Sleep score does not reflect how I actually slept

[RitaCastro]

HI there,

I have been noticing that the sleep score I am getting does not reflect the actual night's sleep.

For instance, I have scored an 85 of sleep score on a night in which I had a major migraine, got up, took a pill, went to the bathroom, sat on the bed for some time, rolled on the bed with pain... And fitbit recorded me sleeping and hit an 85 of sleep score. HOW?

On other occasions, I have had good hours of sleep, wake up rested and the sleep score registers 70ish or less. How?

Cheers,

Rita

[RiekoC]

Hi @RitaCastro 

Sorry to see you had such a terrible night with a bad migraine. 

This excerpt from What should I know about Fitbit Sleep Stages explains how your Fitbit device determines if you're asleep: 

Fitbit estimates your sleep stages using a combination of your movement and heart-rate patterns. When you haven’t moved for about an hour, your tracker or watch assumes that you’re asleep. Additional data—such as the length of time your movements are indicative of sleep behavior (such as rolling over, etc.)—help confirm that you’re asleep.

As you know, your sleep score is comprise of 3 parts: Time asleep - 50 pts, Deep & REM (sleep) - 25 pts, & Restoration - 25 pts. To get an understanding on your sleep score, you'd have to look at each of the 3 parts. On your bad night, your Fitbit probably recorded you as asleep when you were awake but not moving around much. If it recorded a good score for REM & deep sleep as well as Restoration, that probably bumped you up to 85. On your better nights, if your score was on the low side for REM & deep sleep and for Restoration, then you get a score in the 70's. 

I often wake up before I'm ready to get up, then lay in bed not moving much, which gets recorded as REM or light sleep. Knowing that I can "fool" my Fitbit so it records me as sleeping, I consider the sleep data as interesting but don't rely on it to be extremely accurate. 

The most important thing is that you feel refreshed and rested after your sleep. I suggest that you don't stress too much about the score.