About: Sleep Tracking

[EmersonFitbit]

Hello everyone!

Recently, I've seen a few different questions about sleep tracking. Because of this, I thought I'd create a short tutorial on how to properly track sleep, how sleep tracking may be done with each device, and what the results look like on the Dashboard. We'll also be sure to touch on manually logging sleep. Let's begin!

Sleep Tracking: Sleep tracking is used to help quantify the hours- and better understand the quality- of your sleep. There are a number of different ways you can track your sleep, the easiest of which being using the sleep tracking functionality on your tracker itself, if possible (please note that neither the Fitbit Zip nor the Fitbit Ultra support sleep tracking). Finally, while the majority of users fall under the 'normal' category, we also have the sensitive sleep option for the users that do not. Be sure to take a look at our article, and set your sensitivity accordingly!

Flex- To enter sleep mode using your Flex, try rapidly tapping your device's display for a few seconds, or until you feel a vibration and a light pattern (simultaneously). @RickyFitbit provides a step-by-step in this post!

Fitbit One- To enter sleep mode one the Fitbit One, simply press and hold the button on the device for about 2.5 seconds, which is when you feel a vibration and your device's display turns into a stop watch. That stopwatch represents the amount of time in bed thus far.

Fitbit Force- Similar to the Fitbit One, you'll be pressing and holding the physical button on the device for about 2.5 seconds, which is when you would feel the vibration and your device's display turns into a stop watch. As of a October 2014, Force tracks sleep automatically! Simply wear your device to bed- when your tracker syncs with your account, you will be able to view your sleep stats on the dashboard.

Fitbit Charge, Charge HR, and Surge- Similar to the Fitbit Force, you Charge will allow you to track sleep automatically.  Simply wear your device to bed! An alternative option would be to press and hold the button on the device before and after sleep, similar to Force and Fitbit One.

Remember, it's important to put the device into sleep mode as you're getting into bed, and take it out of sleep mode once you're waking up. After your first sync since post wake-up, you will see a sleep quality graph on your Dashboard (MAC/PS/iOS device, Android device, or Windows Phone). Here's a few examples of the same graph using different platforms:

(Website Dashboard)

(iOS)

(Android)

(Windows Phone)

Now that we've covered tracking sleep with your device, we can cover what happens if you forget to log your sleep!

Manually Sleep Tracking- This method can be used for when users forget to track their sleep at night. The process uses the following steps:

1. Go to your sleep log page.
2. Enter the time you went to bed on the previous day. 
3. Enter the time you left bed the day of.
4. Select 'Log Sleep'

Afterwards, you should be all set! Your graph will appear as it would with tracker sleep recording across all platforms. Be sure to reach out with any and all questions!

Important notes:

• After syncing, you'll see your sleep graph with three different sleep states (asleep, restless, and awake😞      

      -Asleep: When your body is completely at rest and unmoving.

      -Restless: This state indicates that your body transitioned from a very restful position with little movement to movement, such as turning over in bed. This doesn't necessarily mean that you were fully awake or cognizant of your movements, but it may indicate that you were not getting the most restful sleep possible at that time.

      -Awake: As the name of the state implies, this would indicate that you were moving so much that restful sleep would not be possible.

• We use these three states of sleep to calculate your sleep efficiency, which is the most prominently displayed number on the sleep tile/graph. To learn more about the sleep states and sleep efficiency, check out this help article regarding sleep!

• Each platform is different. As such, manually logging sleep on different devices use different processes. Check out this article for iOS sleep help, this article for Android sleep help, and this article for Windows devices. 
•  You may have noticed a differenced in the graphs above, particularly in the Dashboard  graph versus the mobile app. This discrepancy can be attributed to different versions of the website. 

[Odyssey13]

@EmersonFitbit  Well done and nicely worded, not to mention the graphics!

Thanks.

[Jeroen]

Like the read, thanks!

[euboean]

I never see lights on my fitbit (other than when I am charging it).  I tap firmly for at least 4 -6 sec and will feel a vibration but no lights.  Sporadically (~50%) of time it will record my sleep pattern anyway. Is my fitbit flex defective?

[MatthewFitbit]

@euboean We would expect you to see lights on the Flex any time it enters/exits Sleep Mode. If you aren't seeing that, try giving your device a restart: https://help.fitbit.com/customer/portal/articles/1041329 and contact our Support Team at http://contact.fitbit.com if the issue persists.

[euboean]

Thanks.  I keep tapping until I feel the vibration but no lights...sometimes it tracks anyway but often not.  I have reset it many times without result.  I have also notified customer support.  Thanks for your interest; I appreciate it.  Euobean

[euboean]

Thanks for your extensive and well written explanations.  No amount of re-setting makes any difference!  No lights and scattered logging of sleep.  I have contacted customer support and am still awaiting an answer!  Euboean

[EmilyEL]

@euboean It looks like our Support Team has received your email; I apologize for any delay! They'll be with you shortly. 

[Wretched61]

I set my sleep right from my phone.  I go into fitbit, click on sleep, click on the plus sign in the top right hand corner and choose "Begin Sleep Now".  That's it, I;m done!

[Sanlyn]

I am sick of this thing i have a flex when i go to bed and put it in sleep mode then when i get up i take it out of sleep mode. When I go to the dashboard it reads went to bed at 9 pm up at 6am  in bed 9 hours awake 12 times  actual sleep time 9 hours 100percent sleep. It use to tell me how long to go to sleep how many times restless awake and actual sleep time. This can not be correct as i get up to go to the bathroom at least 2times. 

[CyndiR]

Hi Sanlyn ~

Are you sure that your Flex is really going into sleep mode?  I've had a couple of times that I thought mine was in sleep mode but it wasn't.  You may want to try putting it in sleep mode from your phone instead of the actual device. Haven't had mine long, & overall I really like it, but the sleep mode is a pain.

Good luck 🙂

[itsjess]

I just got my fitbit yesterday and thought I had put it into sleep mode last night. I went to take it off of sleep mode and attempted to sync with my phone and  it showed no sleeping log? Maybe i didnt do it right? But it vibrated and showed me the 2 lights everyone is talking about.

[Sarah91]

I just brought the one last night. How do I turn the sleep tracker off?

[MatthewFitbit]

@Sarah91 Sleep Mode can be started or stopped by holding down the button on your One. Check this article for more information on using the sleep tracker.

[anniemae]

The sleep logging for the android app, as described in the document you linked from this post (http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/Tracking-sleep-with-the-Fitbit-app-for-Android/)  doesn't work with the actual android app. I've checked to make sure there aren't any updates waiting for my app, and there aren't. But there also isn't a sleep tab in my app. Or anywhere in the menu that I could click to log sleep. Does the app differ for people who have fitbit trackers that log sleep (I have a zip)? 

[Odyssey13]

@anniemae  The Zip does not track your sleep.

Welcome to the forums.

[anniemae]

Right. That is why I am asking if the app is different for people with trackers that DO log sleep. If you read my question, it's about a post describing sleep logging in the android app, through a menu item I do not see in my up-to-date version of that app.

[Odyssey13]

@anniemae  Looking at my Android app, I have a sleep area on the dashboard. If I click on it, it takes me to another screen where I can begin sleep mode or manually log it.

[anniemae]

Then it must be different depending on the type of tracker. Thanks! All my friends with trackers that track sleep have iPhones.

[jcgaunet]

Uh read the article. Duh!