Red bars on sleep graph?

[Aurora17]

The new sleep stages graph shows thin red bars at the top of my graph. They are there in every one of the graphs since the update but nothing explains what they are. So what on earth are they???he new sleep stages graph shows thin red bars at the top of my graph. They are there in every one of the graphs since the update but nothing explains what they are. So what on earth are they???

[Itw]

I was wondering the same thing. Could it be due to sleep apnea?

[AlejandraFitbit]

It's great to welcome you @Itw and @Aurora17, thanks for the attachment.

You will be able to see in the attached image that the red part is marked as "Awake" which indicated the time you took to sleep.

 For more information, you can take a look at our What should I know about sleep stages? article.

Catch you later. 

[Itw]

It's the tics above the graph I'm wondering about. If each tic means that I'm awake, then I wake up over 30 times/night. 

[Aurora17]

Yah that is what I'm wondering about too. I don't have sleep apnea or anything but I do move a lot throughout the night. I've only noticed the lines since the new cycle stages graph came out and I never saw it on the old graph that just showed awake, restless, and asleep.

[Itw]

It's the faint lines above the graph that I'm wondering about.

[Riolyne]

I was wondering the same, the only thing I can think of is when it thinks I might have woken a bit or moved in my sleep.

[fitbip]

I was wondering this too, which is how I found this thread. 

Being a new fitbit user, what I have noticed is that googling stuff often links to these fitbit community thread, and many of them are left unsolved. 

What is also concerning is that many of the moderator/staff replies miss the point of the question and are often less informed that some of the user replies. 

[Aurora17]

I am defiantly disappointed that the fitbit rep. hasn't replied since we clarified the question. I've been waiting more than a month without a proper response from them. And like you said most google inquires lead back here and to the several other similar questions that have all been left unanswered. I mean don't get me wrong, I love my fitbit, however, it would be far more professional if they monitored these forums to be sure that their costumers were happy with the response and not left wondering and frustrated.

[Rich_Laue]

It doesn't surprise me @Aurora17 this is a comunity forum, and like every other comunity forem, it is set up for the the comunity of Fitbit users to help each other out. While there are a few moderators around, they can not be in every thread. It is highly possible that none of the moderstors have actually read this thread, especially when none of them have been priperly mentioned.

My guess is that it is periods of restless so small that the connecting line was not drawn. This is just a guess, im simply a fellow Fitbit user as you.

[fitbip]

Admittedly I'm not really familiar with the scope of moderators' jobs. However, assuming they are Fitbit staff, who are employed to provide support on the forums, I am surprised that they are not more tooled up on the latest knowledge. This may be more the fault of Fitbit rather than the individuals but then I would be even more surprised that they do not provide more information to their staff, especially regarding updates and features.

For example, you would not expect a new version of Andriod or IOS to be released, and find many simple questions unable to be answered, even by staff. There should be full patch notes for firmware and app updates, and also relevant training to staff.

With regards to the original query though, I agree that they are probably very tiny periods of restlessness. What I would be interested to know is, if these fragments are totalled up and then classified as 'awake' and then deducted off their corresponding stages.

[Colinm39]

@fitbip If you take @Itw post image and swipe to the Awake display you will find when you tap on those small red spikes you can get 0, 1, 2 & 3 mins  awake. Also when you examine a daily sleep graph and tap on Benchmark you will see how you stand to the population.

Your can then calculate the time, and in my case it equates to the total Awake time.

[ashwolve · Accepted solution]

@Aurora17 and @Itw It looks like @Rich_Laue has got the right idea, the thin red marks as I understand it are the minute times that you were either awake/restless for such a short period you may have not noticed it, so it is periods of time that you are not in any of the other 3 stages (on the mobile app if you tap on the main graph you can then swipe through each stage with a bit more of an explanation

[TPL1]

Yes, probably sleep apnoea.

[Stephjboyd]

I have the same results on my graph. I have restless leg syndrome. It is a different sleep disorder. I didn’t know I had it until a doctor had me do a sleep test for sleep apnea; I was surprised by the results. Google it. 

[ashwolve]

@Stephjboyd that was an interesting read - so did they figure out if they can easily resolve this or is it going to be more timely?? I notice that the actions to help ease it on the NHS website are the same as easing a multitude of ailments which including stopping smoking, not drinking alcohol and caffeine in the evenings and regular exercise,  (that covers 90% of issues of the body nowadays) apparently they check for iron deficiency as well and supplements can help,

my issue is weight I know that - I think I wake myself from snoring although my ex said I didn't snore bad so I am thinking did I have the same as you and she left cos I kept kicking her 🙂 .

hope there is something they can do - I know what a drag it is if you don't get a decent regular sleep pattern - I have managed to et mine from approx. 4 hrs to between 5-6 hours so far so I will give them credit exercise does help in that instance.

good luck and hope its not too disruptive on your sleep

Kind Regards

Wayne

[Stephjboyd]

On medication for it. I am sleeping a lot better, but still have lots of little red ticks on my graph so I’m not sure why. I feel better rested and have less wake times with medication. My iron levels were fine. The neurologist said it is a problem with gaba in the brain and it is essential to be medicated for it. 

[ashwolve]

The Red ticks on the graph could be as mentioned below, due to turning in your sleep, temperature (restlessness) I have loads of a minute of less - these normally occur during or as you are about to come out of light sleep - the ones you need to check more is the ones over 3 mins to see if you can correlate them with anything (ie getting up for a drink of water etc) - my under a minute can range from 15-40 ticks over a 4h -5h45 min sleep period (this will show in the red bar as ie 21x awake) 16 of those may be small ticks from turning over, throwing off bed cloths or pulling them up/tighter around you)

I am guessing your meds are amino acid supplement based (most common) - has your doc mentioned whether or not a change in diet could possible reduce the need for them - im not a medical expert and I am sure there is more to it but sometimes diet can help in some cases.,

glad you feel better and hope it continues - the day after is always more fulfilled after a good rest

Kind Regards

Wayne

[Stephjboyd]

Thanks! That helps!
Stephanie

[hamb0ne10]

I have a bunch of these too. I believe they are moments of restlessness. Like I have restless legs and it affects my arms too, so I twitch throughout the night. I believe these little red lines are times where the Fitbit noticed my movements but they were of such short duration that it did not warrant an actual lift in the graph bar.