design and installation
Withings is not new to the world of sleep monitors. This sleeping mat has been perfected since the first Aura sleep tracker was released in 2014. The thin fabric mat is 24.4 x 7.4 x 0.19 inches and accommodates one person only. To track the sleeping habits of two persons, you will need two sleeping mats.
If you sleep alone in a double bed, it is recommended to install the mat in the middle of the bed.
The mat is fine enough to be fully invisible under the mattress and can even be installed on beds with slats. The mattress should not be a problem as the sleep sensor is compatible with most models, including foam, memory foam, spring, and latex.
The Withings sleep tracker needs to be plugged into a bedside outlet using a USB cable and adapter. The next step is to download the app from the Apple Store or Google Play and pair the sleep sensor using Bluetooth. The App is compatible with iOS (10 and higher) and Android (5 and higher). The sleep sensor also needs to be connected to your home Wi-Fi network.
Withings uses the Health Mate app for all of its products. The data from your smartwatch, Blood Pressure Monitor, and even scale will all be located in the same app, which is very handy.
Once installed, the one-time calibration starts. It can take up to ten minutes, during which buzzing sounds can be heard. Do not worry. This is a normal process and has only to be done one time.
A holistic approach to sleep tracking
The Withings sleep tracking mat provides advanced sleep analyses. Pneumatics sensors are used for heart rate analyses, movement detection, and breathing pattern. The snores’ detection relies on a microphone sensitive enough to differentiate the ambient sounds. It can even differentiate the snores of the person sleeping next to you from your own snores.
Sleep apnea can lead to severe conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, and increased blood pressure. It is then essential to be aware of them and consult a physician in severe disorders. Clinical trials in Belgium and France have validated the accuracy of Withings sleep sensors. The mat will not replace a professional sleep analysis setup but will certainly be accurate enough to alert if breathing disturbances are detected.
Following a night of sleep data tracking, the app will show the night’s global sleep score and much more (up to 100). The sleep tracking will show the different sleep cycles (light, deep, or REM for dreams) and their respective duration. The app will also give some actionable advice on how to improve the quality of sleep.
By detecting the number of snoring episodes and their duration. The algorithm made the most of Artificial Intelligence and was trained using real snoring sounds of different intensities.
Deep sleep is detected using the new Sleep Heart Rate tracking indicator, representing the average heart rate during sleep. This indicator goes beyond detecting the sleep pattern but is also a good indicator of the overall conditions and fitness. An illness or change in lifestyle could cause an increase in the sleep heart rate.
More than a simple sleep tracker, the Withings sleeping mat makes the most of the data and the company’s expertise in developing health algorithms to extract numerous health indicators that go far beyond telling you about the quality of your nights.
A tracker open to the world
Not only the HealthMate app will guide you in improving your sleep and your health. Showing the data to your general practitioner may also help him/her diagnose a disease or prescribe complimentary examination. When combined with the company’s other products, we truly open a path toward a holistic healthcare approach.
Finally, the mat and app are also compatible with the IFTTT home automation platform. The IFTTT integration allows controlling the lights, temperature, and other connected devices. Your biological sleep data will act as triggers for numerous smart devices. A perfect way to get the coffee ready when awaking is close.
The latest iteration of the Withings Sleep mat has a lot to offer. Its accuracy will never rival a professional sleep analysis lab. The numerous data recorded are enough to understand better how you sleep and improve it. When compared to a smartwatch, the data are more complete. If you can not stand to sleep with a watch around your wrist like us, the sleeping mat is for you.
For a very reasonable price, Withings offers a mat that has everything we could hope to understand how we sleep and why we always wake up more tired than rested.
