Smart Alarms that Wake You More Naturally (eg. in Light Sleep Stage)

[MikeHalsey]

I just got my Fitbit flex and I think it's fantastic.  If it monitors your sleep though it will have a good idea of when you're in deep (REM) sleep and when you're in lighter sleep.  You cycle between these two during the night on a pretty reliable pattern, and they're easy to tell apart as you don't move around while you're in REM sleep.  At least not as I understand things.

Could an update for the Fitbit modify the alarm feature please to wake you up as close as possible to your chosen time, but NOT during REM sleep?

This will allow you to wake more naturally, feeling refreshed, rather than how unpleasant it is when your alarm goes off in REM sleep.

Thanks, please all vote for this

Moderator edit: labels.

[fmart1]

@GMoney66 I'm using it on Android... maybe that's the reason. In the Mi Band Master app, Menu, I see Alarm Clocks. Try set an alarm, in the alarm settings there is an option that says "Setting time range smart alarm clock". That's your wake up time window before the time you set the alarm. For instance, if you set the alarm at 7:15, and the time range 30 minutes, it will look for your best time to wake you up from 6:45 to 7:15.

[WanderingIdiot]

This has been a game-changer for me with Withings wearables, and hope it's fairly simple to implement.

[fmart1]

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@WanderingIdiot That's an option I'm considering unless Fitbit implements it. I can live with a wearable that doesn't offer weight workouts as I need, but not with one that doesn't have a smart alarm. Currently I'm sleeping with two wristbands, and I'd like to sleep with only one.

Fmarts

[SunsetRunner]

Have you had a look at the Withing Steel HR Sport? It has smart alarm and as soon as they offer more than one alarm time, I'm nearly with it. Also I think it looks pretty nice.

Some days ago, I wrote to the support and asked some questions but unfortunately they did not answer yet. I hope they do reply soon because if not, they will not acquire a new customer. At this point Fitbit is way better...

[WanderingIdiot]

I evaluated the Steel HR Sport last week - here are my observations:

Sleep tracking with this device is rudimentary at best. It does not track
REM, or seem to accurately track awake time as FitBit does. Just light vs
deep, likely dependent upon HR only, discarding all motion but steps (a
guess).

I found this to be one of the more limited sleep trackers, even more so
than Garmin devices. The Smart Alarm seemed to work pretty well, however,
and I applauded the ability to set a custom range around my wake time
(though 30 min was sufficient for me).

That said, since the Sport seems incapable of distinguishing light from REM
(remember, doesn’t recognize REM), the likelihood of being awoken by the
smart alarm whilst sweet-dreaming is a likelihood.

As an all-day wearable it’s missing a few key features for me:

- I HR receding it not full-time, but seems to pool on a 10-minute cycle.

- No altimeter means no floor tracking. Odd on a device aimed at “Sport”
users.

- the crystal is convex, which not only leads to more severe glare
(especially on the black model), but will also scratch much easier than a
flat one.

- The included silicone band is a magnet for animal hair, dust and fuzz. I
have not experienced this issue with other aftermarket silicone bands for
Garmin or FitBit wearables. Must be the composition mixture...?
--
-Andy

[SunsetRunner]

Hi Andy,

thank you for that detailed report. I think, I have to spend one or two more thoughts about the Sport. The missing altimeter is a thing I can live with and the heart rate recording can be set to permanent but then the watch has to be charged way more often.

The missing REM tracking really seems to be a game stopper. I did not think about this but you are pretty right. So we move on to find something more practical. And for my person, I have to take care about an OLED display as well, because LCDs are very hard to read for me 😕

-Paul

[Genilson]

O got a charge 2 and honestly thought I’d be able to stop using battery draining apps like sleep cycle (which does a great job, btw) to wake me up in a more gentle way. I just realized the tracker doesn’t have this feature and I’m really disappointed for that...

[parfilov]

Hello!
I'm looking for smart alarm clock wear device for wake up after specified time. I mean, that I want my band check my sleep activity and wake me up, for example, after 7 hours.

Now I have "HONOR band 3" which can wake me up at the time which I set. "HONOR band 3" perfectly determines when I fall asleep but it will wake me up only at a given time. However, I need it wake me up after specified time no matter which time I fall asleep.

