Key Takeaways
- A Fitbit may not track your sleep perfectly, so wear it on your wrist for accurate results.
- Adjust Sleep Sensitivity settings on your Fitbit for more detailed sleep tracking data.
- Be honest about your bedtime and reset your Fitbit device if necessary for optimal performance.
Picture this scenario: You wake up feeling groggy and sore, even though you didn’t do much of a workout the day before. You tossed and turned a lot during the night and can’t figure out why. The first thing you do is check your sleep tracker for insight. But the data it provides is inconclusive. This is a frustrating situation that has probably happened to you or someone you know.
While sleep trackers can provide a variety of data on how you slept the night before, the truth of the matter is they aren’t perfect. Similar to how a pedometer may miss a few steps or how an activity tracker may not correctly recognize a workout, sleep trackers can fail to properly record data. When you’ve relied on a Fitbit, you hope that it does catch everything as most models come with advanced heart rate monitors and other sensors.
Thankfully, there are some things you can do to help your Fitbit track your sleep more effectively. Some of these tweaks are incredibly simple, while others take a step or two. But if you do them, your Fitbit will be better set up to correctly track your sleep and help you answer the question as to why you’re not getting the rest you want.
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1 Change how you wear your Fitbit
Wearing it on your wrist is essential
Let’s start with the basics. Each Fitbit is designed to be worn as a watch of sorts, and each devices comes in two parts: the tracker itself and the bands that attach to it. You can change up the bands if you want a more stylish way to wear your Fitbit. There are a lot of different options, from rubber to metal and more.
However, in order to obtain the best sleep tracking, you want to wear your Fitbit on your wrist. This will ensure the tracker stays close to the pulse points on your wrist, allowing it to better measure your skin temperaturer, heart rate, and more. Some people put their Fitbit on a clip or toss it in their pocket to count steps. That is not an accurate way to measure your sleep. You also want to make sure that your Fitbit is on snugly.
Fitbit
The Fitbit mobile app is the hub where all your Fitbit data is stored. You also can’t use one of the company’s devices without the software. So ensuring you’re running the latest version can fix a lot of issues.
2 Make sure the settings are right for you
Enabling Sleep Sensitivity can make a significant difference
Just as any other device, your Fitbit features different customization settings that can be toggled on and off to make it work better for you. If you’ve ever used a Ring doorbell camera and you had your proximity settings configured to trigger too far away from your home, you can relate to this point. Making sure your Fitbit’s Sleep Sensitivity settings are optimized is vital. To adjust your device’s Sleep Sensitivity settings, follow these steps:
- From the dashboard of the Fitbit app, navigate to the Account tab.
- Scroll down and select Advanced Settings.
- Tap Sleep Sensitivity.
- Select between Normal and Sensitive.
The Sensitive setting takes your Fitbit’s sleep tracking to the next level, breaking down when you’re restless, awake, nodding off, or asleep. This will provide you more information as to how long it takes you to fall back asleep after a disturbance.
3 Take your bedtime into your own hands
Be honest about when you lay down to sleep
Most of us like to think that we’re consistent about when we go to bed each day but that frequently isn’t the case. If you’ve set your Fitbit to manage your bedtime, you need to adjust it each day to provide it with an accurate estimate. If you tell your Fitbit that you’re going to sleep at 10 PM and you don’t actually go to bed until 11 PM, your data will be skewed. To change your bedtime:
- Open the Fitbit app on your phone, and navigate to the Today tab.
- Tap the Sleep duration tile.
- Tap the three-dots icon, then tap Settings.
- Under bedtime reminder, toggle the Reminder switch.
- Set the time and frequency.
4 Reset the device
When all else fails
You can reset your Fitbit if you still aren’t getting the results you want. You can also uninstall and reinstall the Fitbit app, which could fix potential issue. Make sure you’ve installed the latest version of the Fitbit app. Separately, keeping your Fitbit clean will also go a long way toward ensuring all of its sensors work properly. Finally, make sure the Fitbit is charged as well.
FAQ
Q: Do Fitbits make good sleep trackers?
Fitbit devices are known for their sleep tracking abilities, as they’re reliable and don’t feature sharp edges. Fitbit also has its own Sleep Score metrics, which take into account your sleep quality and duration, among other stats. If you pay for Fitbit Premium, your device can provide deeper insights into your scores with more detailed data that can tell you how long you spent in each stage of sleep.
The higher your daily Sleep Score, the more likely you are to feel rested and recovered in the morning. A low score, meanwhile, likely indicates you slept poorly the night before. Fitbit devices feature many sensors that work together to compile your Sleep Score, so it isn’t just one stat that is the basis of Fitbit’s estimate of how well you slept. We think the Fitbit Sense 2 is the ideal sleep tracker; it’s lightweight and comfortable to wear while tracking your sleep well, even if yoo don’t pay for Fitbit Premium.
Fitbit devices will also give you other data — such as your SpO2, heart rate, skin temperature — to give you a wider look at how your body is doing at all times. The Fitbit app, which is simple to navigate and easy to use, is where you’ll find this data as it pulls it all from the tracker itself. Most Fitbits these days have some form of sleep tracking technology, so you’re not forced to choose just one option.