User profile for user: pienpuum
pienpuum Author
User level: Level 1
12 points

Apple Watch claims I was sleeping when not even wearing it

The sleep tracking has never seemed very accurate so I haven't paid much attention to it but now it has started to bug me... Last night I took off the watch while doing my bed time routine and this morning noticed sleep data claiming I was in deep sleep during that time. I had 'Track time in bed with iPhone' on which seemed to be tracking more accurate data of the time I actually went to bed. During the time I wasn't wearing the watch, I was reading on my phone and only put the watch back on when I went to sleep.


How is it possible the watch doesn't know it hasn't been on my wrist and measures deep sleep out of thin air? Is there a way to fix this?


If I've been active on my phone why does sleep tracking still claim I've been asleep instead of noticing the data is conflicting?


Edit: there was no heart rate or respiratory rate data tracked during the "deep sleep"

Apple Watch Series 5

Posted on Feb 19, 2023 11:20 PM

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User profile for user: green500
green500
User level: Community Specialist

Posted on Feb 21, 2023 12:06 PM

Hello pienpuum,


Welcome to Apple Support Communities. 


We understand that you noticed sleep being recorded when you were not wearing your Apple Watch. We are happy to assist.


We are not sure why this occurred. Since you use Sleep on iPhone along with tracking sleep on your Apple Watch, it’s possible that if you were in bed that it may have thought you were sleep based on the iPhone. We recommend using the steps here: Track your sleep on Apple Watch and use Sleep on iPhone - Apple Support

"Set up Sleep

  1. Open the Health app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap Get Started under Set Up Sleep1, then tap Next.
  3. Follow the onscreen prompts to establish:
    • Sleep Goals: Set the number of hours you'd like to spend asleep.
    • Bedtime and Wake Up times: Set when you'd like to go to bed and wake up.
    • Sleep Focus: To reduce distractions, iPhone can simplify your Lock Screen and turn on Sleep Focus at your scheduled bedtime. You can also give certain people or apps permission to notify you. Learn how to customize a Focus.
    • Track Sleep with Apple Watch: Wear your watch to bed to track your sleep. This option is available during setup if you've paired your Apple Watch with your iPhone beforehand. If you pair your Apple Watch after setup, you can still turn on Track Sleep with Apple Watch later.

Adjust your wind down and sleep goal

On your iPhone

  1. Open the Health app, tap Browse at bottom of the screen, then tap Sleep. If you have Sleep saved to your Favorites list, you can access it from the Summary page in the Health app.
  2. Tap Full Schedule & Options.
  3. Tap Wind Down or Sleep Goal under Additional Details.
  4. Adjust your time then tap Wind Down or Sleep Goal to save your changes.

On your Apple Watch

  1. Open the Sleep app and tap Full Schedule.
  2. Tap Wind Down or Sleep Goal under Options.
  3. Tap the Plus and Minus buttons to adjust your time.
  4. Tap the left arrow in the upper-left to go back and save your changes."



Let us know if you have further questions.


Take care.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: green500
green500
User level: Community Specialist

Feb 21, 2023 12:06 PM in response to pienpuum

Hello pienpuum,


Welcome to Apple Support Communities. 


We understand that you noticed sleep being recorded when you were not wearing your Apple Watch. We are happy to assist.


We are not sure why this occurred. Since you use Sleep on iPhone along with tracking sleep on your Apple Watch, it’s possible that if you were in bed that it may have thought you were sleep based on the iPhone. We recommend using the steps here: Track your sleep on Apple Watch and use Sleep on iPhone - Apple Support

"Set up Sleep

  1. Open the Health app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap Get Started under Set Up Sleep1, then tap Next.
  3. Follow the onscreen prompts to establish:
    • Sleep Goals: Set the number of hours you'd like to spend asleep.
    • Bedtime and Wake Up times: Set when you'd like to go to bed and wake up.
    • Sleep Focus: To reduce distractions, iPhone can simplify your Lock Screen and turn on Sleep Focus at your scheduled bedtime. You can also give certain people or apps permission to notify you. Learn how to customize a Focus.
    • Track Sleep with Apple Watch: Wear your watch to bed to track your sleep. This option is available during setup if you've paired your Apple Watch with your iPhone beforehand. If you pair your Apple Watch after setup, you can still turn on Track Sleep with Apple Watch later.

Adjust your wind down and sleep goal

On your iPhone

  1. Open the Health app, tap Browse at bottom of the screen, then tap Sleep. If you have Sleep saved to your Favorites list, you can access it from the Summary page in the Health app.
  2. Tap Full Schedule & Options.
  3. Tap Wind Down or Sleep Goal under Additional Details.
  4. Adjust your time then tap Wind Down or Sleep Goal to save your changes.

On your Apple Watch

  1. Open the Sleep app and tap Full Schedule.
  2. Tap Wind Down or Sleep Goal under Options.
  3. Tap the Plus and Minus buttons to adjust your time.
  4. Tap the left arrow in the upper-left to go back and save your changes."



Let us know if you have further questions.


Take care.

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Apple Watch claims I was sleeping when not even wearing it

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