There are few things more important T than a good night’s sleep, yet for so many of us, waking up refreshed can feel frustratingly out of reach. If you want to improve your slumber – or just understand it better – agood sleeptracking app can be a great companion. Pair it with an Apple Watch, which can track all manner of sleep-related stats and signs, and you can gain deep insights into what goes on after you drift off.

But where should you start? Is it best to get a simple, toned-down app that just tracks the basics? Or is it preferable to opt for an all-singing, all-dancing app that logs your vital signs, records your snoring, and presents personalised tips based on its own machinelearning algorithm? In a field stuffed with options, it can be hard to choose.

That’s where this group test comes in. We’ve picked six of the best sleep-tracking apps on the market, all designed to be used with both your iPhone and your Apple Watch. Read on to find out which one deserves a place by your bedside.

How we tested

We installed each app and wore an Apple Watch to bed for a couple of weeks in order to track our sleep. Some of the apps automatically logged our sleep patterns – in which case they could be used concurrently with other sleep apps – while others required some manual input to record nightly audio. We also explored each app’s features, assessing how user-friendly, accurate and feature-rich they were, as well as whether they were good value for money.