Please show me your sleep pattern (both good and poor sleepers)

[111mastermind]

I got my Fitbit Surge 6 days ago. I set it to sensitive. The sleep pattern confirmed mine, and my husband's suspicions, that I have very poor sleep. Sleep efficiency 61%, and cycle length (also confirmed with a different mobile app) is only 60 mins not the usual 90 mins. I 'need' about 10-11 hours sleep to feel half-way decent. With 10 hrs sleep I get about 6 hrs. With 8-9 hrs sleep (my usual weekday allowance) I get about 5 hrs. My husband always complains that my restless sleep causes him lost sleep too 😞 (I say to him imagine how I feel!). I am usually fatigued all day and have trouble getting up in the morning and am struggling to maintain work function. I'm glad I got my Fitbit so I have proof of what is happening.

I was tested for sleep apnoea some years ago and had borderline/mild apnoea. I lost 70 lbs (30 kg) and then got retested and the apnoea had disappeared (good because I didn't tolerate the CPAP at all).

I would like to know what a 'normal' sleep pattern looks like and what another poor sleeper looks like so I can show my GP and get referred. Is there a specific kind of sleep study she can request other than for sleep apnoea?

I have added 2 screenshots of my usual sleep pattern, if some of you could add yours with a brief comment on if you sleep well or not, that would help me gather evidence for my GP appointment. TIA.

[Tennis15]

I think the basis of the Fitbit sleep analysis is the notion that moving is probably a reasonable indicator that you are not sleeping soundly at that very moment.  Not sure but i would bet their right.  By keeping your device on sensitive mode you can track the information and attemp to reduce it.  When you use the normal mode this free data is lost.  When you think about it if you compared the data of the sensitive and normal mode for the same night they are equal.  The normal mode makes you feel better but, they are equal.  

[Burke]

Water is key to a lot of things, like flushing out some of the stuff that contributes to high blood pressure. I had it for a few years when I was over 200 lbs and just drinking Pepsi and coffee.

What I do now, to ensure I drink 80 oz, is use the water bottles that hold 16.9 oz. Somehow, it's easier to drink down one of those - nicely chilled - than it is to do a cup at a time. It's smaller than most water bottles and doesn't really seem like a lot. Esp. compared to how quickly I can down a soda.

I only need to drink 5 of those a day and the first 2 are usually right after I get up and before I brush my teeth. It keeps me kinda full and I don't need to eat or get that latte I used to like. I keep one in the car and take one with me when I walk outside. I drink at least one when I do my Leslie Sansone workouts.

I'm fortunate that where I work - when I work onsite - had cans of sparkling water so I make sure to slam back 1 - 3 of those instead of soda or coffee.  If I'm working from home, more bottles throughout the day. I know how many I go through so I know by evening if I have to add to what I've done that day.

Water is crucial to losing weight and bringing down that blood pressure. I don't know how realistic it is to expect someone at 200lbs to drink 100 ozs of water but if you shoot for the old recommendation of 80 ozs a day, you may find you actually learn to like it better than other liquids.

[ErickFitbit]

@BurkeI support your claim that water is 100% crucial in weight loss, especially if that weight loss entails working out. When you work out and don't hydrate properly, everything feels so difficult and vice versa. 

[Peggie]

yes... very envious...sigh.. but good for you! someone should be sleeping...

[SSHH]

I sleep a lot better after I do yoga. I'm not an expert at it and I'm probably not even very good but it does make a difference. I downloaded the Simply Yoga app and I do the 20 minute programme in my bedroom with the door closed and the lights dimmed. It cleates a relaxing atmosphere and it's the closest I get to switching off.

[ErickFitbit]

@SSHHGreat to see you around here! Welcome!

I need to add a dimming switch in my space! I'm sure that helps to get relaxed at night and make you a bit more sleepy. Thanks for taking the time to share what you do before bed! 

[StephieSunshine]

Wow, we are very much the same! I was so surprised that on average, I sleep about HALF the time I'm in bed. Ex: 8 hours in bed is generally 4-4.5 hours total in bed. Our sleeps look very similar.

[ErickFitbit]

@StephieSunshineHave you ever tried changing your sleep setting to the "normal" or "sensitive" mode (whichever you aren't using right now) and logging sleep with that mode? You can learn how to edit your setting by checking out our Sleep Tracking FAQs here. 

[SonnyCorleone]

So I gather a 60% efficiency on Sensitive sleep tracking is what to aim for?

[ErickFitbit]

@SonnyCorleoneHappy to see you around! 

What you aim for is solely dependent on what you think is a healthy amount of rest for you. In my case, 6 hours is the most that I can get of sleep during the weekdays, but on weekends I strive to get at least 8 hours of sleep with around 90% sleep efficiency. To learn more about how sleep efficiency is calculated, check out our Sleep Tracking FAQs page! Hope that helps! 

[rmcbuckeye]

Thought it was very interesting. I do sleep a lot but what I found most interesting was my "restless" moments - NOW does this mean I move around in my sleep a lot? My husband does say I don't stay still at all. 😉 

[ErickFitbit]

@rmcbuckeyeGreat to have you participating in the Community!

Yes, the blue lines mean that you are restless during sleep, so your husband is probably right! To learn more about what the different sleep states mean, check out this useful help article and also our Sleep Tracking FAQs to learn more about tracking sleep. Hope this helps to clarify and learn some new things about your tracker! 

[Bogdana]

Try using a sleepapp on your phone at the same time and compare the data

[Jezzer]

Hello everybody I have only just got my Fitbit and here are my readings from day one its set to Normal mode. 

[ErickFitbit]

@JezzerWelcome to the Fitbit family and to the Community! Happy to have you participating here!

Wow! Monday looked like a rough night for you, lots of restlessness. Thanks for sharing! 

[Jezzer]

Thanks ErickFitbit yes Monday was rough lol 🙂

[Kenn.Sanchez]

[ErickFitbit]

@JezzerI have first-hand experience with days like that. Hoping your sleep pattern begins to improve now that you have a tool at your disposal to view the overall picture on a day-by-day picture.

@Kenn.SanchezWelcome, thanks for sharing your sleep pattern. Your average sleep time looks to be around 6 hours or less, is that right?

[Kenn.Sanchez]

Yeah, I need to get to bed a little earlier

[Roessie]

SazLJ, I had two bad hips for years and because most of my pain nighttime pain showed up in places like the outside of one calf or another, my feet, my knees, even my neck, and of course lower back, I waited YEARS too long to get my hips replaced.  Here's why I bring this up in a discussion about sleep:  over a period of several years, the insomnia caused by nighttime pain apparently re-organized my brain.  The pain woke me more and more frequently over the years until short periods of sleep became the norm.  I'm now knitting together longer blocks of sleep, but change is slow.  

While I'm at: if you do have a bad hip joint(s), your posture and gait will be affected, your pelvis will likely develop a skew, and your spine will do what it has to do, so will develop a twist.  That can cause arthritic changes, disc bulges, etc.  And the motivation to move more provided by a Fitbit can't overcome the instinct for self-preservation triggered by chronic pain, which says "don't move so much, you're killing me!"