SOL31: Sleep Monitors

            The Fitbit I bought a couple of years ago is supposed to keep track of my sleep, as well as my steps. However, it has never worked properly. And it’s not just this one Fitbit. The first one I had was lost, and the second and third ones just stopped worked after several months. Not one of them has recorded the sleep that I know I’ve had or haven’t had. In other words, when I have actually been awake for an hour or more in the middle of the night, Fitbit thinks I was asleep, while it often shows gaps of one or two or more hours when I am pretty sure I was asleep.

            Here’s how off it can be. Last night I got into bed around 11:40, read for a while, and turned off the light just after midnight. Woke briefly just before 1 a.m., again at 3 a.m., and woke up for good at 8:45. Fitbit thinks I lay down at 11:24 p.m., shows a period of wakefulness for a while, then thinks I was up and about between 1:10 and 3:09 a.m. I feel like the device is gaslighting me.

            My doctor last week recommended another app, for my phone, called Sleep Cycle, and it looks much more accurate, showing me asleep between 1 and 3 a.m., including at least one period of deep sleep just before waking at 3, and then going back to sleep.

            Do you use any of these apps for monitoring steps and/or sleep? What’s your experience with them?

-------------------------------------

I’m participating in the 12th annual Slice of Life Challenge over at Two Writing Teachers. This is day 1 of the 31-day challenge.  It’s not too late to make space for daily writing in a community that is encouraging, enthusiastic, and eager to read what you have to slice about.  Join in!