Many "wakeful" periods - bad sleep or is "sensitive setting" wrong for me?

[andreabrie]

I never thought I got bad sleep until I monitored my sleep with fitbit!  I consistently get sleep efficiencies in the 50-60% range and have over two hours and between 10 and 15 wakeful periods a night.  On the other hand, when I use the "normal" setting, fitbit says I slept all night without waking up and I know that's not true either.  Suggestions?  Do I need to talk to my doctor about this?

[Queenb30]

I also had the problem with not knowing if my fitbit was on to monitor my sleep, and in my job my arm gets knocked around a lot and will go into sleep mode in the middle of the afternoon.

I found if I just make note of when I go to bed and when I get up in the morning. Then go into the sleep tag in LOG and just enter the go to bed and get up. Your sleep log will appear on the bottom of the sleep  box.

I have found this to be a lot easier. 

[skprice16]

I thought I was crazy when I got a fitbit! My UP band was super accurate with my sleep and I thought that the fitbit was going to be very similar but they are not even remotely close in the way they record. 

[skprice16]

If you're mainly using it for sleep, I recommend the Jawbone UP band. I have owned both and while I prefer the fitbit for almost everything, the UP was far superior in the sleep part. I feel like it was way more accurate. 

[colin99]

Thanks skprice16, maybe I'll pick one up for comparison purposes. I bought the fitbit originally just to monitor sleep but it showed me how sedentary my lifestyle really was and got me to start making some changes. I use it to fill in a sleep diary every morning - I found it too stressful to try to keep track of my sleep on my own (laying awake thinking about how much I've slept doesn't help insomnia 🙂

I'm a very light sleeper so I can lay there wide awake and not move around alot (normal mode thinks I sleep 6 to 7 hours; sensitive mode is 2 to 3 hours a night; reality is likely somewhere in between).

[uptonld]

Hi, Just read your posting. I've had sleep issues for well over 20 years.When it first started my doctor told me not to worry about it...that when my body was tired enough I'd sleep. Well we all know that isn't true. After years of sleep deprivation, chronic fatigue, brain fog and pain I was FINALLY diagnosed with Fibro.I was so relieved because I was beginning to believe I was mentally ill.A sleep study revealed that when I got into the deep REM sleep my oxygen level dropped and I work up. Nothing helped.Eventually, I was put on Nuvigil to help me stay awake in the day time (it's for shift work people) and on sleep meds at night.Still waking up over 10x a night.I do ALL of the sleep regimens advised.Eventually things became so bad that I had to take early retirement from a job that I dearly loved.I just couldn't function anymore.I wish I could tell you that things got better ...but they haven't. But at least now I dont feel like I'm a danger to myself and others while driving to work.I've learned to function around my issues. Wow...didn't mean to go on and on like this. Would like to hear from anyone who has these same issues.

[mrudd3]

I was diagnosed with Sleep Apnia and had to do a sleep study and even had surgery and I am doing all better now.

[Fit_4_Life]

mrudd3,

I would love to know what surgery you had tha. I am within my healthy weight range per my doc, but still have the apnea. I think it's body design...

Thanks,

Marianne

[mamamack]

Hi Marianne,

I can let you know about my surgery.  Mine started out a little bit different.  I started having a feeling that there was something stuck in my throat - fastforward several months - It was determined that my lingual tonsils, at the base of my tongue were so enlarged that they were blocking off my airway while I slept.  I had robotic surgery to remove the tonsils, part of my uvula (that thing that hangs down at the back of your throat), and part of my epiglotis last December.  Not a fun surgery.  It has improved my sleep but, it's not perfect.I have to go for another sleep study in December -- I'm dreading it already.  I have some issues that I'm still dealing with some the surgery -- my tongue is numb in a couple of spots, taste of food is different, etc.

My surgeon told me that his research shows that a BMI over 30 will contribute to sleep apnea.  I am overweight but, I've lost almost 60 pounds since the surgery. 

The bottom line is that their may not be anything that can be done.  You may just have sleep apnea and need to use your cpap.

I'm happy to answer any of your questions about my surgery.

Kristyn

[Fit_4_Life]

---

@mamamack wrote:

Hi Marianne,

I can let you know about my surgery.  Mine started out a little bit different.  I started having a feeling that there was something stuck in my throat - fastforward several months - It was determined that my lingual tonsils, at the base of my tongue were so enlarged that they were blocking off my airway while I slept.  I had robotic surgery to remove the tonsils, part of my uvula (that thing that hangs down at the back of your throat), and part of my epiglotis last December.  Not a fun surgery.  It has improved my sleep but, it's not perfect.I have to go for another sleep study in December -- I'm dreading it already.  I have some issues that I'm still dealing with some the surgery -- my tongue is numb in a couple of spots, taste of food is different, etc.

