Fitbit sleep efficiency of under 50%

[PaulWMather]

For my entire adult life I have been tired, I wake up every night over and over. I literally live in a fatigured state, it's ridiculous.

My main reason for purchasing a Fitbit, was to see just how "normal" my sleeping was. Of course, I realise it's not an accurate gague. 

In the past week my sleep efficiency is 40-55% with around 4 hours sleep per night, from 8-9 hours in bed. 

I have the Fitbit one and it's set to "sensitive" as I did suspect sleep problems. 

I don't snore and I am not overweight, so my GP wouldn't entertain anything like sleep apnea. I have no idea why I keep waking up. Any suggestions as to where I could start figuring out the reason for my bad sleep?

[RLJack]

I feel for you, I am 49 years old and have never slept well, my fitbit says less than 50%.  So why go to bed early?  I am staying up a little later and it is helping some. Other things that help are heavy exercising like snow shoveling or dirt digging or step class, etc.. Getting up really early helps too. I never went for the strategies of getting up if not sleeping or using any of the drugs. 

[RLJack]

My husband does not snore, but breathes loudly when sleeping. I buy the big containers of foam earplugs at Lowe's.  When the outside and inside noises highjack my brain, I put the earplugs in and fall asleep pretty quickly, I am trained to those things! Also, quit drinking anything after 8 pm. If I have to go pee, it keeps me awake or wakes me up and then I cannot get back to sleep quickly.

[JonS]

Sounds like he has a partial upper airway obstruction. Consult an ENT physician. Does he still have his tonsils? IF so have him lift up his chin. IF you see protrusions on either side of his neck, feel to see if they are golf ball size, IF so then his tonsils need looked at by an ENT. Look inside his month, his uvula ( the thing that hangs down in the back of his mouth). If it seems big then that my be what causing the loud breathing. The last thing to do is have an x-ray of his throat to see if there is any narrowing of the airway. Hope this helps?

[mtpattonar]

Hi Steve,

You really do need to see a sleep doctor and have a sleep study done.  I have had one done, and it showed a sleep efficiency of 65%.  Fitbit One reports of my sleep efficiency usually show a percentage in the sixties, so I feel the accuracy is relatively reliable.

The average person has a sleep efficiency of 90-95%, so anything less than that is considered sub-normal.  In my case, sleep efficiency of only 65% is considered severe.  Yours may be even worse than mine, so, again, I urge you to see a specialist.

[mtpattonar]

Where did you get your information that the sensitive setting is for very heavy sleepers?  Direct quote from the About Sleep Tracking article: "The sensitive setting will cause your tracker to record nearly all movements as time spent awake. This setting may be helpful for users with sleep disorders . . . "

That's the OPPOSITE of what you said.  I'm not critisizing, I'm just wondering where you got your information, and what you know about it that I don't.

[mtpattonar]

Your initial statement is incorrect.  The time it takes you to fall asleep is NOT part of your sleep efficiency calculation.  That is clearly stated in the article at https://help.fitbit.com/customer/portal/articles/1230068.  I also disagree with your statement that the sleep tracker is "not even a halfway accurate gauge".  One's reporting of my sleep efficiency, and other sleep evaluations, are very close to the results of a clincal sleep study I had done.  While it is, of course, impossible for One to achieve clinical precision, my evidence suggests that it's reporting is highly accurate. 

[mtpattonar]

I think you are letting what you want to believe interfere with what the sensitive setting is telling you.  You might think it can't possibly be true that you wake up 45 times in a single night.  How long were those episodes?  Very brief, I anticipate, and that's why the normal setting doesn't detect them.  I've had a clinical sleep study, and it showed that I wake up constantly during the night.  I'm not aware of it, because I go right back to sleep again.  But that IS important and significant.  Because I am constantly waking up, I have great difficulty getting into REM and 4th degree sleep, and we all have to have an appropriate amount of those levels of sleep in order to feel refreshed.

[mtpattonar]

I suspect those numbers were very accurate, even though hard to believe. 

Your question is confusing.  You're saying the blue bands report more sleep than it reports.  What does that mean?  Are you saying that when you add up the individual times for all the blue bands, it comes out to more than the reported total sleep time?

