Polar Vantage M3

You want something smart but sporty, compact but powerful, stylish but strong. You want to train harder but recover faster; sleep better but explore more. You want pro-level sports tracking but everyday lifestyle features. You want a Polar Vantage M3: the multi-sport watch for multi-sport athletes.

Polar Grit X2 Pro Titan

Polar Grit X2 Pro Titan is a rough and rugged outdoor sports watch crafted for adventure with sapphire glass AMOLED display in titanium casing, and a hi-tech toolkit of navigation and performance features for exploring the wonders of the world, and the body.

Polar Grit X2 Pro

Polar Grit X2 Pro is a rough and rugged outdoor sports watch crafted for adventure with sapphire crystal glass AMOLED display, and a hi-tech toolkit of navigation and performance features for exploring the wonders of the world, and the body.

Polar Grit X2

Polar Grit X2 is a compact, robust outdoor watch crafted for big adventures and everyday performance. With advanced training tools, sapphire glass AMOLED display, and precision navigation with full-color maps, it’s built for life on and off the trails.

Polar Vantage V3

An ensemble of biosensing instruments, AMOLED display, dual-frequency GPS, maps, and the most comprehensive suite of training and recovery tools on the market. The stage is set, and the Polar Vantage V3 smart sports watch is ready to put in the performance of a lifetime.

Polar Ignite 3

Polar Ignite 3 is a stylish fitness & wellness watch that helps you live a more energized life. It tracks your sleep, activity, and heart rate to provide guidance that’s tailored to your body and lifestyle.

Polar Ignite 3 Braided Yarn

Polar Ignite 3 Braided Yarn is a stylish fitness & wellness watch that helps you live a more energized life. It tracks your sleep, activity, and heart rate to provide guidance that’s tailored to your body and lifestyle and comes with a soft, light, and extremely comfortable woven fiber wristband.

Polar Pacer Pro

Polar Pacer Pro is an ultra-light, new-generation sports watch with integrated barometer that equips athletes with advanced tools to improve running economy, training sessions, and sports performance.

Polar Pacer

Sport is play – why complicate it? Polar Pacer is a no-nonsense sports watch that gives new athletes all the essentials, plus the specialized training tools they need to train better.

Polar Vantage V2

A powerful convergence of minimalist design, innovative technology, and intelligent training and recovery tools makes the Polar Vantage V2 a formidable sports watch.

Polar Grit X Pro

Built for military-level durability with sapphire glass and ultra-long battery, equipping you with new navigation tools, always-on outdoor features and Polar's ultimate training solutions.

Polar Vantage M2

Designed for function, the Polar Vantage M2 works as hard as you do. Our industry-leading technology is here to help you reach your goals and come back stronger. For that athlete attitude.

Polar Ignite 2

A fitness watch that’s sleek, simple and smart? Polar Ignite 2 is a true triple threat. Versatile and full of great features, it’s the perfect companion for any sport and any lifestyle.

Polar Ignite

A waterproof fitness watch with advanced wrist-based heart rate and integrated GPS, Polar Ignite offers you a full view of your day and guides you towards a more balanced life.

Polar Unite

A beautifully simple watch with personalized daily workout guidance, 24/7 heart rate and activity tracking, plus automatic sleep and recovery applications.

Polar Vantage V

Polar Vantage M

An all-round multisport & running GPS watch for anyone who loves setting new records. Polar Vantage M is a slim, lightweight training companion that gives you all the data you need to improve your performance.

Polar Grit X

An outdoor multisport watch with rugged yet lightweight design, ultra-long battery life and military-standard durability for anyone who prefers the trails over the roads.

Polar M430

A GPS running watch with wrist-based heart rate, advanced running features and Polar Running Program, Polar M430 is a top-level watch for runners who want more.

Polar Verity Sense

When freedom of movement is important to you, Polar Verity Sense is your go-to choice for any sport.

Polar H10

Widely regarded as the gold standard in wireless heart rate monitoring, this is the most accurate sensor in Polar’s history.

Polar H9

A reliable, high-quality heart rate chest strap for all your everyday sports with Bluetooth® and ANT+ connectivity. Get connected and get going.

Polar OH1+

Polar OH1+ is an optical heart rate monitor that combines versatility, comfort and simplicity. You can use it both as a standalone device and pair it with various fitness apps, sports watches and smart watches, thanks to Bluetooth® and ANT+ connectivity.

