sleep tracking gaps

[SpedAngie]

I cannot understand why my sleep data is showing gaps in time I was asleep.

It shows pretty accurately when I went to bed, if I got up for a couple of minutes (bathroom, drink, pet the cat, etc) and then continues when I went back to sleep.

The problem is that it frequently shows three sleep periods in one night.  One will end with showing me asleep.  Then there will be a time gap of one to three hours (and I was still in bed asleep) but this time is never accounted for; and then begin ANOTHER segment showing me still asleep.  This might once again show me awake for several brief intervals (I am sometimes a restless sleeper) and once again it ends with showing me asleep.

There will be another unaccounted for time gap when I was not awake, then sometimes a third segment is shown beginning with me asleep. 

Why is this happening.  I could even understand beginning a new tracking after I had been out of bed for a few minutes during the night (bathroom, drink seeing if it was snowing, pet the cat, etc) and then went back to bed. 

I cannot get why one segment ends WITH ME ASLEEP and another begins an hour or more later WITH ME STILL ASLEEP. 

I have begun jotting down every time I actually wake up enough to get out of bed and move around for 3-5 minutes and those are shown pretty accurately. I also do tend to wake up briefly more than once each night but not get up; these are depicted nicely as well.

  I have NO idea why there are these long spells of time where nothing is shown--one time ends with me asleep, then there is they mystery segment of an hour or two when apparantly I died and had no heartbeat; then there I am again (asleep) in a new tracking segment.

Any ideas what is going on here?

I have also noticed that even when there is no unaccounted for time, sometimes the tracking seems to be split into two or three strips, one below the other, but at least then there is no lost time; the first will end with me asleep at , oh say 1:50AM and the next, showing below the first, will show me asleep at 1:51AM, etc. Other times it just goes in one continuous line.

Additionally I wonder why the blue perpindicular lines that show you are asleep are very close together sometimes and further apart at others; any reason for that? 

All answers much appreciated.

[IowaMolly]

This happened to me twice in the past two weeks. Most recent was this morning after I got up to use the restroom. I went straight back to bed but it didn't log me as going back to sleep. Looks like it logged my steps to the bathroom and back and then didn't started recording sleep again for about 90 minutes. But I was asleep during that time, and it didn't log any steps during the grayed out period so it wasn't like I was wandering around.

[rexology]

What was your heart rate during this time?

Sent from my iPhone

[SammyH]

Hi

My Fitbit flex 2 doesn't measure heart rate (pretty sure I was alive though ;-))

I've given up on trying to fix the problem; it's clearly a fairly common one but Fitbit don't seem to want to engage with their customers on it.

Measures steps very accurately though...

[IowaMolly]

No idea. I have the flex 2, which I believe does not measure that.

[Bubbles7]

I'm confused why there are several hours of white showing in my sleep tracker 

[Stacey831]

Mine is doing the same thing. 

[firefly11702]

LOL...My husband thinks that it is alien abductions too!

I have a Charge II and have only been using the FITBIT for about 2 months.  I have found gaps of 1-2 hours, 5 times during that time-period.  The last one was 9/23 for approx 1.5 hours.  Just as the others, I too am in my bed "sleeping" and use the setting of 'sensitive'.  It is very upsetting that a pulse/heartbeat cannot be found during these times...

[firefly11702]

yes... it is still showing.

[GoldaT]

I switched mine to regular and feel it's accurate.  Perhaps you should try that and see if there's a difference. 

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@firefly11702 wrote:

LOL...My husband thinks that it is alien abductions too!

I have a Charge II and have only been using the FITBIT for about 2 months.  I have found gaps of 1-2 hours, 5 times during that time-period.  The last one was 9/23 for approx 1.5 hours.  Just as the others, I too am in my bed "sleeping" and use the setting of 'sensitive'.  It is very upsetting that a pulse/heartbeat cannot be found during these times...

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[JRMH]

I also get mystery grey patches. Wondering if I have a defective Fitbit 

[shipo]

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@JRMH wrote:

I also get mystery grey patches. Wondering if I have a defective Fitbit 

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I've seen those when I've worn my Fitbit too loose.

