How to Export Sleep Data from Apple Health

Apple Health stores every night of sleep your Apple Watch, Oura Ring, AutoSleep, or other connected tracker records — including sleep stages like REM, Deep, and Core, plus total sleep duration and time in bed. But when a sleep specialist, neurologist, or pulmonologist asks for your sleep history, getting that data out in a usable format is not straightforward.

This guide shows you how to export your sleep data as a clean PDF or CSV file using vitalina, a free iPhone app that reads your Apple Health data and generates doctor-ready reports in under two minutes — ideal for sleep clinic evaluations, CPAP therapy titration check-ins, insomnia treatment progress, or a sleep apnea workup.

Why Apple Health's built-in export does not work for sleep

Apple Health does let you export your data as XML, but the result is a single file containing every health data point your iPhone has ever recorded. There is no way to filter by metric, so your sleep sessions are buried alongside steps, heart rate, nutrition, and everything else. There is also no date range control — you cannot ask for just the last three months of nights. The file is not readable by a human, and there are no charts, stage breakdowns, or summaries.

Apple doesn't hand you the XML directly either. You get an Export.zip archive that you have to unzip on a computer. Inside is a folder called apple_health_export, and the full Export.xml sits inside it alongside supporting files. For long-time Apple Watch users that XML can easily reach 2.9 GB — 11 years of continuous health data in one file.

If you have been tracking sleep with an Apple Watch for more than a few weeks, even that slice of the export runs to hundreds of megabytes. It is not something you can email to a sleep clinic or review before a consultation.

vitalina solves this by reading your Apple Health data locally on your iPhone and letting you export just your sleep data — for any date range you choose — as a PDF or CSV.

What you'll need

• An iPhone running iOS 16 or later
• Sleep data recorded in Apple Health (from an Apple Watch, Oura, AutoSleep, Pillow, Sleep Cycle, Whoop, Withings Sleep, or manual bedtime entries)

Step 1: Download vitalina

Download vitalina from the App Store. It's free to use with no account or sign-up required.

Step 2: Allow access to Apple Health

When you first open vitalina, tap Allow Health Access and confirm the permissions in the Apple Health prompt. vitalina only requests read access — it cannot modify or delete your health data.

Your data never leaves your device. vitalina processes everything locally on your iPhone with no cloud uploads, no tracking, and no analytics.

Step 3: Tap the "Sleep for Doctor" quick export

On the main screen, you'll see a set of one-tap Quick Export templates. Tap Sleep for Doctor to start an export pre-configured for clinical use — sleep analysis selected, PDF format, ready to go.

If you prefer full control over the date range and format, tap Create Custom Export instead. The rest of this guide walks through the custom export flow.

Step 4: Confirm sleep data is selected

In a custom export, you'll see all available health metrics grouped by category. Under Sleep, select Sleep Analysis. This exports sleep stages (REM, Deep, Core, and Awake), total sleep duration, and time in bed for each night.

You can also add related metrics at this step — for example, Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, or Blood Oxygen — if your sleep specialist wants a broader picture for a suspected sleep apnea workup or CPAP titration review.

Step 5: Pick a date range

This is where vitalina makes a real difference over Apple's native export. You can choose exactly how many nights to include:

• Last 7 days and Last 14 days — available for free
• Last 30 days, 3 months, 1 year, and All time — available with vitalina Pro
• Custom date range — pick any exact start and end date with Pro

If your sleep specialist has asked for several months of nightly data before a formal sleep study, or if you are tracking insomnia treatment progress over time, the Pro upgrade is a one-time purchase that unlocks all extended date ranges.

Step 6: Choose your export format

For sleep data, two formats are most useful:

• PDF: The best format for appointments with a sleep specialist, neurologist, or pulmonologist. Includes a sleep-stage breakdown (REM, Deep, Core, Awake), nightly duration trends, and clean formatting your doctor can read without any technical knowledge. You can email it, AirDrop it, or print it before your appointment.
• CSV: Opens in Excel or Google Sheets. Ideal for detailed night-by-night analysis, building your own charts, or importing the data into another tool.

Both formats are available for free.

Step 7: Tap "Export Now"

Tap Export Now. vitalina reads your sleep data from Apple Health, formats the export, and generates your file — usually within a few seconds.

Step 8: Share with your sleep specialist

Once your export is ready, you'll see a full preview of the file. From here, tap Export to open the iOS share sheet, where you can:

• Email it to your sleep clinic or care team before your appointment
• AirDrop or share via Messages to anyone nearby
• Save to Files on your iPhone or iCloud Drive
• Print a physical copy to bring to the sleep clinic

Which devices and apps sync sleep data to Apple Health?

vitalina exports any sleep data stored in Apple Health, regardless of where it came from. This includes:

• Apple Watch — native sleep tracking with sleep stages (requires watchOS 9 or later)
• AutoSleep — popular third-party sleep tracker for Apple Watch
• Pillow — automatic and manual sleep tracking on iPhone and Apple Watch
• Sleep Cycle — iPhone-based sleep tracking with smart alarm
• Oura Ring — via the Oura Health app
• Whoop — via third-party sync tools
• Withings Sleep — the mat that goes under the mattress
• Manual entries — bedtime and wake time logged by hand in the Health app

If the session appears in Apple Health under Sleep, vitalina can export it. This matters for sleep specialists treating insomnia, suspected sleep apnea, shift-work sleep disorder, or neurological conditions like Parkinson's or dementia where sleep quality is a clinical signal.

How much does vitalina cost?

vitalina is free with 5 unique exports and date ranges up to 14 days. vitalina Pro is a one-time purchase (no subscription) that unlocks unlimited exports, extended date ranges up to all time, and Shortcuts automation. Re-exporting the same configuration is always free.

Download vitalina free on the App Store →

Frequently asked questions