My surgeon told me that his research shows that a BMI over 30 will contribute to sleep apnea.  I am overweight but, I've lost almost 60 pounds since the surgery. 

The bottom line is that their may not be anything that can be done.  You may just have sleep apnea and need to use your cpap.

I'm happy to answer any of your questions about my surgery.

Kristyn

---

Thanks Kristyn for the info. After reading this I made an appt. with an ENT. Great job with your weight loss!!! Go you! I hope your sleep study goes well. What kind of changes to your taste buds?

[mamamack]

Thanks Marianne! 

As I said, my tongue is numb in some spots.  The surgery itself created some nerve damage (they have to clamp the tongue down to remove the tonsil).  It may or may not come back over time.  My taste buds have definitely changed.  Many foods don't taste like they used to taste -- not bad but, not just not as strong, spicy, sweet, salty, etc.  There are a couple things that don't taste good so, I just don't eat them anymore.

Many ENT's do not do this surgery. My original ENT sent me to the guy who did the surgery.  I had to be intibated overnight (because of the possiblity of swelling), and was in ICU for 2 days.  I was off work for 3 weeks.

Kristyn

[whytepearl]

I knew I didn't sleep well due to constant pain but never realized how much it affected my sleep.  I made sure I would get 8 hours of sleep, sometimes 10 hours, yet still woke up tired and yawned throughout the day.   Now I know that I constantly reposition myself at night.....plus at least one bathroom trip.  It helps explain my tired condition.

[Fit_4_Life]

I went to see an ENT and she saw no simple surgical options. Now I have an appt. with a sleep psychologist. I did not know they existed. See him this week. Has anyone here tried that?

[Fit_4_Life]

I also switched back to normal setting, thinking I would try that out...I want to compare my sleep to others on fitbit but it doesn't seem to differentiate by sensitivity setting. Has anyone else found a way to do that?

[Jerlyn]

I believe it records steps even in the sleep mode.

[NhPro]

Hi Zee,

Same issue here, try not eating or drinking for at least 2 hours before bed.

Melatonin works for me to fall asleep fast too.

[colin99]

Hi Marianne, I hope all went well with the sleep psychologist. I've considered seeing one myself so I'm curious if you found it a good experience. I've tried to do some of the CBT work on my own with varying levels of success. A chunk of my sleeping problems seem to be physical and another chunk of them are psychological (I suspect).

Thanks, Colin

[Fit_4_Life]

Colin99,
Unfortunately I only got an eval and have not been able to see the results. The psychologist who did the eval was supposed to get me a referral before changing jobs and I think I am stuck in the middle of that switch. The referral he suggested won't work logistically and now I can't reach him. Not sure how to resolve it just yet...need to contact the practice and see where I get. Haven't done that yet. Let me know how it is going for you.

[redd]

Hey colin99,
If you are between jobs, your doctor should be able to back date the referral. This should help if you are still in your 30 day grace period before your insurance ends. You generally have 30 days to find other insurance or to go in Cobra. I hope this helps. Feel free to ask any more questions. 🙂

[Fit_4_Life]

Redd, wondering if you are referring to my comment about changing jobs rather than Collin99. I could have been clearer. The therapist is moving out of state. I didn't change jobs.

[colin99]

Hi Marianne, it's too bad that the psychologist wasn't able to complete the evaluation before he changed jobs.

I've been working my way through a few books and websites on insomnia and how to "fix" it (if there is such a thing!). The past few months have been spent trying to work on my sleep hygiene which has been bad over the years - partially because of work (constant night-time oncalls) and partially because of home issues. Last week I had a new bed delivered which I think is the last step in the sleep hygiene map (I've installed blackout drapes, getting to bed/waking up at the same time each day, staying away from pc/bright monitors before bed, moving cell phones away from my bed, reduced caffeine consumption) - lots of changes!

Last night the fitbit logged 4:30 of sleep out of 8:00 hours in bed which is pretty much an alltime high since I purchased it at the start of June. Without sleeping pills too 🙂

I've also added in vitamin D3 - from what I've read almost everyone is low on D3 and it can impact sleep. I need to get back onto an exercise schedule; that completely vanished when I caught I bad cold after working a 20 hour shift last month - the cold pushed me back to sleeping pills which I had been avoiding but I needed to get whatever sleep I could.

I may write my own book on insomnia once it's all sorted out!

Hope all is going well with you,

Colin