How to Use Sleep Data to Effectively Improve Rest

Sleep is a critical component of health. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 1 in 3 U.S. adults does not get enough sleep. To help their restless consumers, many companies have invested in technology that can more accurately monitor physical activity, sleep, and circadian rhythms.

accurately monitor physical activity, sleep, and circadian rhythms.

By 2025, sleep researchers increasingly describe a landscape in which consumer wearables and home-based sensors continuously collect multi-sensor sleep signals (e.g., movement and physiological measures), supporting population-scale “digital sleep” studies and individual-level applications such as risk screening and personalized guidance. For example, a decentralized prospective cohort study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research found that longitudinal sleep variability captured via activity trackers predicted elevated risk for obstructive sleep apnea and hypertension, illustrating how real-world sleep data can link sleep patterns to health risks over time. 

At the same time, a 2025 review of consumer/home sleep monitoring technologies highlights how AI and multi-sensor fusion can improve sleep analysis and enable more personalized recommendations and sleep-coaching-style interventions. Industry and clinical stakeholders have also responded with 2025-era guidance, such as the World Sleep Society’s recommendations on multi-sensor consumer sleep trackers and their appropriate use in consumer, research, and clinical contexts.

Sleep has been studied for centuries, from early medical and philosophical writings to today’s research, and modern U.S. health guidance notes that most adults need about 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. Despite such a large body of research, there are gaps in existing knowledge about which factors influence sleep and sleep disorders. Experts are looking to big data to fill those gaps.

Big data refers to extremely large, complex data sets, especially from new data sources, that can’t be analyzed with conventional techniques like traditional data processing software. Using analytics, these large datasets are examined to uncover hidden patterns, correlations, and other insights.

Villanova University highlights five ways that big data can be used specifically to improve sleep:

Improve knowledge and treatment of sleep conditions.

Identify root causes of sleep disorders.

Link behaviors to sleep quality.

Improve mattress design.

Personalize recommendations for better sleep.

Companies and researchers are using data from wearable trackers (like fitness watches) to learn more about sleep in real life. In a 2025 study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, researchers followed 391 people and used their activity-tracker data to see how consistent their sleep was.

The study found that people whose sleep times changed a lot from night to night were more likely to be at high risk of sleep apnea (a disorder in which breathing can stop and start during sleep). In fact, for every 1-hour increase in how much someone’s sleep varied on weekdays, the odds of being at high sleep-apnea risk were about 2.6 times higher.

The same pattern showed up on weekends too (about 1.9 times higher). The study also found that more “messy” or inconsistent sleep was linked to higher odds of high blood pressure (hypertension), about 1.7 times higher for each extra hour of weekday sleep variation.

In short, the more your sleep schedule swings around, the more it may be linked to health risks, and big wearable datasets can help researchers spot those patterns.

While the average person can’t realistically analyze massive amounts of sleep data, they can collect data on themselves to improve their own habits. Such information can help individuals identify troubling patterns that may require medical attention for further research and potential intervention.

How can I collect data on my sleep?

Sleep trackers don’t directly measure sleep. Rather, they measure inactivity as an estimate of sleep. These devices may also measure:

At his sleep clinic, Dr. Ratnasoma finds that many patients come in for a sleep study based on data from these consumer devices.

“Almost 50% of our patient panel has some kind of sleep tracker or fitness watch or wearable product,” he said. “I think a lot of them are using it to gauge for themselves if they have a sleep problem, whether it’s very restless sleep, or if it’s not much deep sleep or not enough sleep.”

Consumer sleep tracking devices cannot diagnose sleep disorders. Anyone who is experiencing symptoms such as waking up several times a night or excessive daytime sleepiness should see a doctor, said Dr. Ratnasoma. A doctor may recommend a clinical sleep study.

A clinical study may use various techniques to measure and monitor sleep:

Of course, not everybody wants to wait for a full-scale study to get better rest. There are many things individuals can do at home to increase their likelihood of getting a better night’s sleep and to improve their “sleep hygiene.” According to Dr. Ratnasoma, “as much as 90% of insomnia is behaviorally induced.”

Some ways to improve sleep habits and create a better sleep environment include the following:

Set an ideal room temperature.

As a rule of thumb, most sleep guidance recommends keeping your bedroom cool, around 60 to 67°F, to support better sleep. A smart thermostat can help by automatically adjusting heating and cooling temperature settings to coincide with bedtime.

Monitor noise level.

Generally, a quieter room is better for good sleep. If an individual’s surroundings are noisy, they can consider a white noise machine or earplugs. Studies have found that “pink noise,” such as the sound produced by rain or a waterfall, can enhance deep sleep in older adults.

Pay more attention to wake-up time than bedtime.

“Having a set wake-up time anchors your body’s functions,” said Dr. Ratnasoma. “You have the same cortisol release in the morning, and then you’re up for the same amount of time by the end of the day. So if you wake up at the same time, you should be tired around the same time every day.”

Spend less time in bed awake.

An individual should get in bed when they are ready to go to sleep and keep other activities (watching TV, reading, working, etc.) outside the bed, in order to associate the bed with a place to go to sleep. Doctors call this “stimulus control.”

If you wake up, get up.

Individuals who wake in the middle of the night should get out of bed if they can’t fall back asleep after 10 to 15 minutes. They can go into another room and do something else until they’re tired again.

Avoid excessive napping during the day.

To avoid fatigue at bedtime, limit naps to 15-20 minutes.

Limit screen use before bed.

Blue light slows the release of melatonin, a hormone that lets the body know it’s time to sleep. Wearing blue light glasses might help if nighttime screen use is necessary.

Blue light—a portion of the visible light spectrum that can affect alertness, hormone production and sleep cycles—is often pegged as a culprit in sleep deprivation. This wavelength of light is emitted by LED and fluorescent lights, as well as by many electronic devices. While blue light may help folks stay alert and focused during the day, exposure within two to three hours of bedtime can disrupt sleep cycles.

A major source of artificial light near bedtime comes from phones, tablets, and computers. In a 2025 JAMA Network Open analysis of 122,058 adults, 82.6% reported using an electronic screen in the hour before sleep at least 1 day per week, including 41.2% who did so daily (7 days/week). Daily screen use in the hour before sleep was associated with shorter sleep (about 7.6–7.8 fewer minutes on workdays) and a higher prevalence of poor sleep quality. 

Do you want to participate in research about sleep? Visit the following organizations to learn more about what they are doing to collect research and data on how people sleep and what can improve people’s rest.

This article is for informational purposes only. For any health concerns related to sleep, please seek care from a licensed health professional.