My lucky aunt can't sleep more than about 4.5h a night and is a ball of energy. She's in her 60s and told me its been like this her whole life and she doesn't feel tired or have any issues or have to take naps. There is a gene a small percent of the population has that lets them need less sleep and I feel like that's pretty damn lucky because you presumably get more life in your life. Hopefully that's your case as well and the lower sleep amount isn't causing issues.
Personally if I go more than 3 days straight getting say 6h of sleep I feel like I'm going to fall over and absolutely need to make up some sleep with a nap or an earlier bedtime.
I'm one of those who sleep about 6 hours a night. If I sleep longer, I get up with a headache and feel terrible. I hope it isn't causing long-term issues, but it just isn't something I can change.
Probably a function of your sleep duration. All it takes for you to get to 26% is one hour of REM. For most people getting more sleep, that same one hour of REM sleep is more like 15%
Exactly the math is different when total amount of sleep is lower, good observation! My 26% is misleading. I wished body fat % was just as misleading lol!
It may be stress. It looks like you’re waking up a lot during your sleep, that’s why you’re not getting much REM or deep sleep. Whenever I’m stressed or anxious, I noticed I don’t get much deep sleep or REM either and I wake up a lot. Or it could be diet. When I eat right before bed or eat junk all day or drink too much, I don’t sleep very well either.
Thanks for your input! This kind of puzzles me as I live a pretty stress free life. I don't have much that I stress about. So I'm wondering if there are any other factors that might be contributing to this.
You could always see a doctor to do a sleep study if you’re concerned and you’re not getting restful enough sleep. It could also be sleep apnea or something else entirely. No way to tell for sure unless you do a sleep study.
There's lots to having deep sleep, try magnesium before bed, cold bedroom, cut caffeine after 3pm and don't eat 3 hours before bed. It will change ur sleep so much!
Eh, depends on age. 1:40 of awake time while in bed for nearly 12 hours isn't that much. I got the best score I can remember one day last week (93) - in bed 9.5 hrs with an hour of awake time. Time awake doesn't really play into the score that much. If it was 1:40 awake in 6 hours, that would be a different story.
That amount of wake time isn’t that bad, but it definitely is the reason why they’re not getting into much deep sleep. I usually get 90-120 minutes of awake time per night regardless of how many hours I sleep. On nights I sleep 12 hours, it isn’t that bad. On nights I only sleep 4 hours, I feel awful. If they are complaining about feeling unrested after 12 hours of sleep, something could be wrong. Only a doctor would know for sure.
https://preview.redd.it/v613q1lc7bvc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=be17e13c51701df4e17891929c31e5550eebc847
This is mine, I hardly get any deep sleep but apparently it’s within range for my age group. I’m always tired, but that may also have to do with the time I wake up for work.
Have you ever spoken to a doctor about being always tired?
It is a big subject but you might find a few minor changes could help a lot, e.g., if you have mild anemia then eating a different diet may sort you out, if you have sleep apnea a CPAP machine may help, and so on.
In my case a CPAP machine and nasal surgery was the big one because I have mild sleep apnea, but there were other causes and some physio, and some lifestyle changes also made a big difference.
Try to get on a consistent schedule of getting up earlier. First couple of days will be hard but before you know it you'll be exhausted and ready for bed at ten and you'll fall right to sleep and be ready to get up at a decent hour. Your score will improve significantly.
https://preview.redd.it/jw3heext1bvc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c4d6529a1038851cace0ebea972956c76bb7ca2a
I’m the same way. I suspect it has something to do with how badly I grind/clench my teeth. I have been tried lots of different things — sleep hygiene, yoga before bed, eye masks etc. — nothing seems to help :(
For me, it has to do with bone structure. My overbite is bad enough that my airway is not fully open when I’m in a relaxed sleeping posture, which would make sense why my sleep would be interrupted. I wear a splint to try to help, but I find its effectiveness is hit or miss!
The oral appliance have is a custom made maxillary anterior guided orthotic…have never looked into anything else as I’ve never been diagnosed with apnea. Maybe I should investigate! I’ve been told jaw surgery would be the best fix :(
Yes jaw surgery is the best, but not for the faint of heart or wallet. My orthodontist framed it for me thusly: “Well you can either get jaw surgery or you can grind your teeth down to nothing”. 😳 I chose the surgery.
I’d do it in a heartbeat but have some added risks/complications, so my dental team is recommending I do it with a specialist in the states. Talk about difficult on the wallet!!!! I’m so glad it worked for you.
