Pokémon Sleep is out in the wild, and people are using it to track their sleeping patterns. Of course, it helps that the app can help you out in Pokémon Go, but knowing how you sleep can benefit your health. How does it work, though? Here is how Pokémon Sleep tracks your sleep.
How does Pokémon Sleep work?
Using Pokémon Sleep at night to track your sleep is pretty simple. Open the app, select that you want to sleep, and place your phone screen facedown near your pillow. If you have the Pokémon Go Plus Plus, you can substitute that in. When you do this, your device will take stock of the current situation of its environment by utilizing its accelerometer sensors and detecting noise and movements. Your phone doesn’t do this when you close it, so that is why the app requires you to keep it on while you sleep. Also, laying it near your pillow makes it much easier for your device to pick up these movements.
How exactly does your device know when you fall asleep? It’s not a perfect method, but your body becomes very still when you fall asleep. If the device doesn’t detect any movement for a certain time, it will guess you are asleep. When you make movements like tossing and turning, coughing, or some other sudden noise, the app will record that snippet so you can listen to it when you wake up. Unfortunately, noises caused outside of your control can affect this recording and throw off your sleeping numbers. For example, if you have a pet that likes to jump into your bed, that can affect your sleep score. Having a fan on or your mattress being too firm that the app can’t detect your movements can also mess with the results.
While Pokémon Sleep is a great idea, it is not the most reliable sleep tracker. In the perfect quiet environment, it can give you great data. However, too many outside circumstances can cause the app to give false readings. Remember that this is a game first and a health application second.
