Herbie Murray
Fitbit devices have a robust sleep tracking function that can help users understand their sleep patterns and quality. Fitbit's sleep feature estimates sleep stages using a combination of movement and heart-rate patterns. When the device senses that the user hasn't moved for about an hour, it assumes that they are asleep. It also tracks the beat-to-beat changes in the user's heart rate, known as heart rate variability (HRV), which fluctuate as the user transitions between light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep stages. By tracking their sleep with a Fitbit, users can gain insights into their sleep habits and make improvements to their nightly routines to achieve better sleep.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Sleep tracking method | Fitbit uses an accelerometer, optical photoplethysmography (PPG), and heart rate tracking to estimate sleep stages |
| Sleep stages | Light sleep, deep sleep, REM sleep |
| Sleep score | Based on heart rate, time spent awake or restless, and sleep stages; scores range from 72-83 out of 100 |
| Sleep profile | Available with a Fitbit Premium subscription; includes a sleep avatar and a monthly overview |
| Sleep data | Hours slept, sleep score, sleep schedule, sleep stages, sleep quality, restoration, sleep duration |
| Sleep benefits | Understanding sleep patterns, improving sleep, managing stress, assessing health conditions |
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How Fitbit tracks sleep
Fitbit uses a combination of movement and heart-rate patterns to estimate your sleep stages. When you haven't moved for about an hour, your tracker or smartwatch assumes that you're asleep. Additional data, such as the length of time of movements that are indicative of sleep behaviour (like rolling over), can also help confirm that you're asleep.
While you sleep, your device tracks the beat-to-beat changes in your heart rate, known as heart rate variability (HRV). These numbers fluctuate as you transition between light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep stages. When you sync your device in the morning, it uses your movement and heart rate patterns to estimate your sleep cycles from the previous night.
Fitbit's sleep researchers and the National Sleep Foundation describe the following sleep stages: Light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep. Light sleep serves as your entry point into sleep each night as your body unwinds and slows down. Periods of deep sleep are typically longer earlier in the night, while REM sleep periods are longer towards the end of the night. During a sleep cycle, you commonly switch from light sleep to deep sleep, then back to light sleep, and into REM sleep, and then the cycle generally repeats.
The Fitbit Versa infers when you're sleeping and what stage of sleep you're in using an accelerometer (an instrument for measuring bodily accelerations of the wrist) coupled with a technique called optical photoplethysmography, or PPG. PPG measures blood flow based on how green light from an LED on the back of the watch is reflected by the body.
Fitbit also offers a Sleep Score, which is a sum of your individual scores using three components: sleep duration, sleep quality, and restoration, for a total score of up to 100. The restoration component includes an estimated oxygen variation graph, which can indicate variations or disturbances in breathing during sleep.
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Sleep score
Sleep is an essential component of health, and its timing, duration, and quality are critical determinants of a person’s overall health. Fitbit's sleep score gives you valuable insights into your sleep habits and sleep quality. It is a comprehensive metric that breaks down your sleep patterns into a single, digestible figure.
Your Fitbit sleep score primarily depends on three factors: sleep duration, quality of sleep, and restoration, which includes sleeping heart rate and restlessness. The more you sleep, the better your Fitbit sleep score. Sleep quality is measured by different stages of sleep: REM, light, and deep. Fitbit combines sleep stage data with heart rate to calculate your final sleep score.
To calculate your sleep score, Fitbit uses several factors like sleep duration, depth, sleep stages, sleeping heart rate, and restlessness to rate your quality of sleep from 0 to 100. The sleep score is based on heart rate, the time spent awake or restless, and sleep stages. The overall sleep score is a sum of your individual scores using three components: sleep duration, sleep quality, and restoration, for a total score of up to 100. Most people get a score between 72 and 83.
You can check your sleep score by wearing your Fitbit tracker or device to bed and syncing it in the morning. Then, open the Fitbit app, tap your sleep duration tile from the Today tab and glance over the sleep score. You can also check your sleep score from your wearable.
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Sleep stages
Sleep is an essential component of health, impacting everything from a person's daily mood to their appetite, physical activity, and chronic conditions. Sleep scientists recognize three main sleep stages: REM sleep, deep sleep, and light sleep.
REM sleep, or rapid eye movement sleep, is when a person is most likely to be dreaming. It has been shown to play an important role in mood regulation, learning, and memory as your brain processes and consolidates information from the previous day so that it can be stored in your long-term memory. REM sleep is also associated with vivid dreams and periods of REM sleep typically become longer as the night goes on. During REM sleep, your brain becomes more active, your heart rate increases, and your breathing becomes more irregular.
Deep sleep is a restorative phase for the mind and body. It typically occurs in the first few hours of sleep and is associated with feeling refreshed in the morning. During deep sleep, the body becomes less responsive to outside stimuli, making it harder to be awakened.
