Please show me your sleep pattern (both good and poor sleepers)

[111mastermind]

I got my Fitbit Surge 6 days ago. I set it to sensitive. The sleep pattern confirmed mine, and my husband's suspicions, that I have very poor sleep. Sleep efficiency 61%, and cycle length (also confirmed with a different mobile app) is only 60 mins not the usual 90 mins. I 'need' about 10-11 hours sleep to feel half-way decent. With 10 hrs sleep I get about 6 hrs. With 8-9 hrs sleep (my usual weekday allowance) I get about 5 hrs. My husband always complains that my restless sleep causes him lost sleep too 😞 (I say to him imagine how I feel!). I am usually fatigued all day and have trouble getting up in the morning and am struggling to maintain work function. I'm glad I got my Fitbit so I have proof of what is happening.

I was tested for sleep apnoea some years ago and had borderline/mild apnoea. I lost 70 lbs (30 kg) and then got retested and the apnoea had disappeared (good because I didn't tolerate the CPAP at all).

I would like to know what a 'normal' sleep pattern looks like and what another poor sleeper looks like so I can show my GP and get referred. Is there a specific kind of sleep study she can request other than for sleep apnoea?

I have added 2 screenshots of my usual sleep pattern, if some of you could add yours with a brief comment on if you sleep well or not, that would help me gather evidence for my GP appointment. TIA.

[shwaldman]

I am convinced that the normal setting is kind of useless, at least for me. I have had the HR Charge (1) since May 2015 and the few times that I set it to normal, my efficiency goes up to 98-100%. I did have the Force for a while before (and after) it was recalled and while I can't tell what the setting was back then, it seems consistent with what I get now on the sensitive setting. I wish there was a way to see what the setting was at the time of a specific sleep recording. 

I have gone back and collected almost two years of my data and efficiency rating has averaged in the low 70s. I am now making a concerted effort to get it to the low 80s. Night by night, I am seeing my average go up because I am practicing mindful yoga before bed. And every day I notice I am not as drozy or tired throughout the day. At this point, this is the only reason I am wearing the fitbit. It is so valuable to me! I am going to need tape and glue to keep it together, but as long as it continues to work.

[801]

Well, the story from fitbit is use the normal sensitivity unless you suspect you have sleep issues. You and your wife should ask yourselves if you feel rested when you get up. That is what is important. I have sleep apnea and use a CPAP machine. It solved the apnea but I still have restless limb syndrom so I KNOW my sleep is poor and the fitbit on sensitive shows that. I spoke to fitbit and they say if the sensitive setting shows lots of movement but you feel fine and rested then you should set it to normal. My issuse with that is that I KNOW I am getting disturbed sleep bit on sesitive it shows I am doing good. Agin my take on it is if you FEEL rested thn don't even worry about it. If you are tired then put it on sensitive and see what you get. If it looks bad go get a sleep test if you have insurance to pay for it. I did not know I had the PLMD unbtil my girlfriend told me. Keep in mind you bed parteners movement can register on your fitbit
Check out my charts. Thurs and Fri were set to sensitive tues was on normal. I did get up for a bit in the middle of the night on wed to use the bathroom and read for a while but as you can see it shows nice undisturbed sleep. It's wrong! I have been to FOUR sleep studies and I WISH I got that kind of sleep! Having said all that I am no doctor and there are many reasons why people get poor sleep. Let me know what you get on sensitive and normal.
 Sleep
LAST NIGHT
4 hrs  59 min AWAKE
10 min (2x) RESTLESS?
165 min (15x)THUFRITHUFRI12PM24681012AM24681012PMPAST 7 DAYSWEDTHUWEDTHUTUEWEDTUEWEDMONTUEMONTUESUNMONSUNMONSATSUNSATSUNFRISATFRISAT12PM24681012AM24681012PM

[801]

I don't think its useless on normal but I would not use it a medical device. If you feel drowsy and it says you are waking a lot then I would take it up with my doctor. I found out a have apnea AND PLMD. Also diet plays into how you feel in a BIG way. Do you eat sugar and processed carbs like bread and pasta? Too much of these can lead to daytime sleepiness. Cut out refined sugars and carbs for a month. Not a keto diet just a lot less sugars.

[Adam33]

Hey, I'm a sleep tech and put patients on cpap every night. There are tons of options for masks and machines that it would come loose or fall off. You should go to someone who sells them and they'll show you! 🙂 

[ErickFitbit]

@shwaldman Yes! You can export your data without a premium account here. I've also shared a screenshot of what it looks like below.

@Suntzu @Roadragemustang I recommend trying to log a couple of nights of sleep with your tracker set to the "normal" sleep setting.

