Charge 5 won't track my sleep stages

[schodlbauer]

I have worn my new Charge 5 to bed the last 10 nights. It has recorded my sleep stages only on 1 night. I have loaded an upgrade, turned the heart monitor on and off, restarted the FitBit, force stopped the app and set the sleep feature to sensitive on my dashboard. I am at a loss to know what I did differently that one night that I am not doing on the other nights.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Julia_G]

Hi, @schodlbauer , that sounds really frustrating!  Do you get any sleep info (I.e is your Fitbit at least registering sleep?) or do you get nothing at all?

In order to record detailed sleep info (sleep stages) the Fitbit needs to record a consistent heartbeat throughout the night, and maybe this could be the problem?  If you sleep in a position where recording your HR is inconsistent (for instance if your wrist is constantly flexed due to your preferred sleep position) it might be giving only an intermittent report.

Since you have tried the usual fixes of resetting your Fitbit, and making sure that the HR monitor is turned on, I wonder if trying it on your other hand for a few nights - just to break the pattern - might work.  Don’t do anything else different, just  switch the hand you are wearing it on.  It may take 3 nights to be clear whether this has made a difference.

Of course do be sure you have already tried following the basic rules for getting a detailed sleep report: make sure your Fitbit has at least 20% charge... Do not select “start sleep” manually in your app - let the Fitbit detect sleep automatically- make sure HR detection is turned on, make sure you are in bed lying down for 3 hours or longer.  

Just try switching wrists ( I know it will feel weird) but it should help to detect whether it is your nighttime position - which is obviously out of your control - that may be an issue.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes. Welcome to the forums!

[schodlbauer]

Thank you for the ideas, Julia! I will check the heart rate monitor before going to bed tonight and will also try wearing my FitBit on the other wrist.

My Charge 5 does give me the total time I supposedly was asleep and how long it took me to fall asleep. I say supposedly, because I don’t think it is recording all of the time I really am asleep. I read where the FitBit considers me to be sleeping if I have not moved in an hour. I think I change position more frequently than that while sleeping. For example, I know I slept at least 8 hrs last night. The FitBit says I slept 5 hrs and 23 min.

One of the positions I sleep in is on my back with my hands crossed under the pillow my head is on. This position may be affecting the FitBit’s sensing ability. I also sleep on my back with my arms crossed over my head. That may be another position that affects the FitBit’s sensors.

Sent from my iPad

[Julia_G]

@schodlbauer , thank you for the update - very interesting!  I have quite the opposite issue - my Fitbit somehow knows when I have gone to bed - even if I am sitting up watching TV.  I have no idea how it knows that, and I definitely move... So it always counts my total sleep from when I go to bed, even if I am not sleeping.

Having said that, it is pretty good on knowing that while it is technically sleeping time (yes I admit I am in bed) but when I get sleep stages it does seem to understand that it isn’t proper sleep and counts that time as either awake or restless - usually awake, but it is sometimes “restless” instead - I guess depending on HR and movement.  If I am very still and HR low, it sometimes records as light sleep.

I will be interested to see what you report with wearing your Fitbit on the other wrist.  It sounds like your personal sleep position might be a little challenging.

I know folks expect it to be able to distinguish between watching TV while relaxing in bed and actually sleeping  - but I am old enough to be daily amazed at what it actually CAN do... It does sometimes tell me I was “restless” or in “light sleep” when I was definitely awake although still, but even if the hours it reports don’t actually match, it is pretty good at reporting the quality of my sleep.  I don’t think it has ever told me I slept well when I didn’t.

Of course you could say, why do you need it, if you know how you slept, and that’s a pretty good question.  All I could say in response is that it gives me a somewhat objective corroboration of how I think I felt at the time, but more importantly it gives me a record over time so I can think about ways to try to improve my sleep quality.

I hope this helps, and looking forward to your update.

[schodlbauer]

Hi, Julia. Wearing my Charge 5 on my dominant wrist last night resulted in it recording that I slept 3 hrs and 23 min. If I had had only that amount of sleep, I would not be upright right now. I believe I slept closer to 7 hrs. Still no sleep stages recorded.

Suzanne

Sent from my iPad

[SenFitIn]

I have the opposite problem.  My 5 does not sense my going to sleep for 4-6 hours after I have gone to bed.  As a result I rarely get the 3 hours required for a sleep score.  Nor does it record breathing rate and HRV, but it does record skin temp and O2.  I have tried all the standard suggestions like restart, reinstall app, changing to the inside of the wrist or other wrist.  Any other suggestions?

[Julia_G]

Hi, @SenFitIn if you check your heart rate logs, can you tell whether your Fitbit is consistently giving you a heart rate reading during the time you are asleep?

Pretty much all the advanced sleep stuff - sleep stages and other metrics- is based on heartate detected during sleep.  If it doesn’t, then you won’t get the detail you are looking for. 

Sometimes people sleep in such a position that the HR reading is just never consistent.  This most usually happens (I think!) if someone sleeps in a position where the wrist is particularly flexed (I can imagine this if someone is a sleeper who clutches a pillow, for example and the wrist is flexed while they hug it).  In a position like this it could be hard to get a good and consistent JR reading, and it that case you would not g et the detailed info.

If the HR is showing readings through the night and you still are not getting sleep stages, it might be worth getting in touch with Fitbit Customer Support and trying to talk through this to see if they can help at all.  You can reach Customer Support by various means on Contact.Fitbit.com 

I hope this helps!

[SenFitIn]

The sleep logs show Morning, Noon and evening. There is no by hour, but
there is no night. Does this mean it is not getting a reading at night?



Joe Adams