Light sleep is the entry point into sleep each night as the body unwinds and slows down. This stage typically begins within minutes of falling asleep and is characterized by a slight decrease in breathing and heart rate. Light sleep promotes mental and physical recovery.
Fitbit devices with heart-rate tracking can be used to track sleep stages. Fitbit estimates sleep stages by using movement and heart-rate patterns. When the device doesn't detect movement for about an hour, it assumes the wearer is asleep. It also tracks beat-to-beat changes in heart rate, known as heart rate variability (HRV), which fluctuate as the wearer transitions between sleep stages. In the morning, the device syncs the data to estimate sleep cycles from the previous night.
While Fitbit's sleep staging can be a useful tool to understand sleep patterns, it is important to note that it may not always be accurate. Wrist-worn sleep trackers like Fitbit cannot measure brain electrical activity directly like a laboratory sleep study, so they rely on other metrics such as physical movement, pulse rate, and breathing to infer the sleep stage.
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Sleep patterns
Sleep is an essential component of health and wellbeing, impacting everything from mood to appetite, physical activity, and chronic conditions. Fitbit's sleep feature helps users understand their sleep patterns and quality. The device automatically detects sleep when the user wears it to bed, provided it is worn snugly on the wrist. It uses movement and heart-rate patterns to estimate sleep cycles and stages.
Fitbit devices with heart-rate tracking can record the different sleep stages a person cycles through. Typically, the body goes through several sleep cycles that last around 90 minutes each. These cycles alternate between two types of sleep: Light Sleep and Deep Sleep. Light sleep is the entry point into sleep each night, where the body unwinds and slows down. During this stage, a person may drift between being awake and asleep, remaining somewhat alert and easily awoken. Deep sleep usually occurs in the first few hours of sleep, and it becomes harder to wake a person up during this stage.
As the night progresses, periods of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep become longer. This stage is associated with vivid dreams and plays a crucial role in mood regulation, learning, and memory consolidation. While in REM sleep, the brain processes and consolidates information from the previous day, storing it in long-term memory.
Fitbit devices infer the user's sleep stage by measuring movement and heart rate. When there is no movement for about an hour, the device assumes the user is asleep. It also considers additional data, such as the length of time spent in sleep behaviours like rolling over. The device tracks beat-to-beat changes in heart rate, known as heart rate variability (HRV), which fluctuate as a person transitions between light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep.
The Fitbit app provides a Sleep Score, which is a sum of individual scores in three components: sleep duration, sleep quality, and restoration. Users can also access their sleep schedule, which includes bedtime and wake-up times, and sleep stages, showing the number of hours spent in each sleep stage. By tracking sleep patterns over time, Fitbit users can gain insights into their sleep habits and make adjustments to improve their sleep quality.
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Sleep quality
Fitbit devices with heart-rate tracking can monitor sleep stages, including light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep. Light sleep serves as the entry point into sleep, where the body unwinds and slows down. Deep sleep usually occurs in the first few hours, and it becomes harder to awaken an individual during this stage. REM sleep, characterised by rapid eye movement, is associated with dreaming and plays a crucial role in mood regulation, learning, and memory consolidation.
Fitbit estimates sleep stages by utilising movement and heart-rate patterns. When the device detects no movement for about an hour, it assumes the wearer is asleep. Additional data, such as the duration of movements indicative of sleep behaviour, help confirm the sleep status. Beat-to-beat changes in heart rate, known as heart rate variability (HRV), are tracked to identify transitions between different sleep stages.
The Fitbit Sleep Score provides a quick assessment of sleep quality, based on heart rate, time spent awake or restless, and sleep stages. The score ranges from 0 to 100, with most users scoring between 72 and 83. This score helps users gauge their sleep quality and identify areas for improvement. Fitbit Premium offers guided programs developed with sleep experts to help users achieve deeper sleep and improve their nighttime routines.
By tracking sleep with Fitbit, users can gain insights into their sleep patterns, identify potential sleep issues, and make necessary adjustments to enhance their sleep quality. This information can empower individuals to prioritise their sleep health and, consequently, positively impact their overall health and well-being.
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Frequently asked questions
Fitbit devices use movement and heart-rate patterns to estimate sleep cycles. When you haven't moved for about an hour, your Fitbit assumes you're asleep. It also uses additional data, such as the length of time of movements that indicate sleep behaviour, like rolling over.
Sleep can be broadly divided into rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. REM sleep is when a person is most likely to be dreaming, while NREM sleep is when a person is more likely to be in a dreamless sleep. NREM sleep is further divided into light sleep and deep sleep.
Fitbit estimates sleep stages by using an accelerometer, which measures bodily accelerations of the wrist, along with optical photoplethysmography (PPG), which measures blood flow based on how green light from an LED on the back of the watch is reflected by the body.
The Fitbit Sleep Score is a quick way to gauge your sleep. It is based on heart rate, the time spent awake or restless, and sleep stages. The overall sleep score is a sum of individual scores in three components: sleep duration, sleep quality, and restoration, for a total score of up to 100.