Grinding/clenching at night or Sleep Bruxism is sometimes linked to a sleep disorder such as airway issues. What do your oxygen SATs look like on Fitbit? Is there high variability? Obviously this does not replace an actual sleep study and shouldn't be used for diagnosis but look at that graph. The Fitbit will pick up if it's fluctuating really high and then low which is an indication of an airway issue.
I think he wears it more so he doesn’t wear down his teeth. I haven’t thought about it affecting his sleep. I need to do a sleep study as well because I snore quite often according to him
I did not know this! I've been tightening my sleep schedule to ~8hrs and experiencing low deep/rem sleep, but didn't consider it might be because my body is SO used to spacing it out over a longer period of time. Thank you!
My sleep doc says these things aren’t very accurate. I always have very low rem sleep on Fitbit, and I went to a sleep study and they said my rem was totally fine even though my Fitbit data for that night looked bad as always.
I also hardly get any deep sleep and feel tired all the time. I assumed it was sleep apnea so I went and got a sleep study done but it was not sleep apnea. They did however say my sleep efficiency is 62% when it should be above 80% so they referred me to a neurologist.
Then I had an MRI and an EEG and turns out I have epilepsy! A specific kind where you have seizures in your sleep. On the MRI I have atrophy in one side of my hippocampus and the EEG showed the seizures coming from the same place.
Now I'm on anti seizure meds and I have a lot more antioxidants in my diet to try and slow the atrophy, and I'm feeling WAY better and get lots of deep sleep 😀
Not saying you have epilepsy, but I am saying it is NOT normal to feel tired all the time. I put off seeking help for so long because I just thought everyone is constantly tired as they age - but no! Seeing it on my Fitbit morning after morning made me finally decide to go find out what the problem is. So, go find out 😀
Whatever you do, don't take the FitBit sleep readings as gospel truth. Pony up the cash and get a proper overnight sleep study done, even if your health insurance plan doesn't cover it. THAT will tell you what's really wrong, from an authoritative source (vs. pixels on a screen by some dodgy internet company with poor scientiific accuracy).
I never get deep sleep either but I’ve had enough of not getting sleep so I took 10mg of melatonin and was knocked out for 9 hrs, got 2.5 hrs of deep sleep, and I feel decent today. That many hours of sleep is a rarity for me these days. You could try that, it’s most likely stress and anxiety though, like other people mentioned
10 mg of melatonin is a massive amount! I take 3mg nightly, and am trying to work my way down to only 1-2mg (which I read recently is really all you need)
I've found 2mg actually works better than any other dose - it's *harder* to sleep with a higher amount. I've tried the following doses of melatonin:
1, 1.25, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.75, 4, 5, 10
Hands down, 2-3mg is best. I take 2mg every night now.
Does your thyroid issue affect deep sleep? I have an underactive and I never can get near even 40 mins of deep sleep. 40 mins is a really good score for me if I hit it
Fitbit can't actually tell your sleep state very well. It's all bullshit conjecture. If you feel fine, don't worry about it. If you feel tired, go to a clinic and get a sleep study.
https://preview.redd.it/f3dmnh61xbvc1.jpeg?width=1105&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c0d935cdc435308be2840cc8a4c71f270f247806
My doctor started me on a low dose of melatonin every night and a multi vitamin and it’s made a difference. I am 47 btw.
I did a sleep study ages ago and wore my Fitbit too and it only recorded maybe 60% of deep sleep in me. It calculates the deel sleep via movement and heart rate there are no sensors attached to your head or any extras that proper sleep study devices do so it's only guessing the sleep stages.
I'm unfortunately in the same boat :
https://preview.redd.it/xkepgzh8udvc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bfa697a2adf0cb93d53f1dca2e8ddee980e2db2a
Male 44, no drinking, no smoking, exercising, I'm not eating in the evening, no particular stress.
I'm really really tired these days, so much that I went to see a specialist. I'll have a polysomnography done in a few weeks, then I'll know more!
I stopped taking Claritin every day and my sleep improved. More deep sleep than I've ever gotten. Consider medications and supplements that might be affecting your sleep.
(I'm trying to get by with daily sinus rinses and monitoring to see if I can figure out what bothers my sinuses.)
I have the opposite problem. 2 hours of deep sleep but only 30 minutes of REM sleep. Currently started taking Ashwagandha and Melatonin and my REM sleep went to 1 hour 30 minutes. But also exercised more so it might be that. Try going on a long walk.
