Fragmented deep sleep - possibly apnea?

[CaptainProton]

Hi everyone! I've been using Fitbit Charge 2 for several months now, and I've noticed that my sleeping patterns are quite strange most of the nights. I read a few books about sleep and circadian rhythms, so I know what the normal sleep should look like. However, what I get is not it.

Here is the example from today:

As you can tell, all my deep sleep phase was very fragmented, and if you look closely, nearly every one of them was followed by short awakings, after which I would get back to light sleep.

Of course, I woke up feeling not so great, and this happens quite frequently. I'm beginning to think that I have sleep apnea. Can anyone please share their thoughts on this? Should I see a doctor and have it checked? Thank you!

[Alicat2104]

Looks like mine. The info FitBit provide about sleep stages actually mentions that there are often wakeful times in the night that we are not even aware of.

[WavyDavey]

If you are worried, see a doctor.

@CaptainProton, what are the percentages of each stage in your chart?

[ForecasterJason]

It seems that many of us here have sleep graphs similar to that.

There is something other than sleep apnea called upper airway resistance syndrome. Basically, what this means is that there's an increased respiratory effort to breathe, and you wake up briefly. But unlike sleep apnea, you wake up before you get to the point of not breathing. The increased effort could be nasal obstruction or anatomy issues. 

[Alicat2104]

Or you could just be a restless / light sleeper like I am... 

[emili]

I think most adults have really strange sleep patterns. I think they are dependent on what we ate, watched, did, didn't do, worried about, should be worried about- list is long. If most mornings you wake up not tired, then I think you just experience what the rest of us do.. strange sleep patterns. If of course you wake up tired every single morning, then I would say for sure have it checked out. I think if you are a labored breather or snorer you are more likely to develop sleep apnea.. but that might just be me basing an opinion off of hearing friends with spouses who have it. Apparently it is very noisy at night..

[CaptainProton]

Hi everyone! Sorry for taking a while to answer, but I wanted to be sure before I share this. I did a polysomnography test, and yes, I do have a mild case of obstructive sleep apnea. The possible reasons are either the enlarged uvula or the septum deviation, both of which I have.

For this reason, I am having surgery for septum deviation next week. I've been having problems breathing because of it for very long time, so this might very well be the reason. Following that, I will have the uvula problem taken care of as well.

All in all, I would suggest anyone who sees such sleep fragmentations to see a doctor and have a polysomnography test. You never know what you can find.

[djvibe]

thanks for sharing I have a very similar graph. I think I might get tested.

[djvibe]

my sleep last night. might be apnea?

[Ohgeezelouisee]

Um mine always looks like that and now I'm concerned. 

[djvibe]

I would take your sleep data to your doctor they will refer you to someone who can help you out. I think alot of this stuff goes undiagnosed in most people their entire life. These health trackers are just bringing it into the spotlight. But the new  Fitbit SP02 features (sleepscore beta)  coming out will be the real factors that will help you diagnose as it tests the Oxygen in your blood to see if you have momentairly stopped breathing (apnea). I wish you good luck and there is a chance it is only very mild or not at all. 

Cheers,

[Ohgeezelouisee]

Thank you! I'll do that!

[WavyDavey]

A couple of things to keep in mind.

One, the technology is very new, so we don't have to assume that all the numbers are completely correct. It's a work in progress. If you are experiencing actual symptoms of not feeling rested in the morning, go get a sleep study done (your doctor can refer you).

The second thing is the chart posted above is not exactly a reason to worry. The average person experiences dozens of awakenings a night. We just don't remember most of them due to have brief they are.

[Ohgeezelouisee]

Mine always has a lot and is never the nice slope other people post pictures of 

[FFRob]

Want to see mine? This is every night. Im planning on going to the doctor very soon.  Anyone have thoughts on this?

[djvibe]

I would go to a doc for sure.  Your deep sleep is low like mine. I have been going to bed much earlier to make up for all the inconsistencies on my sleep pattern. I would try setting a bedtime a stick to it if possible.  I know its hard but if your in bed longer it help boost numbers overall. My deep has gone way up since then. Also get lots of excercise too (joggin helped me bigtime).. but yeah Its worth a trip to the doc. those numbers arent great so anything to boost them would be benficial. I participate in the SleepScore beta program and it looks like SPO2 sensor has some additional insights that may help you out. Not sure when they are coming to the main app but it will be intersting to see for sure. Good luck!

[Narcolepsy]

I have narcolepsy and sometimes my graph looks similar to that, but I never get that much rem. If I get more than 12% rem it usually means I had a nightmare. I also don’t get a lot of deep. I would share a screenshot but I’m not seeing that option. Try comparing your % to the benchmark.