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How can sleep stages be accurate?

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I have been very happy with Fitbit's sleep monitoring. It's shown accurately when I've woken up and when I've been restless, but the new colourful sleep stages? Oh dear!

I slept like a log last night, half an hour longer than my usual seven hours, I didn't even dream it was such a good sleep, yet it tells me I was awake six times (I didn't wake up at all) in REM sleep five times at all hours, and in deep sleep for two very short periods.

This is not helpful to me at all. I don't suppose there is a way I can opt for how it was? (MUCH simpler!)

Is this yet another change for change's sake? I do wish they'd just leave a good thing alone!

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@bboughton wrote:

Hi all -- some bad info here. The Fitbit study results were presented this summer and are accurate. Most people are awake for almost 45 mins and don't know it. http://www.sleepreviewmag.com/2017/06/study-shows-fitbit-heart-rate-tracking-devices-accurately-trac...


A study conducted by the manufacturer, and no indication it was peer reviewed..... 

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@Rich_Laue wrote:

Is your app up yo date @oldpal, if so the app itself will tell you why your not seeing sleep stages. Just go to the detail page of the sleep in question.


Yes, the app is up to date (2.39). The app reported that it couldn't get a consistent heart rate. As I stated I have worn it in a variety of configurations to cure this problem. How can you explain the nearly three months of sleep stages before the firmware update?

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@Rich_Laue

 

@Rich_Laue wrote:

Is your app up yo date @oldpal, if so the app itself will tell you why your not seeing sleep stages. Just go to the detail page of the sleep in question.

Yes, the app is up to date (2.39). The app reported that it couldn't get a consistent heart rate. As I stated I have worn it in a variety of configurations to cure this problem. How can you explain the nearly three months of sleep stages before the firmware update?

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I've only had my Fitbit for three days and two nights... But both night of sleep was logged as 6 hours and 27 minutes... The exact same time both nights!  The actual chart showing how much was light sleep deep sleep and REM sleep do differ... But what are the odds that the two nights of sleep were both exactly 6 hours and 27 minutes? I'm just wondering if there is a setting I should change... And of course I'll be watching it closely each night for a couple more nights to see what it does.

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I think the real answer is "it can't."  Oh, the device can detect motion, so if it thinks you're walking around obviously you're not sleeping. But it can't actually detect REM sleep at all. It attempts to guestimate this by monitoring your heart rate, but even the slightest bit of research online will tell you that HR isn't a very good analogue for REM sleep. It's not at all uncommon for your HR to be high when you're not in REM, or slow when you are. 

 

I gave up completely on wearing mine at night. It apparently thinks I get up and wander around the house at night, crediting me with 150 steps or more most nights. Some nights it thinks I don't sleep at all. Combine the sketchy data with the screen coming on by itself multiple times each night (even with quick mode off) and disturbing my wife and I, and I now just leave it in the bathroom at night.

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Hi

 

Yes. Turning off the heart monitor works. It reverts to the old view which is much clearer and accurate. I know it reflects my night and is easier to read. 🙂

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Since the big firmware update to "enhance" sleep tracking, mine tells me I didn't sleep at all about 3 nights a week. Hardly useful.

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Anyone know if you can turn heart rate monitor off just at night and accurately track heart rate during the day?  Sleep issue is depressing, I know I don't sleep enough but when I get 6 hours sleep and FitBit says 5 something (45 mins awake - not) or worse, 4 something, it's a very depressing way to start the day.  I may roll over but am not awake 45 mins a night.

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You can turn your heart recording off at anytime, this setting is found under your Charge 2 setting in the Fitbit app. 

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My Charge 2, initially, said I got up and walked around several times a night, which was wrong. But after their big update to provide "better" sleep info, it said I didn't sleep at all 3 or 4 nights a week. Totally worthless.
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Interesting, I turned off "heart rate" Thursday night and got simplified sleep.  I turned it off Friday night right before bed and got the sleep insights the next morning? I let FitBit detect when I sleep.  It makes no sense that I would have to give the device "lead time" but will keep it off all day and see what happens tonight.  I should be able to use it during the day but it wasn't the primary reason I have a Fit Bit, it was an interesting thing to look at occasionally (after strenuous exercise like running) but can live without it.

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When I did get simplified sleep info, there was a category of "restless".  I understand that to mean tossing and turning but to me I am sleeping. albeit "lightly".  Fit Bit thinks otherwise and doesn't count it as sleep. I'm a numbers junky, but a simplified numbers junky, and like to see how much I slept at night.  Subtracting restless from my sleep gives me an inaccurate number and a low number of sleep hours.  As mentioned earlier, that's a depressing way to start the day and may stop using Fit Bit. Why purposey piss me off to start the day?  I suppose some folks like it, but I don't need a complete sleep apnea study every night, just light sleep and deep sleep for me...

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My newer charge 2 shows my total sleep time to be anywhere from 1 hour to3 hours even though l feel refreshed when l wake up. Typically l go to bed at 10pm and awake at 6am. I'm sure that I'm sleeoing much more than an 1-3 hours. Larry01

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Hey, at least it credits you with some sleep. Mine said I didn't sleep at all about 3 nights a week.  I just take it off at night now.

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They aren't for me. Last night l went to bed at 9:30pm and awakened at 5:15am. My wife said l slept sound. My fitbit registered asleep at 1:50am and up at 5:15am.

The fitbit is sold as a device that can monitor your sleep. This hasn't worked for me. Don't buy this device to monitor your sleep. It simply will not do this. It's good as a pedometer and heart rate monitor only.

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I was a Jawbone person and very happy with their monitor until they went out of business.  They kept their servers running and tracked activity and sleep until May when servers shut down.  I like the Fit Bit Charge 2 for activity but hate the "enhanced sleep tracking".  I've settled on turning the heart rate monitor off at night and FitBit gives me the simple sleep which I find to be fairly accurate, it subtracts a small amount of time for restless sleep but I can live with it.  I turn the heart monitor back on during the day to more accurately track activity/strenous exercise, etc...It's insane that I have to put a reminder on my phone to turn heart monitor on and off ... I forgot once and was annoyed to wake up and found I got enhanced sleep...I deleted it and added 2-3 manual increments of 2 hrs 55 mins for when I slept.  By default, you get simplified sleep for anything less than 3 hours ... a dumb way to do things but FitBit apparently doesn't care about feedback or, to be fair, maybe we are in the minority and just have to deal with it...I can't imagine anyone likes that "enhanced sleep tracking" but have been wrong about things in the past

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Not so good as an HR monitor either. Scientific tests have shown it varies by as much as 20 bpm below and 30 bpm too high during exercise. Mine varies even more than that.
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It might be a case of what I want to hear 🙂 , when I have the heart monitor on during the day it seems to track more calories burned when I run or work out with weights at the gym.

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