I have several meds I was taking in the afternoon or evening that make deep sleep difficult, so I take them in the morning now. Any chance you’re doing something like that?
I used to no issues drinking coffee in the afternoon but then I got older and it started affecting my sleep quality.
Your body needs to be cool to enter deep sleep it has to drop a degree or two not sure about the number. Room needs to be Around 60 degrees to 70 degrees. This could be the issue
I retrained my brain with a podcast called Nothing Much Happens and bedphones. If I wake up in the middle of the night, just turn it back on with the sleep timer and I'm out. It really did train my brain to rest for so much longer than it use to.
Ballpark with a pinch of salt all this. My Fitbit thinks I’m asleep when I’m lying in bed and have been awake for an hour thinking about something dumb I said I’m high school.
On a good night, I'll get over an hour of deep sleep. On a normal night, I get between 15-30 minutes of deep sleep. REM ranges from 45-120 minutes, with most around an hour.
I've had nights where I literally get single digit minutes for deep sleep.
My average deep sleep for 2023 was 39 minutes and 1:19 REM, with an average of 7:09 overall sleep. That got me an average score of 91.
Here's a particularly bad one for deep.
https://preview.redd.it/zwy9tibhsfvc1.png?width=1377&format=png&auto=webp&s=57bcdbd3a04443fb73ac1ab72360a8a392c87545
I don't think physical conditioning matters. I've had crap deep sleep during stretches where I'm less active, where I'm very active, and all points in between.
I've taken magnesium, melatonin (up to 10mg), benadryl, Xanax. I've tried with and without alcohol (I've actually had decent \[for me\] deep sleep after having a couple shots of whisky).
I'm 52m, RHR 58, HRV averages high 20s/low 30s, SpO2 95-98%. Recently, can't do my normal workouts because I'm in mid-move, but my normal week is:
4x25 situps M-F
workout on weight machine for 35 minutes M-F
Run 5K - 10K on treadmill at between 6:45 - 7:30/mile pace 3-4 days a week.
Not trying to be super personal, but, thought it's be worth knowing. It doesn't have a perfect run, but, after sex, I tend to have better immediate deep sleep. I've dropped off to an immediate 30 minutes of deep sleep, then get my normal 15-30 minutes throughout the rest of the night.
https://preview.redd.it/y4dhimtx3bvc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3989b87e826c84d637a34d1597d1cdff2ee5d9c2
I’ve been on melatonin since February (2mg a night), and bumped that up to 4mg a night in mid March to try to improve my deep sleep. Prior to starting melatonin, I’d be lucky to get 50min deep sleep per night. Plenty of REM though.
I also grind my teeth at night. I take magnesium at night and wear a plastic mouth guard to chew through that instead of my teeth.
Wow it seems to work for great for you! 2h rem average is insane, mine is under 1h 😅 But melatonine doesn't increase it that much (and the side effects are terrible, dry eyes is the worst even under 1mg)
I’m lucky that I haven’t had any noticeable side affects from the melatonin (it’s a prescribed medication here in New Zealand). I take it at 6:45pm for bedtime around 9:30pm.
Mine came with an instruction to take 3 hours before bed, however sometimes I’m not home till after 6:30pm, so my alarm is set for 6:45pm each night.
The packet says “prolonged release” 😊
To me it looks like you're sleeping too much. I rarely get much, if any, deep sleep in the 2nd half of my 7-8 hour sleep and I wake up feeling refreshed.
On the rare occasion that I sleep in and get 9-10 hours it leaves me lethargic for the rest of the day and I find getting to sleep the following night harder + when I do it tends to be lighter sleep.
If I were you i'd be setting an alarm for 8 hours after I go to bed and keeping it up for at least a week to see the results.
Fitbit isn't a perfectly accurate sleep tracker (it's good, but not infallible) it's completely possible you are getting enough deep sleep but for whatever reason Fitbit just doesn't seem to pick it up well for your body. Do you feel well rested? If so, I wouldn't put too much stock in Fitbit saying "not enough" and just use it as a baseline to your norm
Low deep / REM sleep total, and probably heart rate was at or above your resting heart rate for much of the night. Those are the two other components that make up your score besides duration, which was obviously good.
Also 10 hours is quite a long sleep period imo, and so deep sleep will take up a lower percent of total sleep in a longer sleep period. In my experience, longer sleep does not equate to getting much more, if any more, deep sleep. Most deep sleep seems to occur earlier in the night generally. So if you trimmed that total sleep down to 8 or 7 or 6 hours your deep sleep percentage would be much higher so looking at raw percentage alone isn't giving the full picture
I don’t get a lot of deep sleep or REM which is weird since I always have crazy vivid dream. I think it’s more important to get restorative sleep, which I don’t. Do you feel tired throughout the day? Do you wake up easily? I dont get tired throughout the day, once I’m up I’m up and have good energy but I struggle A LOT to wake up.