[JonS]

Well, Most heavy sleepers don’t move that much and are not awaken easily, so the sensitive setting would be appreciate. The settings we record in the sleep lab are according to the sleep association. I’m just saying that if you want to record your every move then set it to sensitive, but it is not necessary to determine if you have sleep apnea. There are many factors involved in diagnosing sleep apnea. Movements are not a factor in sleep apnea. it is just an indicator that it might exist. A moved accurate test could be what we call an overnight oximetry test, in which you wear a probe on your finger and it records your oxygen level. I do this a lot and it shows on the graph a rhythmical pattern which could indicate Sleep apnea. Then after that, you could do a full sleep study in the lab. That’s what most Dr’s do to determine if a pt is a candidate for the sleep lab. The cost of the oximetry study is only around $35.00. The sensitive setting records every move and you do not know what kind of movements that are happening. SO it is very inaccurate to determine if sleep apnea exists. Sleep apnea is define as cessation of breathing at the nose and/or mouth but the diaphragm still moves trying to move air. Again this device is only recording body movements and not air movements. Its hard or impossible to determine if the movements are rhythmical.

[Jim_B]

Paul,

I use to have sleep problems but now have them all under control. I would wake up thinking I had to cough some sinus drainage up and all. But last October, I went to a head, nose and throat doctor. Guess what I have acid reflex and only one side of my nose actually let air thru. The doctor said that my acid reflex as not so bad that I would taste the acid coming up my throat. It was enough that would make me cough and all. I am on acid reflex, had a nose job and now sleep better than ever before. So like some of the others I would first go to a doctor to have my nose and throat checked out. 

have a good night sleep.

Jim

[itsme2012]

Don't stress out about sleep.  You can put unnecessary pressure on yourself by worrying about how much sleep you did or did not get.  If you establish a sleep routine that includes somethng that de-stresses you, when its time to sleep it will happen. Try a  a relaxing bath (not a shower) or cup of tea in the evening, (chamomile, valerian root) or aroma therapy as a part of your sleep routine.

[RLJack]

Thanks everyone for the advice, however I have been a poor sleeper my entire life, even as a small child.  I am kind of used to it, lol.  Prone to nightmares, insomnia, easily woken, periodic jumpy legs (every 7 years or so), even some sleepwalking although not for decades.  I have stayed away from the sleep drugs, and have followed all advice on behavior and environment as possible. Only trends I can find that help are 1-extreme physical fatigue such as moving furniture all day, snow shoveling 4 hours plus, hiking all day. 2- Alcohol despite the warnings works pretty good. 3-ear plugs 4-relations with partner. If sleep deprivation kills I should have expired already.

[JonS]

You really need to see a sleep doc. He can help you. Don't really need a CPAP, just talk to a sleep doc and he can suggest things that you may not have thought about in the past.

Sent from my iPad

[MaryMM]

Thin people have Apnea too. If you have a sleep partner who does not complain of snoring, check for a nighttime movement disorder such as Restless Legs syndrome.

[Scarlet26]

Definitely, hubby says I have sleep apnea, of course I never believed him. One of these days I'll get in to see a doctor, but with insurance deductibles it will probably be later!!!

[Volleyball5]

Paul, I just read your original note about a restless nights sleep and not feeling rested. This year I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and am also athletic and not overweight.I had the exact same symptoms, including the snoring, until treated. I suggest that you see a sleep specialist and be tested in a sleep study. Good luck.  

[babydoll]

I had my vitamin D level checked and it was EXTREMELY LOW, and my doctor gave me an RX to take 5,000 twice aweek.

[Nani]

I would suggest that you insist on a sleep apnea test.    I underwent a complete battery of tests because of a health issue other than sleep.   During the course of these tests, an all night monitor was used and found that my blood pressure was high during the night and normal during the day.  Neither my regular physician or the specialist that ordered the test acknowledged that the test meant anything.  I took a copy of my test results to my Naturopathic doctor and she said that was a sign of apnea.  I took her advice and had myself tested.  Sure enough I recorded 22 wakeups and never got into a deep sleep and needed a CPAP machine.   I now register 97-99% sleep efficiency. I wake up so rested and not like I have not gone to bed and my blood pressure is back to normal.  I did not fall under the "normal" candidate, i.e-  snoring, overweight, smoker, etc for apnea.  I suggest visiting a Natropathic doctor,  they are way more detailed with your health.  Hope this helps and you are doing better.

[GaryBarbour]

There are at least seven recognized sleep disorders of which apnea is just one. My GP authorized and I have conducted three overnight sleep tests in 'overnight sleep labs' and learned I was suffering from severe 'restless leg syndrome' and 'random limb movement'. I share you're pain. Do anything you can to get a full overnight sleep-lab study. Other sources are available on the internet. BTW - I am in bed 8-9 hours per night; average 13-17 interruptions per night; and average 3.8-4.5 hours of complete rest according to my fitbit which also is set to 'sensitive'. Good luck. 

[Scarlet26]

Thanks all for the encouragement. One of these days I will get to the doctor for sleep. Many more things in front of it!