Apple Watch includes a built-in sleep tracking feature. Just wear your Apple Watch to bed, and it works automatically. No need to install apps or enter a special mode.
watchOS 26 takes sleep tracking further with Apple’s sleep score feature. Sleep score is a great way to visualize the quality of your sleep from night to night. There’s one setting in particular that has made sleep score especially useful for me.
You can receive sleep score notifications for specific ranges
Sleep score has been a useful Apple Watch feature for me since it arrived in watchOS 26.
Shortly after launch, Apple made sleep score even better by refreshing its approach to grading based on customer feedback.
Apple Watch can notify you of your sleep score each morning with a notification that shows your data.
I liked receiving daily alerts when sleep score was brand new. It helped me form an understanding of how the feature worked and how it was measuring my sleep.
More recently, I’ve found sleep score’s granular notification controls to be a better fit. Sleep score includes five classifications:
Very Low:Â 0-40
Low:Â 41-60
OK:Â 61-80
High:Â 81-95
Very High:Â 96+
For me, I’ve decided that I don’t need notifications for high and very high. My thinking is that a good night’s rest should be the norm and hopefully speak for itself.
Instead, I’ll only be notified about sleep score if the result is OK, Low, or Very Low.
In these instances, I think it’s most helpful to have that signal in the morning. Then I can reflect on what might have caused the lower sleep score and hopefully not repeat it.
You can toggle specific sleep score range notifications from your iPhone or Apple Watch:
On iPhone, go to the Watch app, swipe down to the Sleep section, then tap Sleep Score Notifications to toggle alerts for specific ranges.
On Apple Watch, go to the Settings app, scroll down to the Sleep section, then tap Sleep Score Notifications to toggle alerts for specific ranges.
How sleep score works on Apple Watch
As a reminder, here’s how Apple Watch measures sleep and determines your sleep score:
Your sleep score is calculated based on estimates of sleep duration (50 points), bedtime consistency (30 points), and interruptions (20 points).
Sleep score requires watchOS 26, which runs on Apple Watch Series 6 and later, Apple Watch Ultra and later, and Apple Watch SE 2 and later.
Apple Watch Series 11 is currently priced from $329 on Amazon, down from the regular $399 price.
Learn more about sleep tracking with Apple Watch here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.