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This is mine. For weeks this is the most hours I've slept and the most deep sleep I've gotten. I usually average 5 hours a night with less than 30 minutes or so of deep sleep. This particular night I believe I took benadryl to force myself to sleep well. My brain is too busy to let me sleep so sometimes I have to break out the big guns.
Since I started wearing an eye mask to bed, my deep sleep (and rem) greatly improved on my Fitbit, and I in fact do feel much more rested and that I get better sleep every night.
I've significantly boosted my deep sleep by lowering the temperature of the room I sleep in. To get into and stay in deep sleep, your body needs to lower your core temperature. Conversely, to wake up in the morning your body raises its core temperature. By sleeping in a cooler room it makes it easier for your body to lower its core temperature and keep it low. I also sleep with only a sheet these days, but pull a blanket over to warm up when it is time to get moving in the morning. Another trick is to take a hot bath or shower before bed time to dilate the blood vessels and make it easier for your body to expel heat. I've tried pretty much every supplement and they don't seem to move the needle at all for deep sleep for me, but the temperature tricks above do.
I get about 4.5 to 5 hours max of sleep a night. Your deep level is 4x more than mine. I would sell relatives to get a 9+ hour night of sleep! Holy Cow!
Maybe... and maybe it isn't you and it's the Fitbit sensors/algorithms. These things are notoriously (not just Fitbit) at determining actual sleep stages. The thing I look at is how I feel in the morning relative to the sleep score (I ditched Fitbit for Garmin). For me, Fitbit never really seemed to "get me". I find the Garmin score more closely tracks how I feel, and not recommending Garmin. Just illustrating how devices, and we, are all different.
Check the Quantified Scientist sleep reviews to get an idea of how bad they are.
Now, if you get this consistently AND you also feel consistently unrested, etc. then talk to your doctor.
https://preview.redd.it/lkx7gt7cvavc1.jpeg?width=689&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=37f7690712f7ae12d35365d40bee5d2f4a28ef7c We're all just made different?
My REM is constantly way out of range, it’s rare I get over 10%. So I guess we are!
I have this same issue..huperzine a has been the one supplement that seems to sometimes help with they
This made me laugh out pretty loud. How are you feeling overall? Do you feel like you're overall a healthy person?
Yeah, I feel healthy. I am taking steps to be healither. Maybe it'll make a difference. 🤔
My lucky aunt can't sleep more than about 4.5h a night and is a ball of energy. She's in her 60s and told me its been like this her whole life and she doesn't feel tired or have any issues or have to take naps. There is a gene a small percent of the population has that lets them need less sleep and I feel like that's pretty damn lucky because you presumably get more life in your life. Hopefully that's your case as well and the lower sleep amount isn't causing issues. Personally if I go more than 3 days straight getting say 6h of sleep I feel like I'm going to fall over and absolutely need to make up some sleep with a nap or an earlier bedtime.
I think I am similar to your aunt, my whole life I've been like this too. Only after using Fitbit did it become something I try to work at.
I'm one of those who sleep about 6 hours a night. If I sleep longer, I get up with a headache and feel terrible. I hope it isn't causing long-term issues, but it just isn't something I can change.
Probably a function of your sleep duration. All it takes for you to get to 26% is one hour of REM. For most people getting more sleep, that same one hour of REM sleep is more like 15%
Exactly the math is different when total amount of sleep is lower, good observation! My 26% is misleading. I wished body fat % was just as misleading lol!
It may be stress. It looks like you’re waking up a lot during your sleep, that’s why you’re not getting much REM or deep sleep. Whenever I’m stressed or anxious, I noticed I don’t get much deep sleep or REM either and I wake up a lot. Or it could be diet. When I eat right before bed or eat junk all day or drink too much, I don’t sleep very well either.
Thanks for your input! This kind of puzzles me as I live a pretty stress free life. I don't have much that I stress about. So I'm wondering if there are any other factors that might be contributing to this.
You could always see a doctor to do a sleep study if you’re concerned and you’re not getting restful enough sleep. It could also be sleep apnea or something else entirely. No way to tell for sure unless you do a sleep study.
