Following up on my deep sleep tracking and use of CPAP and other devices

[billupsj]

Some months ago I promised to report on my experience with my CPAP and tracking my deep sleep with Fitbit.

Sadly, the CPAP did NOT improve my deep sleep on a long-term basis; I had a few rebound nights of 14%+ (per my Fitbit) but after that my deep sleep dropped down to the usual 5%-8%.  I continued to use my CPAP but am switching to an oral appliance since my apnea is so low.

I’ve now tracked and experimented for about six months with various techniques (raised bed, vigorous exercise, warm baths, ongoing CPAP use, etc.) I had another sleep study, and again the Fitbit was on the mark for REM and light sleep but off the mark for deep sleep (as were my Apple watch apps). I don’t think this is so much a Fitbit-specific problem, it’s just that movement+heart rate+algorithm do not equal reasonable accuracy for deep sleep.

Still, I found the Fitbit to be useful for purposes of tracking consistency – if I exercised a lot, or took a warm bath, etc. then how did my deep sleep respond per the Fitbit?

The Fitbit moderators might not be happy with me providing this information, but people might want to know that there is now a nearly gold-standard device on the market that does accurately capture deep sleep. I was loaned a Dreem headband (designed by a French company called Rythm) and believe it or not I was able to figure out how to use it with a sleep study.   The headband was accurate in reporting my deep sleep. This accuracy is consistent with a study published in a well-regarded, peer-reviewed journal that reported on the accuracy of the Dreem in tracking deep sleep https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5853451/ (the study reported on other features as well, including enhancing slow-wave/delta sleep through the use of pink noise delivered at the moment the wearer goes into deep sleep.)

There are two of these headbands on the market (the other is a Philips product called SmartSleep) and they are simply a different technology than the wrist wearables in that they are EEG-based with sensors on the forehead.   It is a far more sophisticated technology than wrist wearables, and the price shows – the Dreem is $500 (yet it sold out in the U.S. shortly after it went on the market.) The Philips headband is $400. I haven’t tried that one.

I don’t intend to purchase either headband right now, although the enhancement of slow waves during deep sleep might be of interest to me as that technology advances. For now, after using the Dreem for a bit I feel like I have a good handle on the amount of deep sleep I typically get. And although Fitbit doesn’t accurately capture my deep sleep, I will still use it for purposes of tracking changes to my deep sleep on the theory that the Fitbit is consistent in showing day-by-day changes, even though the actual amount might not be correct. In my case, Fitbit has been correct in its REM, light sleep, and time that I go to sleep and wake up.

[JohnnyRow]

There was such a headband-based system the Zeo available several years ago, that was tied into a smart alarm clock, waking you by sleep stages.  Unfortunately it suddenly disappeared several years ago.  I used it some but keeping the headband tight enough but comfortable was an issue, as was the price of headstrap replacements.

You say your REM and light sleep were right on with sleep study.  I wonder how much the deep was off by, and was it that deep and wake times were confused if REM and light were good?

[RichardMW]

Years ago I had a Zeo.

Big problem was that it required access to their website to show results.

They seem to have gone out of business and their website no longer exists.

I think I still have the Zeo sitting on a shelf somewhere. I probably should recycleit.