Fitbit Induced Insomnia

[Olana]

I got my Charge 2 last Tuesday, put it on and left it on to explore what it can do. It's my first Fitbit and first fitness tracker ever. I am fit, exercise regularly and lead a healthy life, so I'd never felt a need for help from a gadget, but finally I broke down, interested primarily in keeping track of my heart rate and sleep patterns.

I didn't sleep well on Tuesday night, but didn't make much of it. I generally sleep well, but we all have an occasional bad night. It didn't get better on Wednesday, and went downhill from there. I had difficulty falling asleep, kept waking up about every hour and then was awake at 3 am and unable to go back to sleep for a t least 1.5 hours. By Friday, I was taking a natural supplement supposed to help sleeping, and over the weekend I tried a sleeping pill. Nothing was helping. There had to be a cause for such a dramatic change, but nothing had changed in my life - no extra stress or illness, no change in diet, exercise or medications. The only thing that entered my life on Tuesday was the Fitbit. I took it off my wrist on Monday afternoon and put it away. I slept well Monday night and again last night. 

I am a rational person, not prone to panic; I don't believe that cell phones are causing brain tumors, etc., but  there is no way around it - it was my Fitbit that caused my insomnia. And I don't believe it was just the discomfort from wearing it on my wrist. Considering the dramatic change in my sleep, it must have been something emitted by the device or the wireless communication going on between the tracker and my phone.

I haven't been able to bring myself to put the Fitbit back on my wrist, even during the day, not knowing what it was that was affecting my sleep. I am curious if anyone else has experienced a similar problem.

[TrudiPI]

Exactly the same thing has happened to me. I'm sitting here googling why, and came upon your message. 

[Joules1975]

Holy crap! When I got my Fitbit a couple of weeks ago, I noticed I wasn't sleeping as good anymore either.  I gave it back to my boyfriend. I haven't worn it for 5 days & I still can't sleep. Wth is going on?  I have NEVER had trouble sleeping. If anything, I sleep too much.  How long is this gonna last? I have taken sleep aids, muscle relaxers, xanax, NyQuil & nothing is helping me. Fitbit sucks. I never logged my food or water intake & somehow it knew my exact weight...down to the .9. That's when I decided it knew too much when it shouldn't know my weight. My weight fluctuates 3 or 4 pounds. There is no way it could have known my weight.

[growplants]

I wonder whether there is a connection between having (pre-existing) depression and being susceptible to insomnia while wearing the Fitbit. I've struggled with recurring Major Depression for decades, and over the past five weeks, while newly wearing the Fitbit Versa, my sleep has steadily declined, from 7ish hours a night to 3 or 4; the sleep profile that I have had during this period has been, according to the Fitbit's analysis, largely light sleep, with very little REM and Deep Sleep.

[KateW2]

OMG - I just read your post....I feel like I have terrible sleep. I wake up every 2 hours like clockwork. Last night, I did not wear my Fitbit and I SLEPT! I woke once at 5am to pee and went right back to sleep. So I’m wondering if the Fitbit is preventing uninterrupted sleep? I mean it’s weird right that I would wake up every 2 hours like clockwork? I’m going to try it again tonight and see what happens!

[Callie33021]

My theory is that wearing the Fitbit to bed causes anticipation/anxiety
related to seeing sleep results in the morning. Personally, I tend to sleep
better when I know my sleep is not being tracked. However, I do wear it
overnight more often than not.
--

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[growplants]

Hi there, fellow Fitbit wearer here.
When I stopped wearing my Fitbit altogether, my insomnia stopped. I am not certain whether this was a coincidence, or not, but it was a good 5 weeks that I was not sleeping more than 3hrs a night.

I have reintroduced wearing the Fitbit during exercise only, and this seems to be fine.
Best regards, 

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[NancyMM]

This is just a follow up months after my initial comment, and subsequent comments.

I stopped wearing my fitbit to bed and since then I enjoy my normal sleep patterns - 7-8 hours per nite, up once maybe to go to the washroom - and feel so much better than when I wore the fitbit to bed.

I am moderately active and continue to wear it from when I get up in the morning until I go to bed, on almost every day.

[KateW2]

Thanks!  I am going to continue taking it off at night and see if things improve.

[Patsymac123]

I agree I didn’t connect it to Fitbit for about 6 months. Terrible sleeps. 2 weeks ago I left it off at night and have slept well ever since

[rdkalnins]

Spoiler

I DO believe in EMF dangers but was never too concerned about wearing my fitbit to bed. Found the data interesting. But fir 3 years I havent slept worth a crap. Got tennis elbow and frozen shoulder and just got out of the habit of wearing. Sleeping has DRAMATICALLY improved ever since. Wont be wearing it to bed anymore.

[tuppeny]

so glad to have found this post, I've had terrible problems sleeping  , but never put it down to it being the Fitbit , going to try leaving it off at night for a week or so and see if it does make any difference

[KateW2]

I have found it makes a difference!
Good luck
K

Sent from my iPhone

[tuppeny]

Fingers crossed ,hope it works

[Callie33021]

I fluctuate between wearing it to bed and not wearing it to bed. I do like
to see the sleep stats. However, if I am wound up and having difficulty
nodding off, I remove the watch, and most of the time, I then get a good
night's sleep.

[tuppeny]

Does seem to make a difference to a lot of people, hoping it does the same for me 

[Lottyisdotty]

I have had a similar experience whereby my sleep became and lot lighter and I woke up feeling drained in the morning. I had been wearing a fitbit durng sleep for 2 years before I drew this conclusion and thought I'd give it a try without.

Call it what you want but I've not worn it for around 3 months at night time and I sleep so much better, and heavier (like I used to!)

[tuppeny]

how long was it before you saw any difference with your sleep pattern?

[Lottyisdotty]

I found it pretty much the night I didn't wear it my sleep felt more settled... I thought it may have been a coincidence but after 4-5 days I felt back to normal... with no other changes to lifestyle other than removing my fitbit 

[KateW2]

I totally agree! Since I have stopped wearing it during the night, I am sleeping much better.

Sent from my iPhone

[tuppeny]

Well haven't noticed much difference after one night, but will leave it off for a while and see what happens