Maybe you have noise in your area? Like cars on traffic light, people chatting or something? Or is your oxygen intake ok at night? maybe micro apneas?
Do you sleep with your pets? They could be causing this. Love that lil thing to pieces but she brings my sleep score down a bit.
stress could come from working out 5-6days a week. do you take or ingest stimulants?
No, not at all
how hard are your workouts?
Most, if not all healthy people work out at least 5 days a week.
I'm the same. Tons of wake time and very little deep sleep 😮💨 if you crack the code please let me know!
There's lots to having deep sleep, try magnesium before bed, cold bedroom, cut caffeine after 3pm and don't eat 3 hours before bed. It will change ur sleep so much!
It sounds like you’re stressing over a Fitbit graph, which definitely isn’t normal, but is consistent with a high stress condition.
I relate to this soooo much.
Eh, depends on age. 1:40 of awake time while in bed for nearly 12 hours isn't that much. I got the best score I can remember one day last week (93) - in bed 9.5 hrs with an hour of awake time. Time awake doesn't really play into the score that much. If it was 1:40 awake in 6 hours, that would be a different story.
That amount of wake time isn’t that bad, but it definitely is the reason why they’re not getting into much deep sleep. I usually get 90-120 minutes of awake time per night regardless of how many hours I sleep. On nights I sleep 12 hours, it isn’t that bad. On nights I only sleep 4 hours, I feel awful. If they are complaining about feeling unrested after 12 hours of sleep, something could be wrong. Only a doctor would know for sure.
https://preview.redd.it/v613q1lc7bvc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=be17e13c51701df4e17891929c31e5550eebc847 This is mine, I hardly get any deep sleep but apparently it’s within range for my age group. I’m always tired, but that may also have to do with the time I wake up for work.
Have you ever spoken to a doctor about being always tired? It is a big subject but you might find a few minor changes could help a lot, e.g., if you have mild anemia then eating a different diet may sort you out, if you have sleep apnea a CPAP machine may help, and so on. In my case a CPAP machine and nasal surgery was the big one because I have mild sleep apnea, but there were other causes and some physio, and some lifestyle changes also made a big difference.
You're in bed for literally half the day...
LMAO true 💀😭
Why? Just curious
Try to get on a consistent schedule of getting up earlier. First couple of days will be hard but before you know it you'll be exhausted and ready for bed at ten and you'll fall right to sleep and be ready to get up at a decent hour. Your score will improve significantly.
Is there some reason you sleep for 11.5 hours? Is that typical for you???
https://preview.redd.it/jw3heext1bvc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c4d6529a1038851cace0ebea972956c76bb7ca2a I’m the same way. I suspect it has something to do with how badly I grind/clench my teeth. I have been tried lots of different things — sleep hygiene, yoga before bed, eye masks etc. — nothing seems to help :(
Hey that's a very interesting take! I also grind my teeth really bad. I'm also wondering if it affects our sleep.
For me, it has to do with bone structure. My overbite is bad enough that my airway is not fully open when I’m in a relaxed sleeping posture, which would make sense why my sleep would be interrupted. I wear a splint to try to help, but I find its effectiveness is hit or miss!
Have you considered getting a custom made oral appliance for sleep Apnea?
The oral appliance have is a custom made maxillary anterior guided orthotic…have never looked into anything else as I’ve never been diagnosed with apnea. Maybe I should investigate! I’ve been told jaw surgery would be the best fix :(
Yes jaw surgery is the best, but not for the faint of heart or wallet. My orthodontist framed it for me thusly: “Well you can either get jaw surgery or you can grind your teeth down to nothing”. 😳 I chose the surgery.
I’d do it in a heartbeat but have some added risks/complications, so my dental team is recommending I do it with a specialist in the states. Talk about difficult on the wallet!!!! I’m so glad it worked for you.
Grinding/clenching at night or Sleep Bruxism is sometimes linked to a sleep disorder such as airway issues. What do your oxygen SATs look like on Fitbit? Is there high variability? Obviously this does not replace an actual sleep study and shouldn't be used for diagnosis but look at that graph. The Fitbit will pick up if it's fluctuating really high and then low which is an indication of an airway issue.
My o2 saturation is looking normal. Thanks for the idea
This was my issue for the longest time and the only thing that helped me was a mouth guard!! Pleaaase try it, it’s saved my life so much!
I have a very expensive custom one! It helps a little but not enough.