@Panrich I recommend setting the sleep sensitivity setting to the same as your wife and then comparing each other's records. 

[Panrich]

Thank you all for your replies. I've found where you can retrospectively change between normal and sensitive views. 

Go to the dashboard and click on see more for your sleep pattern.

The following screen shows where you can click to edit the graph:

Then you can change the chart option as circled:

[Nikki0928]

Yours looks very similar to mine! I myself still have energy, but I am quite alarmed when I see friend's fitbit results and they sleep SOLID! 

[Frits68]

When it's set on 'normal' it doesn't give an accurate result. Sensitive gives a better idea of the deep sleep and the restless periods when you're dreaming. During my working week I sleep 6-7 hours of which 3-4 hours are (deep) sleep. The rest is restless, allthough to my opinion I get enough rest and I'm not awake much. 

[Frits68]

Interesting data. Noteworthy that the difference between maximum and minimum heart rate is quite high for your sleep. It seems that an important part of your sleep is quite light and therefore your average heart rate is much higher than mine. Mostly my own heartrate is between 55 and 70 during my sleep. Just like yours with a lot of light blue (restless) periods. About 50% is dark blue (deep sleep). Seeing this reassures me that there is nothing wrong 😉

Wondering how high your rest HR is.

[mpharr2]

Why not  start with 30mils Unisom Nightime Sleep-Aid 6 nights per week.

[Sithmaith1]

The sensitive setting is definitely better for me, but then I sleep alone most nights, my husband sleeps better in his own bed.  I logged just over 3 hours sleep last night, which I think is correct.  I do, occasionally, take prescribed sleeping pills, but hate doing that.  I have tried herbal remedies, but they don't seem to work well for me.

I think my best sleep is in a hot bath, when I am almost pain free, but then wake up when the water cools.  I also find that I sleep a little better if I have a snack before I try to get to sleep.

[Amy_Noelle]

I NEVER feel great when I wake up, because I can't sleep good. Then again I'm a teenager!

Here are my stats for sleeping for the past 2 nights. (Screen shots from my iPad)

[mpharr2]

30 mils Unisom- Sleep Guard - 3 wake ups -7hrs 19 minutes sleep.

[jantom]

Still no luck with sleep but managing

[Roadragemustang]

Both are crazy I will give u a shot of a few days on sensitive and a shot of a few days on regularSensitive

Regular

[bossbuk]

Small sample of data as I have only recently purchased.

Along with others I was confused and perhaps sceptical with the sensitive setting.

Needless to say, I had a noticabley better quality sleep last night, both mind and body feeling more refreshed.

No idea why last night was different as the day and evening was very much routine, just like any other work day.

last night was much better

still felt like i slept ok

 Hope they haven't secretly changed any backend algorithms 🙂

[Roadragemustang]

That looks alot like mine on Sensitive  weather it's on sensitive or regular it sometimes shows a better sleep quality on regular I don't most of the time feel rested as I do constantly move and toss turn roll n move alot in my sleep I've always been told I move alot n my sleep I'm sure that puts a good dent n my sleep quality I've been like that ever since I was a kid I've been told do u feel exhausted when u awake

[Ellillu]

 I got my Fitbit about 2 weeks ago. I had the sleep setting on normal the first night and then put it on sensitive. I've known for ages I don't sleep well. I tend to have my deepest sleep at the start of the night. I don't nap as often as I used to. I had one on Sunday after travelling home from Wales. But I do sleep deeply in naps. If anyone knows any ways to help have a longer deeper sleep please let me know. I think for me things that wake me up during the night are I don't feel like the bed is big enough for me and my partner. We are both quite small and have a double but I need to spread out else my back and hips hurt. I'm also quite a light sleeper when it comes to sound and temperature. Any suggestions welcome. I sleep with the window open when I can. I'm 26 y/o female. Also how do I view the sleep efficiency percentage? I have the Fitbit app on my iPhone. 

 

[shwaldman]

I think the Android and iOS apps are now almost the same interface. I don't think there is a way to see the efficiency percent in the mobile app. You can calculate yourself, or you can see the percentage of sleep efficiency by looking on the website version, drilled down to the details level. I know Fitbit excludes that time it takes to fall asleep and the restlessness when you wake up from their calculation, so you many see a little variation. 

In terms of improved sleeping, I too am working to improve my efficiency. I have off-loaded my data to analyze and find patterns. I have been as low as 60-day average of low-60s, but have gotten it back up to the mid-70s now. I am hoping to get and stay in the 80s. I have tried meditation and yoga as well as journalling. The yoga definitely helps me with issues I have with back and hip pain.

I have also heard that scents like peppermint and yoga help people, but still need to try that. 

[SunsetRunner]

Hi there,

Sorry, duplicate post.