Sleep isn’t just about how long your baby rests; it’s also about how well they sleep. Quality sleep plays an important role in a baby’s physical development, growth, and overall well-being. However, it’s not always easy to tell whether your baby is getting truly restful sleep. 

Owlet Dream Duo™ is a smart baby monitor which goes beyond traditional baby monitoring. Combining Dream Sock® and Owlet Cam® 2, it provides not only video and health monitoring, but also tracks key indicators related to your baby's sleep quality. This allows you to better understand how your baby is sleeping and to make more informed choices about their sleep environment and routine.

Below, we explore the key sleep quality indicators monitored by Dream Duo™ and how they can help you better understand your baby’s sleep.

During sleep, your baby’s pulse can reveal a lot about how restful and settled they really are. A calm, steady pulse often indicates that your baby is sleeping soundly. In contrast, a faster or irregular pulse may suggest discomfort, restlessness, or even the early signs of illness. [ Source ] These subtle changes can happen without any visible signs, which makes pulse tracking especially valuable for parents. 

Dream Sock® monitors your baby’s pulse rate throughout the night and lets you view this information over time. One of the most useful patterns it can show is how pulse rate changes in relation to sleep quality. A lower, stable heart rate is often linked to deeper, more restorative sleep. If your baby’s heart rate is elevated or fluctuates during sleep, it may reflect lighter sleep or moments of disturbance, even if they are not waking up or crying.

By combining pulse data with other sleep insights such as movement and room conditions, you get a clearer picture of how well your baby is actually resting. Instead of relying on guesswork or waiting for signs of tiredness or discomfort, you can make sense of their sleep with reliable, real-time information.

Maintaining a healthy oxygen level is important for safe and restful sleep. Dream Sock® monitors your baby's oxygen level throughout the night, giving you access to insights that may not be visible through physical cues alone.

It is relatively common for babies to experience mild fluctuations in their oxygen level while sleeping [Source].These changes can be influenced by a variety of factors such as sleep position, movement, or even a minor respiratory infection. In most cases, these shifts are harmless and temporary. However, significant or consistent drops in oxygen level should be monitored closely and discussed with a healthcare professional.

Stable oxygen readings are often associated with deeper, more restorative sleep and healthy breathing patterns. If irregularities appear, the data can help you take early action, whether that means adjusting your baby's sleep position, making changes to their environment, or seeking medical advice. Having this kind of insight supports more informed decisions and greater peace of mind during sleep.

Frequent night wakings are a normal part of infant sleep, especially for newborns who naturally spend more time in REM (rapid eye movement) sleep than in deeper NREM (non-REM) sleep. REM is a lighter stage of sleep where babies are more likely to stir or briefly wake. Newborns also have shorter sleep cycles (typically 40 to 60 minutes), which means they wake more often, sometimes for feeding or comfort. So on their own, wakings aren’t always a sign of poor sleep.

However, the pattern, frequency, and context of wakings can still offer valuable insight into your baby’s overall sleep quality, particularly when tracked over time with Dream Sock®.

For example:

• Disrupted sleep cycles, such as frequent or irregular wakings that don’t align with expected patterns, may suggest that something is disturbing your baby’s sleep, like discomfort, illness, or environmental factors.

• Difficulty settling after waking can indicate that your baby isn’t getting truly restful, restorative sleep, even though waking itself is normal.

• When wakings occur alongside other indicators like increased movement, elevated pulse rate, or drops in oxygen level, they may reflect restlessness or disturbances during sleep that might otherwise go unnoticed.

As your baby grows, their sleep patterns will gradually mature, with longer periods of NREM sleep and fewer wakings. Tracking wakings overtime gives you a clearer picture of whether your baby’s sleep is progressing as expected and helps you identify any patterns or disruptions that could benefit from a change in routine or sleep environment.

Crying is often a baby’s first way of signaling discomfort, disturbance, or a need for support. With the cry detection feature on Owlet Cam® 2, you can receive a notification on your mobile device whenever your baby begins to cry. This alert helps you respond quickly and confidently.

The feature also includes the option to capture a short video clip when a cry is detected. By enabling the ‘Capture a Video Clip’ setting in Owlet® Dream App, you can review what was happening just before and during the moment your baby cried. This can provide valuable context—such as whether your baby was startled by a noise, feeling uncomfortable, or simply shifting in their sleep.

Over time, reviewing these clips may help you spot patterns or common triggers, like changes in temperature, light, or other environmental factors that could affect sleep. Understanding not just that your baby cried, but what might have led to it, can guide small but meaningful adjustments to their sleep routine or environment.

Babies move frequently in their sleep, and not all movement means they’re waking up or uncomfortable. However, tracking movement over time can help distinguish between normal shifting during sleep cycles and more restless or disturbed sleep. Dream Duo™  detects your baby’s movement patterns, helping you determine whether frequent movement coincides with wakings, increased pulse rate, or changes in room conditions. If movement spikes around the same time as a dip in oxygen level or a rise in room temperature, you may be able to address a specific cause. Owlet Cam® 2 can also capture a short video clip during these moments, giving you helpful visual context to better understand your baby’s sleep behavior.

Environmental factors have a major impact on the quality of your baby’s sleep. A room that’s too warm or too dry can cause restlessness, sweating, dehydration, or overheating. The  Lullaby Trust  recommends a room temperature of 16-20°C for optimal baby sleep.

Owlet Cam® 2 monitors the room’s temperature and humidity in real time and displays these readings in the Owlet® Dream App. This makes it easy to ensure the sleep space stays within the ideal comfort range. If the room begins to get too warm or cold, or if humidity drops to an uncomfortable level, you’ll know right away and can take steps to fix it, such as adjusting clothing, opening windows, or using a fan or humidifier.

Everyday sounds in and around the home can have more of an impact on your baby’s sleep than you might expect. Owlet Cam® 2 includes noise level monitoring, which allows you to see if sudden or sustained noise levels are occurring during your baby’s sleep. This can be particularly useful if you're trying to understand what may be waking or unsettling your baby during the night.

If your baby wakes at the same time each night and you notice a spike in background noise at that time, e.g. from household activity, traffic, or neighbours, you can take steps to reduce these disturbances. Monitoring noise helps you create a quieter, more soothing sleep space, and over time, can contribute to longer, more consistent sleep stretches.

Sleep is an important part of your baby’s development, and quality matters just as much as quantity.Dream Duo ^TM  offers a way to better understand how your baby is sleeping by monitoring key sleep quality indicators. 

By noticing patterns in these signals over time, you can start to see what supports more restful sleep and what might be causing interruptions. Whether it is a change in room temperature, a sudden noise, or increased movement during the night, having this information makes it easier to adjust your baby’s sleep environment with clarity and purpose. Supporting better sleep does not always require big changes. Often, small adjustments based on reliable information can make a meaningful difference in helping your baby rest well and grow with comfort.