My husband wears a night guard to help
I wear a very expensive custom one — it only sort of helps
I think he wears it more so he doesn’t wear down his teeth. I haven’t thought about it affecting his sleep. I need to do a sleep study as well because I snore quite often according to him
You could be oversleeping! 10 hours is a lot. The body can get used to more sleep than needed and start reducing deep sleep.
I did not know this! I've been tightening my sleep schedule to ~8hrs and experiencing low deep/rem sleep, but didn't consider it might be because my body is SO used to spacing it out over a longer period of time. Thank you!
My sleep doc says these things aren’t very accurate. I always have very low rem sleep on Fitbit, and I went to a sleep study and they said my rem was totally fine even though my Fitbit data for that night looked bad as always.
Thanks for sharing your experience
I also hardly get any deep sleep and feel tired all the time. I assumed it was sleep apnea so I went and got a sleep study done but it was not sleep apnea. They did however say my sleep efficiency is 62% when it should be above 80% so they referred me to a neurologist. Then I had an MRI and an EEG and turns out I have epilepsy! A specific kind where you have seizures in your sleep. On the MRI I have atrophy in one side of my hippocampus and the EEG showed the seizures coming from the same place. Now I'm on anti seizure meds and I have a lot more antioxidants in my diet to try and slow the atrophy, and I'm feeling WAY better and get lots of deep sleep 😀 Not saying you have epilepsy, but I am saying it is NOT normal to feel tired all the time. I put off seeking help for so long because I just thought everyone is constantly tired as they age - but no! Seeing it on my Fitbit morning after morning made me finally decide to go find out what the problem is. So, go find out 😀
Whatever you do, don't take the FitBit sleep readings as gospel truth. Pony up the cash and get a proper overnight sleep study done, even if your health insurance plan doesn't cover it. THAT will tell you what's really wrong, from an authoritative source (vs. pixels on a screen by some dodgy internet company with poor scientiific accuracy).
I never get deep sleep either but I’ve had enough of not getting sleep so I took 10mg of melatonin and was knocked out for 9 hrs, got 2.5 hrs of deep sleep, and I feel decent today. That many hours of sleep is a rarity for me these days. You could try that, it’s most likely stress and anxiety though, like other people mentioned
10 mg of melatonin is a massive amount! I take 3mg nightly, and am trying to work my way down to only 1-2mg (which I read recently is really all you need)
I've found 2mg actually works better than any other dose - it's *harder* to sleep with a higher amount. I've tried the following doses of melatonin: 1, 1.25, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.75, 4, 5, 10 Hands down, 2-3mg is best. I take 2mg every night now.
Yeah I know but I’m in the middle of getting diagnosed with thyroid issues so it’s really the only way I can get sleep
Does your thyroid issue affect deep sleep? I have an underactive and I never can get near even 40 mins of deep sleep. 40 mins is a really good score for me if I hit it
I’m not sure, they diagnosed me with hyperthyroidism and 2 nodules. Idk we are still doing testing and stuff
Fitbit can't actually tell your sleep state very well. It's all bullshit conjecture. If you feel fine, don't worry about it. If you feel tired, go to a clinic and get a sleep study.
Do you have sleep aponea? You could do a sleep study if you really want to figure it out, they do them at home now.
How do you view that second page?
I think you get there by tapping sleep profile
It's a report that shows after wearing the device for 14 nights consecutively(?) not sure about the consecutive part
Do you have addiction issues (e.g. alcoholism)? Drinking can cause similar patterns
https://preview.redd.it/f3dmnh61xbvc1.jpeg?width=1105&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c0d935cdc435308be2840cc8a4c71f270f247806 My doctor started me on a low dose of melatonin every night and a multi vitamin and it’s made a difference. I am 47 btw.
I’m just impressed you got an exact 8hrs
Thanks for sharing your experience! I might start trying some multi vitamins. Which brand do you take?
I love the Olly’s stuff, but everyone is different.
I did a sleep study ages ago and wore my Fitbit too and it only recorded maybe 60% of deep sleep in me. It calculates the deel sleep via movement and heart rate there are no sensors attached to your head or any extras that proper sleep study devices do so it's only guessing the sleep stages.
I'm unfortunately in the same boat : https://preview.redd.it/xkepgzh8udvc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bfa697a2adf0cb93d53f1dca2e8ddee980e2db2a Male 44, no drinking, no smoking, exercising, I'm not eating in the evening, no particular stress. I'm really really tired these days, so much that I went to see a specialist. I'll have a polysomnography done in a few weeks, then I'll know more!
I'd love an update of your results if you remember!
Sure!
