What is the normal range of sleep efficiency for sensitive tracking?

[NewBee117]

Just wonder if anyone knows the normal range of sleep efficiency using sensitive tracking? I thought I was a good sleeper, but Fitbit said I am getting only 45-55%.

[Spryguy]

Hey Newbee, I have sleep apnea (which means i normally dont sleep well) and I score a 90-100% in this area, this make me wonder how accurate this part of the device is.

Do you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night?

Do you find yourself not feeling refreshed?

Do you wake up with Headaches?

if you answered yes and have these symtoms normally then I would talk to your doctor, maybe your not sleeping as well as you think. if not then try the fitbit in a different spot (ankle, arm, pocket) see if this gives you a different reading.

Let me know if any of this was helpful, Have a great day!

[SandyDKY]

Hi.  I've been using the FitBit Force for just over a month now.  I get a sleep efficiency in the upper 90%.  I have sleep apnea and use a CPAP.  I have been wondering how accurate these are as far as sleep goes too.

[NewBee117]

I do get over 90% efficiency with the setting of "Use Normal Tracker". I am a morning person and majority of the days I wake up refresh and ready for the day.

The percentage given by the "Use Sensitive Tracker" setting is what surprises me. I wonderful if I can improve the % or I am within the normal range. Anyone have overnight sleep in the 90 percentile?

[MikeCanDoIt]

I get 90% on the standard sleep setting but only about 40% on sensitive.  Typically only about 3 hours of restful sleep as they define it.

What's very odd is that sometimes I wake up and grab my phone and read for a bit before turning off sleep mode.  The activity of moving with my phone wasn't enough to register as restless which shocked me.

[hipur650]

I wonder where you guys are finding the efficiency % because, I don't see it anywhere (I'm on the fitbit one).

[hipur650]

Nevermind, I went back to my dashboard and roamed around with the sleep tile and found it.

[Janjan]

I have sleep apnoea and sleep with a CPAP machine.  My sleep percentage varies between 58 to 69% on Sensitive/Non Dominant.  I've  been fairly restless and dream a lot.  For me, I think this is a fairly good representation of my sleep. I always wake feeling very groggy and rarely refreshed.  After viewing the daily reports I see why.  I made the assumpution when I first bought the CPAP machine that I would magically sleep peacefully for 6 to 8 hours each night. Ha! Wrong.  I'm lucky if it's 3.5 to 4.5 hours per night.

[NewBee117]

Janjan, thanks for sharing the numbers. Many of you mention the CPAP machine, maybe I need one as well. At least I like to have one to see if it would increse my percentage under sensitive tracking.

[HenkPoley]

In scientific papers, 'sleep efficiency' means the time you actually sleep, divided by the time you have spent in bed. So if you have a sleep depriving disease such as sleep apnea, you will fall asleep really quick (you are tired most of the time), and you "efficiency" can be a high percentage. 

[Janjan]

That isn't always correct.  It takes me between 20 to 45 minutes if at all to fall asleep.  I'm a cronic insomniac. Whether I wear my mask or not I normally feel tired and it takes me the same length of time (roughly) to sleep.  The big difference is when I wake.  If I use my machine I'm headache free - without it I have awful headaches.  Mind you I haven't tried the Fitbit without the machine - the comparison might be interesting.

[NikL]

CPAP users can't move around that much and that may be why the Fitbit is saying your efficency is so high. I know when I used one I felt pinned to the bed and my back (which is why I ultimately gave it up). The Fitbit tracks movement as wakefulness so perhaps that is the reason. 

[SunsetRunner]

Go back to settings and change to normal

[Smoph]

I worked in sleep research , and accelerometers (in the fitbits) are reasonably good for detecting sleep versus awake (about a 91 - 94%). They are rubbish for detecting whether movement happens as part of a sleep state (different phases of normal sleep). 

Also, for the folks with CPAP, if your CPAP is working as it should, it shouldn't be surprising that you have good sleep efficiencies--after all, it should be putting it back to what would be your normal.

[wy4ever]

Hi, so which one would you recommend for a more accurate setting then, sensitive or normal? Thanks so much!

[acanelas]

any advice to improve sleep efficiency?

[NewBee117]

• Make everyday exciting. The more the brain is challenged, the better chance of a good sleep.
• Try different bedroom/bed if that is an option.
• Eat balanced / health food.
• Have a good routine.
• The list goes on, and your Fitbit put your effort in numbers...

[NewBee117]

You can build your own basedline with normal or sensitive settings. For me, sensitive seems to have more room for motivation.

[Manticone]

I get 60% sleep efficiency most nights (lately higher if I exhaust myself). I don't know what 'normal' is considered to be.

[Manticone]

Spryguy - I wake up with headaches almost every morning! My doctors tell me that I suffer from migraines and cluster headaches, though, and that my poor sleep isn't causing them. 😕 (They also told me not to worry about my headaches unless I start passing out).

Suffice it to say, I try to better my health on my own, reading and changing my lifestyle. I think a reliance on doctors can sometimes be detrimental to health, actually (or maybe I just have very shoddy doctor experiences?) XD

But yeah, every morning...pounding headaches. Sometimes I wake up and vomit. I think I have sinus problems too, because I can rarely breathe through my nose. The only drug that helped was Reactine with Psuedoephedrine, but that elevates your heart rate and you can't stay on it long term. It's sort of a chicken-and-egg problem because my rhinitis (they call it non-allergenic idiopathic rhinitis) seems to get MUCH worse if I don't get much rest (which makes me think it's akin to an immune system issue), but I can't sleep well if I can't breathe well. Also, those nasal patches don't work for me. Neither do netti pots. It is physically blocked...almost swollen. One night I even woke up with constriction in my throat (wheezing). They tested for asthma...nothing. They said my immune system is overreacting to everything, that it is not hayfever, and basically said...they don't know how to fix it. 😕

So one of my goals is to take liquid melatonin every night for the next couple weeks, totally cut out any mucoidal causing foods, do everything in my power to breathe more easily (add immune boosting supplements to my diet) and then try to get to bed before the swollen/ wheezingness starts up. Hopefully, with more sleep (and more oxygen!) the headaches will depart. The last month, I have had chronic migraines and cluster headaches, and headaches every morning, peaking in the morning actually, but generally...ever present. Ibuprofin doesn't work either, any more, and I have to be careful with NSAIDS because I have a history of ulcers and gastritis. Argh. Annoying.

I feel for people who wake up in pain daily. Not fun.