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Control sleep tracking manually?

Is there a way to turn on/off Sleep tracking (data source = Apple Watch series 8) manually at different, unknown and random times each day?


My sleep is anything BUT ‘scheduled’. I’d like to be able to:

1) crawl into bed at different and random times each night;

2) tap a button that tells my watch to start recording sleep data;

3) wake up at some unknown, different and random time each morning;

4) tap a button to end tracking.


I have been messing with ‘sleep schedules’ and ‘sleep focus’ for several days, but can’t figure this out.


If I set a schedule, but sleep past the set ‘wake up time’, the tracking turns off prematurely.


For example: It’s 11p and bed time. My set sleep schedule bed time is set to 11p. I am not sure when I will wake up, but I have to enter a time, so I estimate 9a and enter that as my wake time.


BUT because I’m sick, for example, I end up unexpectedly sleeping an extra hour and not waking up until 10a. Well, this extra hour is not tracked because tracking turned off automatically at 9a based on my guess of wake up time entered the night before.


I would love to be able to sleep that unexpected extra hour, have it tracked, and then tap a button at 10a (or whenever) I really do wake up.


I realize I can have multiple schedules as well as change bed/wake times of any schedule for ‘just the next time’, but this still requires me to guess when I will wake.


I have learned I can turn ‘sleep focus’ on/off manually whenever I please, and not have it linked to any sleep schedule, so that seemed promising,


BUT, even when I turn off sleep focus after I sleep that extra unexpected hour, my sleep tracking data stopped being logged at the earlier time.


What am I missing?


Thanks for any help!


Specs:

Apple watch series 8; watchOS 9.6.1

iPhone 14 Pro, iOS 16.6

iPhone 14 Pro

Posted on Sep 3, 2023 11:16 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 3, 2023 11:20 PM

Change sleep options

  1. Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
  2. Tap Sleep, then adjust these settings: Turn On at Wind Down: By default, the Sleep Focus begins at the wind down time you set in the Sleep app. ... 
  3. Turn Sleep Tracking and Charging Reminders on or off.


Track your sleep with Apple Watch

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4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 3, 2023 11:20 PM in response to alysynn

Change sleep options

  1. Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch.
  2. Tap Sleep, then adjust these settings: Turn On at Wind Down: By default, the Sleep Focus begins at the wind down time you set in the Sleep app. ... 
  3. Turn Sleep Tracking and Charging Reminders on or off.


Track your sleep with Apple Watch

Sep 3, 2023 11:31 PM in response to alysynn

@SravanKrA


Thanks for responding, but I don’t think this addresses my issue at all…


I think all you offered was which settings can be changed and where, and a link to the Apple info/support sheet on Sleep, which I have looked at and read many times. It doesn’t address my issue, either.


IF, however, I am wrong, I apologize, and ask could you please list the correct settings I would need to do what I want?


Thanks :)

Control sleep tracking manually?

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