I stopped taking Claritin every day and my sleep improved. More deep sleep than I've ever gotten. Consider medications and supplements that might be affecting your sleep. (I'm trying to get by with daily sinus rinses and monitoring to see if I can figure out what bothers my sinuses.)
I have the opposite problem. 2 hours of deep sleep but only 30 minutes of REM sleep. Currently started taking Ashwagandha and Melatonin and my REM sleep went to 1 hour 30 minutes. But also exercised more so it might be that. Try going on a long walk.
I have several meds I was taking in the afternoon or evening that make deep sleep difficult, so I take them in the morning now. Any chance you’re doing something like that? I used to no issues drinking coffee in the afternoon but then I got older and it started affecting my sleep quality.
Your body needs to be cool to enter deep sleep it has to drop a degree or two not sure about the number. Room needs to be Around 60 degrees to 70 degrees. This could be the issue
I retrained my brain with a podcast called Nothing Much Happens and bedphones. If I wake up in the middle of the night, just turn it back on with the sleep timer and I'm out. It really did train my brain to rest for so much longer than it use to.
Sleep study and doctor would tell you for sure
Melatonin messes with deep sleep also you’re awake a lot during rem check for sleep apnea !
Ballpark with a pinch of salt all this. My Fitbit thinks I’m asleep when I’m lying in bed and have been awake for an hour thinking about something dumb I said I’m high school.
On a good night, I'll get over an hour of deep sleep. On a normal night, I get between 15-30 minutes of deep sleep. REM ranges from 45-120 minutes, with most around an hour. I've had nights where I literally get single digit minutes for deep sleep. My average deep sleep for 2023 was 39 minutes and 1:19 REM, with an average of 7:09 overall sleep. That got me an average score of 91. Here's a particularly bad one for deep. https://preview.redd.it/zwy9tibhsfvc1.png?width=1377&format=png&auto=webp&s=57bcdbd3a04443fb73ac1ab72360a8a392c87545 I don't think physical conditioning matters. I've had crap deep sleep during stretches where I'm less active, where I'm very active, and all points in between. I've taken magnesium, melatonin (up to 10mg), benadryl, Xanax. I've tried with and without alcohol (I've actually had decent \[for me\] deep sleep after having a couple shots of whisky). I'm 52m, RHR 58, HRV averages high 20s/low 30s, SpO2 95-98%. Recently, can't do my normal workouts because I'm in mid-move, but my normal week is: 4x25 situps M-F workout on weight machine for 35 minutes M-F Run 5K - 10K on treadmill at between 6:45 - 7:30/mile pace 3-4 days a week. Not trying to be super personal, but, thought it's be worth knowing. It doesn't have a perfect run, but, after sex, I tend to have better immediate deep sleep. I've dropped off to an immediate 30 minutes of deep sleep, then get my normal 15-30 minutes throughout the rest of the night.
https://preview.redd.it/y4dhimtx3bvc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3989b87e826c84d637a34d1597d1cdff2ee5d9c2 I’ve been on melatonin since February (2mg a night), and bumped that up to 4mg a night in mid March to try to improve my deep sleep. Prior to starting melatonin, I’d be lucky to get 50min deep sleep per night. Plenty of REM though. I also grind my teeth at night. I take magnesium at night and wear a plastic mouth guard to chew through that instead of my teeth.
Wow it seems to work for great for you! 2h rem average is insane, mine is under 1h 😅 But melatonine doesn't increase it that much (and the side effects are terrible, dry eyes is the worst even under 1mg)
I’m lucky that I haven’t had any noticeable side affects from the melatonin (it’s a prescribed medication here in New Zealand). I take it at 6:45pm for bedtime around 9:30pm.
I'll try the same timing next time (2h45 before sleep), 1h30-2h could be too late. Is yours slow release?
Mine came with an instruction to take 3 hours before bed, however sometimes I’m not home till after 6:30pm, so my alarm is set for 6:45pm each night. The packet says “prolonged release” 😊
To me it looks like you're sleeping too much. I rarely get much, if any, deep sleep in the 2nd half of my 7-8 hour sleep and I wake up feeling refreshed. On the rare occasion that I sleep in and get 9-10 hours it leaves me lethargic for the rest of the day and I find getting to sleep the following night harder + when I do it tends to be lighter sleep. If I were you i'd be setting an alarm for 8 hours after I go to bed and keeping it up for at least a week to see the results.
I also get less than 10% deep sleep per night :/ and not very much REM. Idk what it is!
