We all want to be our best selves and having a good night’s rest is a major part of the equation. When our sleep suffers, everything suffers, including our health and happiness. Beddit is a device that can help improve the quality of your sleep by tracking your sleep patterns to see where adjustments can be made. In this Beddit review, you’ll discover the myriad ways this product shines as well as some of its shortcomings.
Beddit 3
Overall Rating
Features
Quality
Ease of Use
Price
Summary: Beddit is a sleep tracking device that pairs a mattress sensor strip together with the microphone of your smartphone to assess the overall quality of your sleep. It accomplishes this by collecting sleep-related data such as your respiration and heart rate, snoring noise and body movement levels. Once the system collects and interprets the information, Beddit can then offer suggestions on how to improve your sleep.
PROS
- Easy to setup and works immediately upon lying down on your mattress
- User-friendly software app
- Tracks many sleep-related data points
- Offers useful suggestions on how to get a better night’s sleep
- Sensor strip can track either one or two people at the same time
CONS
- Software app doesn’t provide a full breakdown of sleep data (not specific enough)
- Sensor strip may shift around, especially if you tend to toss and turn while sleeping
- Sensor strip may wear down over time and need to be replaced
- Sensor strip isn’t intended for waterbeds or air mattresses as it would result in misleading data
Introduction
Our fascination with the science and mysticism of sleep goes as far back as ancient civilizations like the Egyptians, who already then were monitoring sleep patterns in attempts to improve their quality of sleep (source).
In more recent times, devices known as sleep trackers have brought the science of sleep from labs into our own bedrooms to better understand our sleep behaviors. This is a wonderful development as it allows us to sleep in the environment where we’re most comfortable and where the data recorded is most accurate. One of the most popular sleep trackers selling today is the Beddit…
Key Features
- The Beddit 3 consists of two basic components: a mattress sensor strip that plugs into a wall and an app that interprets sleep data recorded with a smartphone microphone and transmitted via wireless Bluetooth.
- The recorded sleep data is designed to help you better understand your sleep behaviors and make adjustments to your routine where you see fit.
- The app is available on both iOS and Android platforms (as of the time of this writing, the iOS version offers many more features than the Android version).
Detailed Beddit Review
Features – 5/5
Outside of using an EEG (electroencephalogram) at a sleep lab, the Beddit is one of the best devices to analyze your sleep patterns from the comfort of your own home. It earns this title by measuring many useful sleep metrics, including:
- Sleep efficiency – Percentage of time you spend sleeping in bed
- Restless sleep – The degree to which you toss and turn while sleeping
- Resting heart rate – Assessment of your general health
- Environment – Determines the ideal temperature/humidity levels for your bedroom
- Sleep time – The amount of time you actually spend sleeping
- Sleep cycle – Stages of light vs. deep sleep (REM stage)
- Snoring – A metric strongly tied to poor quality of sleep
- Breathing – The number of breaths you take per minute
While previous iterations of the Beddit measured similar vitals, the Beddit 3 sensor is more sensitive and thus paints a more accurate picture of your sleep habits.
The readout for each night’s sleep activity is graphically represented on the Beddit app for easy interpretation. Also, the app offers tailored suggestions in a dedicated ‘notes’ section on how to improve the quality of your sleep by pinpointing problem areas you might not have been aware of. For example, it might suggest minimizing your caffeine intake or blue light exposure from computers and tablets in the hours before sleep.
Apart from these features, the app also includes a smart alarm that awakens you at the optimal time each morning.
Then there’s the sensor itself, which is a flat, polyester strip that’s placed on top of your mattress and under your bed sheet for optimal comfort. Upon lying down, the sensor immediately begins interfacing with your smartphone to begin capturing data.
Quality – 4/5
For the most part, the Beddit is a well-constructed system built by a team of experts in the field of sleep research including, VitalMed Research Center, Helsinki Sleep Clinic and Dr. Markku Partinen.
App
Among Beddit’s strong points is its statistical information, which provides many useful data points to analyze the quality of your sleep. But while this information is nicely presented on a user-friendly app, it doesn’t include comprehensive statistics for each sleep parameter (breathing, movement, heart rate, humidity, temperature, etc.)