Wristbands

Personalize any watch for any style and any need.

Straps

Replace or upgrade your Polar Sensor chest straps or arm bands.

Power & Cables

For charging your products and data transfer.

Mounts & Adapters

Adapt your product for any situation.

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Polar Grit X Outdoor Series

Made for outdoor sports and built to handle any environment nature can throw at you, Grit X watches are designed to help you explore the world and gear up for adventure.

Polar Vantage Performance Series

Our flagship series is tailored for high-performance and endurance sports and training. Every aspect of our Vantage watches are designed with one particular person in mind – the athlete.

Polar Pacer Multisport Series

The Pacer Series gives athletes all the essentials such as accurate GPS and precise heart rate tracking, plus the specialized training, sleep, and recovery tools they need to train better.

Polar Ignite Fitness & Wellness Series

Sleek, simple, and smart – Ignite watches are the perfect partner for any fitness goals and any lifestyle.

Understanding Your Sleep Stages | Deep Sleep Vs. Light Sleep

Dreaming of deeper or longer sleep? Discover what happens while we rest and why each sleep stage is vital for our nightly recovery.

We usually think of sleep as one uniform experience when we lay down to rest each night. A singular process that we (ideally) emerge from refreshed, recovered, and ready to tackle what the new day may bring us. The reality is that our mind and body experience different sleep stages throughout the night, each with distinct characteristics and benefits. This means that we are never simply at rest – and why every night's sleep is different.

Different sleep stages

Our sleep stages form the basic structure of how a typical night of rest and recovery occurs. According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, there are four stages of sleep in a cycle, which are formed by two different types of sleep: non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep. However, before we reach these periods of sleep there is Stage W, which is simply when we are awake. In order to journey into sleep, we start out in this stage in a non-resting state.

Stages N1-3 are NREM sleep, which is when our body slows down. All activity associated with our brain waves, heartbeat, breathing, and muscles reduce to lower levels than when awake as our body uses this time to repair and enhance our various systems. It's also the type of sleep that is rarely associated with a dream state (although it is still possible to experience vivid dreams, just less likely).

The NREM stages include:

  • N1: the lightest stage of sleep. Our entry point, where we begin the transition into a deeper sleep but are still easily woken by noises around us.
  • N2: a deeper stage of sleep, where our heart rate and body temperature drop, but loud noises can still wake us. This stage is characterized by sleep spindles: rapid bursts of high-frequency brain waves that are thought to be important for learning and memory.
  • N3: often referred to as deep sleep or slow-wave sleep. It is very difficult for us to wake up during stage 3. During this stage, the body repairs and regrows tissues, builds bone and muscle and strengthens the immune system.

Stage R is REM sleep which, as the name suggests, is when our body experiences bursts of rapid eye movement and brain activity, in a surprisingly similar way to how our body behaves when we are awake. It is the type of sleep associated with vivid dreaming and a kind of sleep paralysis when our muscles lose their ability to move to stop us from acting out our dreams (so this is not the stage when people sleepwalk, for example). REM sleep is vital for our memory and emotional regulation, as our brain is processing and clearing what we no longer need.

How long is a sleep cycle?

All the above sleep stages combine to form a whole sleep cycle, generally lasting around 90 to 110 minutes. So, if you sleep for eight hours a night, your body will complete multiple sleep cycles, repeating until you wake.

Throughout the night, each sleep cycle is different, with most deep sleep occurring in the first half of the night and most REM sleep occurring in the last half (if enough sleep occurs). So, by the time you reach the early hours of the morning, you will mainly be alternating between the N2 and R stages of sleep.

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How long is each sleep stage?

During each sleep cycle, the body experiences each sleep stage for differing lengths, depending on how long you have been at rest. Here is how long each sleep stage is for adults:

  • N1: 1 to 7 minutes in our initial sleep cycle, constituting 5-10% of our overall night of sleep.
  • N2: 10 to 25 minutes in the initial sleep cycle and lengthens with each successive cycle, eventually constituting between 45-55% of our overall night of sleep.
  • N3: 20 to 40 minutes in our initial sleep cycle and makes up about 15-25% of our overall night of sleep.
  • R: only 1 to 5 minutes in the initial sleep cycle but lengthens with each successive cycle.

