Watch says I wasn't asleep

Baloo

My watch is still telling me I wasn't asleep, so I am wondering whats going on. Was I exercising in my sleep, or fidgeting. The watch is behaving as if I was exercising in my sleep or fidgeting as soon as I go to bed and then doesn't pick up I'm sleeping sometimes until after 03:00 or includes gaps where it thinks I wasn't asleep. Im having to judge sleep now the classic way by what time I go to bed otherwise I have no idea how much I slept, then I get tired out and end up with micro sleeps in the afternoon. Pretty deadly at work.

JenHB

When I've sometimes worn by watch (a garmin) at night once it said that I had a lot of sleep - didn't trust it as it said I was asleep when I know I was reading...

jamieA

I've also got a Garmin and it's hooked up to my iphone. Although it's supposed to be one of the more accurate devices I still get occasions where it records a small number of steps when I have been sleeping in bed. It also records sleep in 4 categories Deep/Light/REM/Awake and although the actual number of hours is about right for time spent in bed I don't believe it can differentiate to any extent. I had a bout of swelling of my wrist and forearm so had to change my watch to my active hand wrist. It notified me I'd reached my 10k steps goal whilst I was standing at the cooker stirring dinner!

Baloo

@JenHB @jamieA yes, thats helpful, my watch shows what time it measured the steps every half hour, even overnight, so I should be able to work something out from that. My mrs says I fidget but you know what its like, nobody really knows what time it happens or how bad it was cus they was asleep at the time.

Baloo

The fidgeting idea begins to make better sense, I went to bed at 03:30, I went out like a light, then the watch recorded 100 steps over the next hour, and then said I was asleep 04:30-09:00 with a couple of times recording 10 steps. That makes 4.5 hours sleep recorded (which is the lowest I can get away with) and an hour of genuine fidgeting in my sleep.

Baloo

@JenHB @jamieA jiminy cricket. So if I load the steps dial on my watch, and check it in the morning when the alarm wakes me up, it will tell me how much I wasn't resting?

frogmorton

Unless you are a sleepwalker?

My sister's records her as still being asleep if she reads in bed. Not always 100% reliable are they?🙄

jamieA

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/comment/696607#Comment_696607

Hi @Baloo

Here's the statement on the Garmin website :-

I Am Getting Too Many Steps

Some activities may cause irregular arm movement, resulting in the watch recording too many steps. These may include, but are not limited to: 

• Driving a vehicle (usually due to vibrations caused by rough terrain).
• Taking a shower.
• A restless night of sleep.
• Brushing your teeth.

Baloo

@frogmorton Yes. I don't read books, but watch always records sleep when I spend an hour waking up.

Baloo

Step counting week 2. Watch still misbehaves on counting sleep, but counting steps overnight seems to help reduce the worry and be more aware of my actual sleep patterns and outcomes. Its easy to set up and the first real affect was making me go to bed before midnight, so I don't have any complicated calculations to work out, for how many steps happened while I was asleep. So then I also know I wasn't going to bed late, and if sleep causes an attack, it won't be my sleep fault, it will be something else.

Axe09

I too have a Garmin and got to the bottom of this. There is a setting where you need to enter your sleep times (approximate):

Setting the Sleep Window in the Garmin Connect App

1. Open the Garmin Connect app.
2. Open the Menu. 
   • Android: Select 
   •  (upper left corner).
   • iOS: Select More (bottom right corner).
3. Select Settings.
4. Select User Settings.
5. Select Bed Time or Wake Time.
6. Input time and select OK.
7. Exit the Settings Menu.

Baloo

That's interesting @Axe09 mine is android and its set 00:30-06:00 maybe it needs adjusting.

Last night was a late night so it recorded 05:07-06:38 the worst I have seen. So far I seem to get better results with an early night.

Baloo

My watch still tells me I wasn't asleep, all it recorded instead was a low level of stress.

But I just noticed when watch says I was asleep it provides a % physical recovery and % mental recovery. Suddenly this recovery idea seems to be a better line of enquiry, than worrying to death about the actual amount of sleep it was recording.

If watch says I was well recovered (or not recovered at all) they might just have got it right.

I still noticed some days I feel more stiff than others, or brighter than others, but by the end of the week I noticed something I wasn't expecting. I was a lot less taking a kip on the tram home or after meals.