What is the BetterSleep sleep recorder?
Our sleep recorder allows you to track your sleep to better understand your sleep patterns. With the tap of a button, BetterSleep will track your sleep and record your sleep sounds (e.g., snoring, talking, external noises) and categorize them for later listening.
The purpose of the sleep tracker is to equip you with information about what might be holding you back from your best rest, so you can make informed decisions for positive change and improve your sleep quality. Better sleep = Better health and better life and a lot more...
How does it work?
When activated for the night, our mic-based sleep recorder is trained to use your phone's microphone to record and to recognize the kind of sounds that normally occur when we’re asleep and our detection algorithm categorizes each type of noise to easily listen back to them the next morning. It will also show you your sleep data for the day/week.
How do I record and track my sleep?
To start the sleep recorder, click on the Sleep/Recorder button (the moon or microphone) at the bottom of the app (middle Tab). Before you activate the recorder, make sure you’ve turned on microphone permissions (steps below in this article).
For iOS, also make sure to have enabled our app in Apple Health
Tap on Profile — Settings —swipe down and tap on My Data and enable Apple Health permissions.
*** For Android, make sure Battery optimization setting is turned OFF for BetterSleep because otherwise your phone may shut the app down during the night impacting your sleep tracking data.
You can view our How-to video on our Instagram channel.
Which devices are supported for the sleep recorder?
Our sleep recorder is currently available on Android and iOS devices.
We’re working to bring the recorder to other devices like Android tablets. Stay tuned!
Where do I find my sleep data/recordings?
You can find all your sleep data and recordings through the Insights/Journal tab the day after tracking your sleep (assuming you enabled the sleep recorder for the night).
How do I play my sleep recordings and how long are they available for? Can I download them?
To play a sleep recording, simply click on the Play icon next to each recording to listen to a short clip of what was recorded (the clips are 5-7 seconds).
Sleep recordings are saved for 20 days, after which they are automatically deleted. At this moment, sleep recordings cannot be downloaded to be shared.
One or many of my sleep recordings are inaccurate. Why is that?
Sometimes, sleep recordings may not be accurate due to different factors in your own sleep environment (loud noises, other people, or equipment noises like fans, pets, TV, or other audio playing in the background.)
To edit the category of a recording or to delete it, click on the 3 dots next to it.
I activated the sleep recorder. Why aren’t there any sleep recordings?
There are a few possible reasons for waking up to no recordings after a night of sleep tracking:
You may have an “Activate” microphone notification outstanding, meaning the sleep recorder has not been authorized on your phone. To verify if you’ve provided authorization, visit your phone settings, select “BetterSleep”, and authorize it. We are unable to record anything without you having previously authorized this feature.
Playing other audio while the sleep recorder is running can interfere with the recorder. We aren’t able to accurately pick up sleep sounds while audio from music or TV plays in the background.
The BetterSleep app needs at least 30 minutes of tracking to generate your sleep analysis. Sleep tracking for less than 30 minutes won’t yield any recordings.
For Android, make sure Battery optimization setting is turned OFF for BetterSleep because otherwise your phone may shut down the app during the night and it will not record.
Why is there a lock next to my recordings preventing me from playing them?
While all our users can use the sleep recorder/tracker to track their sleep, listening to the sleep recordings is currently available as a part of our Premium subscription. If you're using the free version of our app, you’ll need to purchase a subscription or lifetime membership to unlock all of BetterSleep’s features (including some of the sleep tracker features like the recordings and your sleep score).
Can I play content while using the sleep recorder?
You can choose and start playing the in-app content that you’d like to listen to prior to starting the sleep recorder. Otherwise, the sleep recorder will give you the option to play/shuffle some other mixes from inside the recorder.
*** Note: The sleep recorder will not properly detect any sleep sounds until your content has finished playing and there will most likely be some sounds miscategorised as music or talking during that time.
My sleep data of last night is showing on today's day in the Insights/Journal Tab, is that a mistake?
It is normal that your sleep data/recordings appear in the Insights/Journal on the next day. For example, for your Saturday overnight sleep, the data will show on Sunday morning and so on. Friday's overnight sleep data will be on Saturday's tab and comes Sunday it's reset and starts again.
I am concerned about my privacy. Is my recording data safe?
The safety of our users’ data and privacy is a top priority. We do not collect or sell your recordings. The recordings are stored on your device and are cleared and deleted on a weekly basis.
The use of the sleep recorder is always optional, and you can manually delete recordings from within the app at any time.
We take the protection of our user’s data and privacy very seriously and in accordance with our Privacy Policy, users have the right to request the erasure of their personal data. For further assistance, please contact us directly at [email protected].
Still have questions? Send us a message. We're here to help 😊