What does a "normal" sleep pattern look like?

[docmomma]

How can you tell when you are in REM sleep, vs deep sleep?   What am I aiming for?

[asosa]

Unless you have a medical condition, you should be completely still during REM sleep.  The body is paralyzed while you are dreaming so you don't act on what you are experiencing.

[ncalzolaio]

That surgery is looked at as a last resort for trying to correct sleep apnea. I say 'trying' because the surgery is not always successful in eliminiating apnea.

Anyway, seems a lot of people put way too much into what their Fitbit is telling them about their sleep. Remember, these are activity trackers first and foremost, NOT sleep trackers. The Fitbit's definition of restless is obviously the slightest bit of movement during sleep. This is simply not true though when talking about sleep and restlessness. Movement during sleep does not always mean restless. There is way more to it than that, like arousals...arousals pertaining to brain activity/brain waves and the different stages of sleep. 

Basically, restless sleep has more to do with arousals and coming out of one stage of sleep. Movement does not have to be present. I've seen plenty of patients throughout the years moving and acting out dreams or waving their hands or moving their head and they would not arouse out of the sleep they were in.

Restless sleep? Nope.

[SunsetRunner]

I agree keeping the the room cooler is a must being a lady of a certain age, heat is a killer at night. 

[Rosmilla]

My red spikes are when I get up to go to the bathroom......this happens at least 3 times a night. I am definitely semi awake at that time; other spikes are just restlessness. I believe we all catch up unless exercising later than 7.00pm and/or have a problem with relaxing/switching off.

[Rosmilla]

I agree, no way could I survive on less than 6 hours per night; I average 7.5 hours. Exercise really helps with sleep as long as it's not too late in the evening which makes it difficult to switch off.

[Beezy1978]

I have DEFINITELY noticed that on days i consume alcohol, my sleep is quite restless. Lots of tossing and turning!
So, what did I do?
I drink far less frequently (kitten from approx. 3-4x/week, to only once or twice a week. ☺
FitBit makes me conscious of things I CAN control, such as water intake, food intake, exercise frequency... I LOVE IT!
I also must admit, the sleep tracking has become one of my favorite aspects of FitBit.
I can't WAIT to get my Charge HR, and the accompanying Aria Scale!

[Beezy1978]

I have DEFINITELY noticed that on days i consume alcohol, my sleep is quite restless. Lots of tossing and turning!
So, what did I do?
I drink far less frequently (down from approx. 3-4x/week, to only once or twice a week. ☺
FitBit makes me conscious of things I CAN control, such as water intake, food intake, exercise frequency... I LOVE IT!
I also must admit, the sleep tracking has become one of my favorite aspects of FitBit.
I can't WAIT to get my Charge HR, and the accompanying Aria Scale!

[smdangel]

Okay recovery runner, do you also snore, because waking on because you think you are drinking so much water, might be true, but our body secrets a hormone that makes our bladder take a break at nite, I thought I just needed to go to the bathroom, then I get a C-PAP machine and no more night bathroom trips.  It was weird to me, so I asked the "sleep" doctor and she told me about hormones.  Who knew.

[dbesh2]

Poor sleep will certainly affect your neurological health as well. While it could be seizures, it is likely PLM, periodic leg movements. You should see a neurologist first.. they may recommed a sleep study. 

[silvergirl19]

Read about sleep apnea and ask your doctor if you can be tested for it. Basically, a person with sleep apnea snores, stops breathing, and restarts with a jolt many times per night, and can be totally unaware of any of it. I learned I probably had it after a hospitalization and cardio version for atrial flutter (similar to atrail fibrillation). After outpatient testing, the diagnosis was confirmed. Since using my C-PAP, my Fitbit shows much better sleep quality. Efficiency used to be about 40 percent -- it is now about 72 percent. I still have many periods of restlessness during the night, probably due to aches and pains and high stress levels over health issues of family members. I do feel better when I wake up in the morning, I used to feel like I hadn't slept at all, no matter how many hours I spent in bed. Good luck to you.

[vegimaven]

Remember, FitBit explains upon setup that "waking" times may not actually be when you are awake, but when you move/roll over.  

[lynderson]

My fit bit has recently shown two nights where I'm supposedly were I have two separate sleep patterns for the night as though I was up for 15 min. one night and 45 min another.  The first two patterns for a night was from 10:14 pm to 1:30 am then 2:48 am to 6:32 -  The second time it showed two separate patterns for one night was 12:18 am to 3:08 am then 4:30 am to 8:02.  Trust me I do not recall being up at anytime during the night accept to go to the bathroom  and return to bed shown with the red spikes in the sleep patterns.  Any idea what is going on?  Does the fit bit have an issue or do I, ha!

You may email a reply to lynderson46@att.net

[A-Durk]

When you say you're getting 90-95% effective sleep... Where are you getting this number?

[Thezonedoc]

For this year, I average between 0 and 20 minutes of "restful" sleep a week, according to my weekly summary.

How is that determined? Should I be aiming at a higher number?