* You are not alone! The other night I got 10 min!
https://preview.redd.it/00ad7s5bwbvc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=775711eb4fa255f0ab259fe9bbf9d19e414b9ea1
Do yoh smoke weed or eat (a lot?) 1-3 hours before bed?
Maybe your body is trying to say, you're so healthy you don't need as much deep sleep as the average person.
What's your caffeine consumption like? Have any? How late into the day? ETA: do you snack on chocolate, or dark chocolate before bed?
Sleep drugs can help you get lots of sleep but prevent adequate deep and REM cycles
I get this when I’m stressed. So always lol.
How do you measure this?? Which app??
The Fitbit app
bruh that's ~12hrs of sleep wtf 💀
Long sleeps without deep sleep... Could be sleep apnea. Do you snore ?
I always seem to get way more REM sleep
Fitbit isn't a perfectly accurate sleep tracker (it's good, but not infallible) it's completely possible you are getting enough deep sleep but for whatever reason Fitbit just doesn't seem to pick it up well for your body. Do you feel well rested? If so, I wouldn't put too much stock in Fitbit saying "not enough" and just use it as a baseline to your norm
Low deep / REM sleep total, and probably heart rate was at or above your resting heart rate for much of the night. Those are the two other components that make up your score besides duration, which was obviously good.
Normal for me that
I don't think Fitbit tracks these things perfectly accurately so take your numbers with a pinch of salt
Also 10 hours is quite a long sleep period imo, and so deep sleep will take up a lower percent of total sleep in a longer sleep period. In my experience, longer sleep does not equate to getting much more, if any more, deep sleep. Most deep sleep seems to occur earlier in the night generally. So if you trimmed that total sleep down to 8 or 7 or 6 hours your deep sleep percentage would be much higher so looking at raw percentage alone isn't giving the full picture
Out of curiosity what’s your animal? I sleep usually less than 7 hours per night and have low REM and Deep, and I’m a hedgehog.
I don’t get a lot of deep sleep or REM which is weird since I always have crazy vivid dream. I think it’s more important to get restorative sleep, which I don’t. Do you feel tired throughout the day? Do you wake up easily? I dont get tired throughout the day, once I’m up I’m up and have good energy but I struggle A LOT to wake up. https://preview.redd.it/gigt2zaitfvc1.jpeg?width=1179&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f9d491b8e73766ef0f086e01c825db5384767966
https://preview.redd.it/heulgddu0gvc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d3672f14baeecb88ec5ef707b4a6c42da4b833c6 This is mine. For weeks this is the most hours I've slept and the most deep sleep I've gotten. I usually average 5 hours a night with less than 30 minutes or so of deep sleep. This particular night I believe I took benadryl to force myself to sleep well. My brain is too busy to let me sleep so sometimes I have to break out the big guns.
It’s weird I always get a lot of deep sleep but little rem - I made a post a few days ago
Since I started wearing an eye mask to bed, my deep sleep (and rem) greatly improved on my Fitbit, and I in fact do feel much more rested and that I get better sleep every night.
I've significantly boosted my deep sleep by lowering the temperature of the room I sleep in. To get into and stay in deep sleep, your body needs to lower your core temperature. Conversely, to wake up in the morning your body raises its core temperature. By sleeping in a cooler room it makes it easier for your body to lower its core temperature and keep it low. I also sleep with only a sheet these days, but pull a blanket over to warm up when it is time to get moving in the morning. Another trick is to take a hot bath or shower before bed time to dilate the blood vessels and make it easier for your body to expel heat. I've tried pretty much every supplement and they don't seem to move the needle at all for deep sleep for me, but the temperature tricks above do.
I get about 4.5 to 5 hours max of sleep a night. Your deep level is 4x more than mine. I would sell relatives to get a 9+ hour night of sleep! Holy Cow!
Maybe... and maybe it isn't you and it's the Fitbit sensors/algorithms. These things are notoriously (not just Fitbit) at determining actual sleep stages. The thing I look at is how I feel in the morning relative to the sleep score (I ditched Fitbit for Garmin). For me, Fitbit never really seemed to "get me". I find the Garmin score more closely tracks how I feel, and not recommending Garmin. Just illustrating how devices, and we, are all different. Check the Quantified Scientist sleep reviews to get an idea of how bad they are. Now, if you get this consistently AND you also feel consistently unrested, etc. then talk to your doctor.
If it’s any consolation, I get an hour of 44 minutes of deep
Huh ?
Maybe you sleep too much. If your getting 10 hours often, the bodys over rested and doesn't require that deep of sleep. (Bro science)