Instead, the app only generates a general sleep score and heart rate graph. Still, this basic information will probably suffice for most people, especially when combined with the useful tips that help guide you towards better sleep.
Sensor Strip
The quality of the sensor strip is a bit more problematic as its wires can wear down over time, which might eventually need to be replaced. Plus, there’s no mechanism to attach the sensor to your mattress, which can cause it to slip around while sleeping, especially if you’re a tosser and turner. And if this describes you, the relatively short width of the sensor strip may not be wide enough to accommodate your restless sleep patterns.
All that said, the accuracy of the sensor is second to none and thin enough to be almost undetectable. There’s also the fact that mattress sensor strips have distinct advantages over their wearable counterparts…
First, wearable devices may compromise the comfort level of your sleep and potentially skew results. Second, most wearable devices need to be turned on before use, which is an easy step to overlook and thus potentially cause you to miss out on important data. Third, sensor strips tend to have a higher degree of accuracy than wrist monitors since they’re of better quality.
Thus, even with its faults, Beddit is still undoubtedly a stellar product.
Ease of Use – 5/5
Unlike many sleep trackers, the Beddit starts working immediately after lying down without needing to launch the app to begin recording. In this sense, setup and use are a breeze. And even though the app isn’t as comprehensive as expected, it’s still quite intuitive.
Price – 3.5/5
As a complete sleep tracking system featuring a flat sensor and software app, the Beddit is predictably more expensive than wearable devices like the Jawbone Up3. And much more so if you don’t already own a smartphone to run the app. But when taking its many benefits into account, the Beddit is still reasonably priced.
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How Does It Compare?
Misfit Shine 2
The Misfit Shine 2 is a wrist-based health tracker designed to assess both sleep and fitness activity. But while it’s more versatile and cheaper than the Beddit, it doesn’t give as complete a sleep picture.
Still, if you’re only looking for basic functionality like the time it takes you to fall asleep and wake up, the Misfit may serve your needs.
Read Our Detailed Misfit Shine 2 Review >>
Up3 by Jawbone
The Jawbone Up3 is another example of a multi-faceted device that tracks both sleep and daily activities, such as food consumption and exercise. But as a jack of all trades and master of none, its sleep-related data isn’t as specific or accurate as the Beddit.
The Up3 is best for those who want a light-weight, wrist-based tracker featuring the bare essentials.
Read Our Detailed Up3 by Jawbone Review >>
Withings Aura
Of the sleep trackers mentioned, the Withings Aura comes closest to the Beddit and even goes a step further with extra features like helping you to identify the best sleep temperature and waking you at the optimal time using a smart light system.
The Withings Aura is arguably the best sleep tracker on the market today but it’s also more expensive than most other devices.
Read Our Detailed Withings Aura Review >>
Lunderg Early-Alert
The Lunderg Early-Alert is a mattress-based sleep tracker like the Beddit and Withings Aura but with more of a medical bent for people with ongoing health problems.
It works by sending emergency notifications to family members if/when your breathing rate decreases or stops or if/when your heart rate drops too low. It also includes basic sleep tracking features.
Read More About the Best Sleep Trackers >>
Which Sleep Tracker Should You Go With?
Selecting a sleep tracker that best suits your needs largely depends on what you’re trying to achieve. If you’re just looking for the bare essentials to track both sleep and daytime activities, less expensive devices like the Misfit Shine 2 or Jawbone Up3 may be your best options, with the Misfit Shine 2 having the slight edge.
Those with serious health issues might consider the EarlySense Live, as it adds the emergency notification component. But if you’re generally healthy and just want targeted advice on how to improve the quality of your sleep, both the Beddit 3 and Withings Aura are excellent choices — the latter offering more bells and whistles for a slightly higher price.
Conclusion
With all its sleep tracking features and targeted tips, the Beddit 3 is a great way to help you understand your sleep patterns so you can identify areas for improvement. Not only will you then sleep better, you’ll also have many more energy-filled days.
Now Over to You!
What are your thoughts about the Beddit? Leave your comments below!
