Both my S and I have poor sleep issues, and we are considering medical intervention, especially for my S. Wondering if anyone has used Fitbit for sleep issues and can report their experience? Not sure if it is worth the price just to experiment with the sleep data.
I get the Fitbit for exercise benefit, but not sure if the sleep thing is overrated or if it truly gives correct data that can make a difference in changing sleep patterns and ultimately getting a better night’s sleep.
Have you done a sleep study?
You might try these tips to improve sleep hygiene.
http://sleepfoundation.org/ask-the-expert/sleep-hygiene
There’s a great free sleep hygiene app for iphone written by a friend of mine: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/best-sleep-hygiene/id804014317?mt=8
If sleep hygiene improvement doesn’t help, I would recommend seeing a sleep specialist MD.
I have fitbit HR Charge with sleep function and H has Jawbone with sleep function. My fitbit shows in detail when I woke up, how many times and minutes was awake or restless. His Jawbone records REM and deep sleep and times he woke up. Both are interesting. We have discovered that something wakes H every night between 3 and 3:45. He then gets up to use the bathroom and then I wake up. Time to investigate.
It’s entirely normal to get up during the night. In the old days, one common phrasing was the night was divided into 2 sleeps, one big and one little. It was considered normal to get up and do something for a bit until going back to sleep. Ben Franklin said he did his best reading then.
My brother has a sleep lab. It’s mostly for identifying people with physical problems - like apnea, like some other medical condition (sinuses, etc.) - which interrupt sleep so much it’s destroyed.
My wife has sleep issues. From what I’ve learned, women often have them, particularly after having a child: trouble getting to sleep, easily disturbed from sleep, hard time going back to sleep. The only thing that has helped is a white noise machine because that masks all other sound and that makes it possible for her to fall asleep, reduces disturbances that wake her and allows her to fall back to sleep. We use the MarPac Dohm old-fashioned white noise generator, but when traveling I (and we) use an app on the phone. My favorite is White Noise. It has a huge assortment of sounds and it’s so effective I sometimes use it through headphones when I’m working (usually ocean beach waves or one of the waterfalls).
If I have a suggestion, it’s that you try at least an app to see if that helps. It takes some days before your mind relaxes and lets you sleep but it has worked for us. Medical help with sleep can be exhausting and stressful on its own.
This is a helpful screening questionnaire to determine risk for obstructive sleep apnea: http://www.stopbang.ca/screen.php