Fitbit Charge 2, Charge 3, Flex, Sense, Alta, One, Blaze, Versa, and Versa Lite among others can detect sleep when they are put on. So, Can Fitbit Track Sleep? Yes! Fitbit can accurately track sleep. You only need to wear it the right way to get accurate sleep data.
RELATED POST: Have a Garmin Watch? Click here to find out if it can also track your nightly sleep.
What are the sleep stages on Fitbit?
Our bodies go through various sleep stages that average 90 minutes. While sleeping you alternate between Light Sleep and Deep sleep stages.
In the two sleep, stages we have the brain more inactive than in REM sleep. Deep sleep happen earlier in the night and they are typically longer.
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep becomes longer as the night grows older. In the Rapid Eye Movement sleep stage, you will be having vivid dreams.
While asleep you will be shifting from light sleep to deep sleep and back then to REM sleep. The sleep pattern is unalterable because it is all-natural.
How Does Fitbit Track Sleep?
Fitbit watches like Fitbit Flex 2, Charge 2, Flex, Versa, and Alta among others can automatically accurately track your sleep stage by combining heart rate patterns and movements.
Fitbit assumes you are down to sleep once when it doesn’t detect anybody’s movement for one hour. Sleep behavior like rolling helps confirm you are down to sleep.
While you sleep Fitbit will track your Heart Variability (HVR) which is heavily affected by the light, deep, and REM sleep stages. A sleep report is provided each morning after combining Heart Rate and movement.
What Does Each Sleep Mean?
Fitbit uses the names used by their Researcher and the National Sleep Foundation to describe sleep in the Fitbit sleep log.
Light Sleep
Light sleep is the first stage of sleep which is the entry point of sleep each time your body slows down because it feels tired.
The Light sleep stage starts the minute you first fall asleep. Heart Rate and breathing also slow during this sleep stage.
Disturbance while in light sleep will awaken you. Most importantly, the light sleep stage is responsible for physical and mental recovery.
Deep Sleep
This sleep pattern takes place after a few hours of light sleep. When in deep sleep the body is less responsive hence it becomes hard to get awakened.
Any morning you wake up and feel so refreshed is an indication that your sleep was deep. Although sleep differs among people as you get older a normal decrease in deep sleep is recorded.
Deep sleep is important for you because it supports the immune system, and promotes memory aspect and physical recovery.
How Do I See My Sleep Stage
To access your sleep data follow these simple steps which are through the Fitbit App. When the morning comes;
- Launch the Fitbit app, then launch your Fitbit.
- Tap Sleep, if you notice Analyzing sleep, give it time because it hasn’t completed the sync process.
- Tap Today or Last Night if you are Windows 10 user
- Tap the expand icon to expand the window to have a better view of your sleep stats. Tap the expand icon again to close.
- To see additional sleep reports scroll to the bottom and tap 30 Day Avg and Benchmark.
How Can I See The Start And End Times Of My Sleep Stages?
The start and end time of your sleep is important because it makes you an insight into your sleep pattern. You can see the start and end of your sleep stages either via Fitbit App or Dashboard.
Fitbit App
- Once you launch the Fitbit App, tap the Today Tab and then the Sleep title.
- Tap on the record of sleep you want to view details.
- Tap the sleep graph, this expands the graph
- Long hold the sleep graph and you will see the sleep stages at different times. Apple users will need to swipe to see the time range.
Fitbit Dashboard
- Once you are logged in head to the dashboard and click the Sleep tile then See More
- Click on the sleep record you wish to see in-depth on
- Put the cursor on the sleep graph and you will see estimates of your sleep stages at different times.
Can This Tell Me If I Have Apnea Or Any Other Sleep Disorder?
With sleep stages, Fitbit will be able to help you identify your sleep variations and monitor your sleeping behavior/pattern.
A doctor is the best solution to run to when you have any sleep concerns. Also, see the National Sleep Foundation for more sleep information.
Why Do I See Awake Minutes?
A typical adult might awaken 10 to 30 times each night. And that explains why it is normal to see them awake for minutes in sleep stages.
Most of these wake-ups cannot be remembered because most of the time you fall right back to sleep without even noticing.
The more wakes you experience during your sleep the more you wake up in the morning unsatisfied with sleep.
Fitbit uses the time you spent restless and awake to total awake minutes to help you understand your sleep cycle better.
Why Don’t I See My Sleep Stages Today?
A few times you will see your time restless, asleep, and awake which are your sleep pattern instead of light, REM, and deep which are the sleep stages.
This results when Fitbit is worn loosely or the sleep position prevented the activity tracker from getting consistent Heart Rate Variability.
Therefore make sure your Fitbit Charge 2, Charge 3, Charge 4, Charge 5, Flex, Sense, Alta, Alta HR, Versa, Versa Lite Edition, or Blaze is worn the right way on the right preferably 2 to 3 fingers above the ulna (wrist bone).
You will see your sleep pattern instead of your sleep stages because you slept for not more than two hours.
You also don’t see your sleep stages because your battery is critically low. You will need to charge your Fitbit to completion if you want to track your sleep.
Why Don’t I See My Sleep Stages for Naps?
There are no sleep stages for short periods of sleep. And that is because Fitbits need at least 3 hours of sleep to estimate any sleep data.
Can I Edit My Sleep Stages
You can manually edit your sleep stages if the sleep start and end are not correct to have a better reflection of your sleep. Editing your sleep data will result to start and end gaps in your sleep stages.
You may also want to know if Fitbits can make calls or monitor cycling.