For example, I want to sleep 7 hours:
— Today I'll go to sleep at 10:00 pm, fall asleep quickly and my band should wake me up in +-05:00 am
— Tomorrow I'll go to sleep at 01:00 am. Because of difficult day I can't fall asleep. My band should wake me up at time which it detected by sensors, when I fell asleep plus 7 hours.

I hope it's clear description of desired features and you'll implement it soon.

[geez]

I like your idea combined with the smart alarm. I would like to be able to choose from either a specific time or specific amount of total sleep plus the time to wake you during light sleep.

You should submit what you would like as a feature suggestion on the community help  forum, not just as a reply here. Your idea is different and should be put out on the forum. As a feature suggestion others can vote for your idea. The more votes the more Fitbit is supposed to pay attention. I say supposed because this feature you replied to was written in 2013. Choose your title wisely to attract attention. There are a lot of people interested in sleep.

[parfilov]

Thanks for your advice! I'll create another suggestion to make it more
visible for Fitbit and community.
P.S. The Fitbit support in Twitter suggested me to use this thread for me
case.

[Mrj1111]

This is a great suggestion. I sent a tweet yesterday and was sent a link to this. I've noted from the sleep results on fitbit dashboard that I definitely feel more refreshed waking from light sleep. Please can you add this feature soon 🙌

[kelvin_ndnm]

Hi, yes please include the sleep cycle wake-up feature. It is the best function that may help many people, improve health.

Or you can give sync function with other app developers such as "Sleep Cycle alarm clock".

I have fitbit ionic and will buy a new fitbit immediately if there is this feature. Pricing is no matter.

[Toé]

Hi,

It would be nice if there was a feature to trigger the alarm based on the sleep stage the user is in. The user would set the alarm time and the device would wake him at the appropriate moment.

[MarcelBK]

Hey @Toé! Thank you for sharing your suggestion. Because your idea is very similar to this one I moved your suggestion here. Please do not forget to give kudos by clicking on the thumbs up button.

[Mescalito]

I am on Android as well, but I don't have that option...

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

[tim-chaffee]

Wow over 5500 votes - when will we have the feature to wake us up at during xxx sleep within a window of time? For example I want to wakeup between 6 and 6:30am everyday when I am in light sleep or by 6:30 if I have not entered light sleep during the window I set. 

My MS Band had this years ago. 

[LBeWell]

Is there really still not a way to have your silent alarm go off when you're in light sleep? My Fitbit already tracks my sleep cycles and wakes me up. Why not combine them with a window to wake me up?

[Djakninn]

Seeing as the charge 3 already tracks your sleep stages it would be quite a handy addition to have alarms that can wake you up during your light sleep so that you don't wake up feeling drowsy. 

[Norbu]

 @LBeWell Yes it's getting weird that they are not offering this yet. The tech is in place and everybody wants it/expected it to already be there when they bought their Versa. I think it's just a matter of time - but Fitbit can be really really slow to respond to obvious stuff. Another vote to add to the mass request.

[MarcelBK]

Hi @Djakninn! Thank you for sharing your idea. Because your suggestion is very similar to this one I merged your suggestion into this one. Don't forget to give kudos by clicking on the thumbs up button, please.

[Zetura]

Well, after waiting so long for this feature (3 years ! Since June 2015 !!!), I bought a Garmin Forerunner 235. I installed "Sleep as Android" and the addon, and voilà! I have a smart alarm and a great watch with almost the same feature as Fitbit and a better battery life. Thanks and bye Fitbit !

[kelvin_ndnm]

Wow, interesting, i will try it out. Thanks for the info.

[Kolmir]

I would also like to have Sleep cycle alarm (must have for me). This will be the deciding factor to stick with FitBit and buy next Charge or migrate to AppleWatch.

[fmart1]

Hi everyone,

Since Fitbit seems to be taking years to implement this useful feature, could please somebody (of if you know somebody who could do that) make a Smart Alarm application that works with fitbit wrist devices?

Fmarts

[Zetura]

"Sleep as Android" made a list of all supported deviced, and it indicates
that they are working on the support of Fitbit Ionic and Versa. They
already supports Garmin, Samsung, Huawei, Sony, Xiaomi bands and
smartwatches.
So, my guess is that Fitbit API is limited or were recently updated for
developers.