I’ve recently started using a Garmin smartwatch/fitness tracker. I was mostly interested in it as a backup GPS navigation device when in the backcountry but have been pleasantly surprised by its other features, so much so that I haven’t taken it off (except to charge) since. Each morning it gives me a sleep score for the nights rest, and I’ve found it completely spot on. To begin with I doubted it, when it would say I got a ‘fair’ sleep I might have thought, “nah I feel great” but sure enough within a few hours I’d be losing sharpness.

Likewise, camping at the top of Anapai beach on the Abel Tasman on Saturday night, I woke up the following morning feeling about as fresh as I ever have, and sure enough I had a sleep score of 96, ‘Excellent’.