How much REM sleep should I get each night?

As mentioned, REM sleep starts out in short periods and then becomes progressively longer. We usually have our longest stretch of REM sleep in the morning, just before waking. This is why you'll often remember your dreams more clearly if you have had a long, uninterrupted night of sleep.

As we have multiple intervals throughout the night, each with varying lengths, it isn't easy to quantify precisely how much REM sleep we require. However, if we don't get a whole night's sleep, then we are more likely to miss out on the sleep cycles with longer REM stages. So, as an adult, it's essential to get at least seven to nine hours of sleep each night to enhance our REM time.

Deep sleep vs light sleep

When we talk about light and deep sleep, we mean NREM sleep stages. Light sleep happens during stages 1 and 2, and deep sleep happens during stage 3.

As we've seen above, all the stages of sleep are essential as they work together in a cycle, enabling our body to rest and recover during the night fully. So, it's crucial to get a whole night's sleep to ensure we are well-rested and have benefited from the different stages.

Often when our sleep is disrupted, we lose out on deep sleep. This means we miss out on the time that our body needs each night to reap the benefits of the N3 sleep stage, such as enhancing your memory and learning functions, supporting cell growth, and boosting your immune system.

If you are interested in ensuring you have sufficient deep sleep each night, you should review your sleeping conditions to create the ideal environment for a whole night of rest. Some studies have also indicated that exercising 90 minutes before bedtime can increase the amount of deep sleep you have (but may reduce the amount of REM sleep).

While deep sleep is vital, light sleep has its benefits as well. For example, when we wake naturally during this part of our sleep cycle, we are more likely to feel rested, refreshed, and ready to start the day – quite a different morning experience to when your alarm goes off while you are in a deep sleep stage.

Sleep changes as you age

If you used to sleep till noon as a teen but find yourself waking at dawn as an adult, you've probably noticed how the way you sleep has evolved across your life. Here is how our need for and experience of sleep changes as we age.

  • Newborns and infants: initially, babies need 14 to 17 hours of sleep, usually in sections throughout the day. By their first birthday, they typically sleep 11 to 14 hours per day, mainly at night, with a few naps during the day. Interestingly, newborns have a completely different sleep architecture, initially entering their sleep cycle through REM. It also takes three months for their bodies to understand circadian rhythms.
  • Young children: while the need for sleep (including naps) decreases, children around the age of five still need around 12 hours per night. It is also from this age that REM sleep gradually becomes more prolonged, increasing slowly until the age of nineteen. As children age through their pre-teen years, the need for sleep reduces to around 9-11 hours each night.
  • Teenagers: teens require around 8-10 hours of sleep each night and, during different stages of puberty, may experience afternoon sleepiness.
  • Adults: sleep cycles remain relatively stable throughout adulthood until around the age of 65, with the average adult needing 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
  • People over 65: after this age, people get slightly less slow-wave deep sleep and spend more of their sleep cycle in stage 2. This means that older people don't sleep as soundly as when they were younger, and often require slightly less sleep (around 7-8 hours).
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Polar Ignite 3

Polar Ignite 3

Fitness & Wellness Watch

Polar Ignite 3 is a stylish fitness & wellness watch that helps you live a more energized life. It tracks your sleep, activity, and heart rate to provide guidance that’s tailored to your body and lifestyle.

Tracking your sleep stages

One way to understand your sleep cycles is to track them. Polar's Nightly Recharge™ provides you with a detailed analysis of your rest each morning when you wake, so you can understand the quantity and the quality of sleep you have experienced overnight.

Nightly Recharge™ has two separate metrics: Sleep Charge and ANS Charge. Sleep Charge is the area related to your sleep stages. Your Sleep Score shows the length of time you slept, the continuity of this sleep, the length of any interruptions, and details what percentage of your rest was spent in REM, deep and light sleep. Then Sleep Charge compares your Sleep Score to your 28-day average to show how your recovery matches up.

ANS Charge means your heart rate, heart rate variability, and breathing while you slept to understand how well your autonomic nervous system relaxed during the first four hours of sleep each night. Nightly Recharge™ then uses these two metrics to rate your overall recovery (i.e., Good or Compromised), so you can decide how active to be during the day.

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