You Don't Need the Apple Watch Series 11 to Get Your Sleep Score

With the Apple Watch Series 11, Ultra 3, and SE 3, Apple announced support for a new Sleep Score feature that's designed to provide you with an actionable overview of your sleep quality.

watchos 26 sleep score
It turns out that Sleep Score is a watchOS 26 feature, so it is also available on older Apple Watch models. If you have the ‌watchOS 26‌ release candidate installed, you can see your Sleep Score in the Health app already.

Open up the Health app, choose the Sleep category from the Search interface, and tap on Sleep Score to see your personalized readout.

Apple will rate your sleep as Excellent, High, OK, Low, or Very Low. Scores are calculated based on sleep duration, the time you went to bed, and how many times your sleep was interrupted during the night. Duration is worth 50 points, bedtime is worth 30 points, and interruptions is worth 20 points. Points are deducted for low sleep times, a late bedtime, or multiple sleep interruptions.

According to Apple, an "Excellent" score means that your body and mind have received the rest and restorative sleep needed for the day. High means you got the sleep you need, even though you might not have slept perfectly. OK means you probably didn't get all the sleep you need, while Low means that you didn't get enough time to rest and restore. Very Low means you didn't get enough sleep and your rest level was low enough that it can have a mental and physical impact over time.

Sleep Score is calculated from sleep data collected by the Apple Watch during sleep, or from a third-party device that reports results to the Health app. You technically don't need an Apple Watch to get a Sleep Score, but you do need some kind of device that records sleep and logs the results in the Health app.

‌watchOS 26‌ with the Sleep Score, Liquid Glass, and other features will launch to the public on Monday, September 15.

Related Roundup: watchOS 26
Related Forum: Apple Watch

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Top Rated Comments

The Cockney Rebel Avatar
22 weeks ago
I think you don’t need the S11 for anything, if you have an S10.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coolfactor Avatar
22 weeks ago
I can't wear a watch while sleeping, nor socks.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Thisismattwade Avatar
22 weeks ago

What about non-apple smart watches???
From the article: "Sleep Score is calculated from sleep data collected by the Apple Watch during sleep, or from a third-party device that reports results to the Health app. You technically don't need an Apple Watch to get a Sleep Score, but you do need some kind of device that records sleep and logs the results in the Health app."
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coolfactor Avatar
22 weeks ago

AutoSleep has had their version of this for years.
Apple hasn't claimed to invent this feature. They are just bringing "their version" to their customers after significant research and development.

Is AutoSleep participating in industry-wide research like Apple is?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tennisproha Avatar
22 weeks ago
This is very much welcome! The different aspects seem to be weighted well. I'm glad Apple is finally giving some insightful metrics with all the data the Watch collects.

Can't wait to see how terrible my sleep is lol
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
widestload Avatar
22 weeks ago
We really have reached peak watch haven’t we. No new chip, marquee features of sleep score and blood pressure trends on older models. Just a few pixels bigger screen and 5G isn’t enough to upgrade for me
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)