Sleep Stages are false

[G.Shaunus]

Hi,

I have been using a Fitbit Blaze for a month now and have worn it every night,. I keep an eye on my sleep stages and take note of them every morning and have noticed on average I am "Awake" for 13% (usually 1hr 4mins) of my nightly sleep.

Today however, at first glance I noticed something unusual. Rather than the sporadic "Awake" stages throughout my sleep, I noticed that the Fitbit had allowed 1hr 4mins from when i had got out of bed and gone for my morning run.

To conclude, it would seem as though the Fitbit is programmed to allocate a compulsory minimum amount of "Awake" time during each nights sleep. I must say, if this is the case, then I am deeply disappointed in Fitbit for selling a premium priced product with particular features that aren't accurate in their data collection & feedback!!

Has anybody else experienced this or is it just me?

[WavyDavey]

Hi @G.Shaunus,

I'm having trouble understanding your post. Could you restate what your second paragraph is, as it appears there may be some words missing?

I don't know of any "compulsory" awake time, as that doesn't make sense. What caused you to come to that specific conclusion?

[Rich_Laue]

I find the sleep stages accurate but last week I would see extra sleep records with the old sleep design that started a minute after I woke up. This extra would show a sleep record of all deep blue even when I was out on a run.  Could this be what your seeing? I simply hit the delete for this extra record. 

[Goosse1962]

I have been using the Blaze for a long time, a Surge HR before that. I have seen some glitches, but not what you appear to be reporting. I suggest working with Fitbit.

On other forums I have seen some issues that are device (hardware) related as well as software related. I have seen Fitbit improve programming of its devices as well as correct programing for issues with new features. My last issue turned out to be the application on my phone that I needed to reinstall.

[G.Shaunus]

Hi @WavyDavey,

I may struggle to try and explain it further but I'll try anyway. The fitbit device will measure your sleep throughout the night and allocate different stages of sleep to particular heart rates. The device is also sensitive enough to know when you have got up in the morning and will mark that time as the end of your sleep cycle.

It would appear (in my opinion) that my fitbit device is programmed to allot a set percentage/time to each stage of sleep throughout the night, regardless of me actually being in said stage. I have come to this conclusion because over the period of the last 4 weeks, on average, fitbit allots 14% of my sleep cycle to the "awake" stage.

My conclusion is based on my findings from a previous night where no "awake" stage was actually picked up on during my full nightly sleep cycle. So when i got up in the morning, rather than my device marking that point as the end of my sleep cycle (as it usually does. Mentioned above), it allotted 1hr 4minutes as the "awake" stage in my sleeping cycle.

I trust this reads well and is a satisfactory responce.

[G.Shaunus]

Hi @Rich_Laue,

Thanks for the reply. I see what you mean but I'm having a different problem. I tried to go into a bit more detail in a response to a comment above. Cheers bud.

[Goosse1962]

I have been looking back at my sleep cycles. I see 3 places (list, detail, and graph) where the stages show. I always have all 4 stages and they appear to agree in all 3 places. I am wondering where you saw the lack of an awake stage.

[AlejandraFitbit]

It's great to welcome you @G.Shaunus, @WavyDavey, @Rich_Laue and @Goosse1962 thanks for stopping by.

Regarding the sleep stages, I recommend checking this post, where our friend @FerdinandFitbit is providing more explanation about this feature and how this works.

See you around. 

[G.Shaunus]

Hi @AlejandraFitbit,

Many thanks for your response, it's greatly appreciated. I checked out the link you provided and I found it useful, I learnt something new which is great.

I've attached a screen shot of my nights sleep that the tracker was inaccurate with.

As of 06:10 on wards, I was up, out of bed and outside on the road participating in my morning run.

Would you happen to know the answer to this question: Is the fitbit programmed to allocate different minimum percentages of each sleep stage per night for males and females of different age, weight, height etc etc?

[WavyDavey]

In all the sleep graphs I've seen, there's nothing to indicate a minimum value for each stage. If you look at the "Benchmark" numbers, they can be above or below what your individual reading might be (for instance I'd guess your REM for that night was below the benchmark).

The point is to measure the length of each sleep stage. If there's little REM sleep, it doesn't compensate by adding false minutes to REM to make the benchmark. If that were the case, sleep stages wouldn't be of any practical use. It's graphing what is measures. I seriously doubt there's any mathematical shenanigans going on.

Thanks for posting the graph, it helps us see what you're talking about. Have you considered changing the sleep setting on the tracker from normal to sensitive? I ask because it looks like it's not reading awake periods well (or you're an extremely deep sleeper), and changing to sensitive might be worth a try to see how it affects your sleep numbers.

[Vickio2]

Fairly new user and have already seriously questioned Fitbit’s sleep recording.  I just woke up at 5.30. Why does my Fitbit say I slept until 6.47? It’s all feeling a little bit suspect.

[Verena57]

Hi, the sleep monitor is fake. I put my fitbit on my night table last night and was awake for 4 hours and it still gave me a reading of sleep patterns. Impossible! 

Disappointed, but still like the fitbit otherwise. 

[Rich_Laue]

You will have a hard time telling those that wore their Fitbit during a professional sleep study that surprised the tech at how accurate it is.

[Verena57]

But how did it measure sleep patterns if I took it off during the night?

Sent from my iPhone