[GoldaT]

Have you checked with customer service? Are you still within warranty?

[JennaJames]

Count me in now...  Last night was the first night.

Setting:  'sensitive'

Gap:  2:34 a.m. to 4:33 a.m.

Device: Flex 2

Sleep pattern directly before and after - dark blue (The period after was an unusually long 'sleep' period.)

Activity recorded: none (so seemingly not sleepwalking)

This is a relatively new 'bit' and has seemingly been accurate for the last month or so since purchased.  Will find instructions for 'restart' and see if it happens again...

<sigh> 

[GoldaT]

You could also contact customer support and talk to them for advice. Good
luck.

[subaloo]

Looking at this thread, I know discussing the issue seems futile, but here's my experience. I only began measuring my sleep about 2 months ago when my husband got his Charge II. Until last night, I had great sleep patterns - a few moments of restless or getting up, but for the most part a lovely dark blue. My husband has horrible sleep patterns with lots of gray & I wasn't sure why. Now I can see why his fit bit says he only gets 2 hours of sleep per night - it's not counting all of those gray gaps! For the first time, I had a gray gap in my sleep report & it was at a time I know I was sleeping. My heart rate shows between 70-75 for the missing 2 hours of sleep, slightly elevated for my usual sleep patterns, but not crazy out of whack & certainly hit at other times during the night.

It's too bad that this is across all devices, because my husband has legit sleep pattern issues that we were hoping to be able to point to with his doctor, to see if we could get him into some kind of sleep study. But if the fitbit just shows missing sleep time it's not really that helpful. It is unfortunate that fitbit the company doesn't seem to be responding - looks like this thread goes back nearly 3 years!

Are there other trackers out there that track sleep? I guess it's worth investigating.

[Bubbles7]

Thank you for taking the time to reply, I sometimes have up to 4 hours of grey I wondered if it is because my blood pressure is low and perhaps drops when I’m asleep and therefore doesn’t register

Sent from my iPhone

[JMiller7]

Subaloo, it's not you or your husband, it's not low or high blood pressure or pulse, or you dying during the night rising the next morning un-dead.  It's definitely the fitbit, rest easy.  This sleep gap appears across all devices (with or without heart-rate monitoring).  Before attempting to rely on fitbit's flawed sleep data or joining a sleep study, might I suggest purchasing a trail camera?  Please understand, the very nature of a sleep study is flawed because it's not conducted in your natural sleep environment.  They are conducted in lab with tons of electrodes hooked to you in an unfamiliar bed, not in your house, without the breathing of your spouse/cat/dog right next to you.  With a trail camera, of course get one with night vision (unless you can sleep with the light on - I can't), you can record you and your husband whenever you like.  You don't even have to tell him - it might skew the results!  I did it every night for a week, and then watched them on fast forward to see an overview.  If something piqued my interest, I would slow it down to normal speed and watch and listen to everything for a few minutes before and after.  I learned a great deal about myself doing this, and my trail camera was only $80.  I also re-purposed it to catch the deer eating my veggies in the backyard.  I found out I toss and turn a lot, grind my teeth on my nightguard, and rub myself frequently for no reason at all.  Sorry my response is so long, but I do think this would offer you more peace of mind and hopefully solve your husband sleep pattern issues.

[GershonSurge]

I get those gaps when I astral project. 

[GoldaT]

Sorry to hear that your tracker is not tracking sleep patterns adequately.
I had a similar problem when I first started using my flex to track my
sleep. Switching from my dominant hand to the dominant one helped with
this issue. I suffer from sleep apnea but this illness predates my fitbit
purchase. Your doctor and/or your husbands doctor would most likely refer
you to a sleep specialist or respiratory specialist upon being told of the
symptoms. Do not wait for your fitbit results. See the specialist as
soon as possible. I wish you both the best possible outcome. Take care.

[LazyTired]

Well, add me to the list of people with this issue.  I have an Alta, about 2 years old now, and I'm getting these grey gaps with increasing frequency.  It used to just happen rarely, but now it's a few times per week.