Fitbit Sleep Apnea Pattern: Guide For 2024

Fitbit Is Not Good Indictor Of Sleep Apnea

As we mentioned above Fitbit is not a good indicator of many of the health metrics it shows. Yes that might sound to you as an edgy take, but its true. There has been studies conducted about various Fitbit metrics – stuff like heart rate and calories burned and whatnot – and in almost all the cases never was it true that Fitbit provided 100% results. There is always some variance.

Now, keep in mind that we are talking about the metrics which your Fitbit claims to monitor for you. Stats which have detailed dashboards available in Fitbit app. Then be it plain sleep activity or the niche stress monitoring. You will find many things about these things in your tracker.

Whereas sleep apnea on the other hand is neither quantifiable by Fitbit nor the company claims to have anything with it. If you want to pick up a hint using your Fitbit tracker about your apnea condition then you would have to learn the pattern associated with it. Which is also neither easy nor straightforward, but hey is it this or the actual sleep study (which could cost you thousands of dollars).

But What Is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep Apnea is a medical condition due to which you are likely to suffer problems while trying to breathe. It is common in people all of ages though if stats have anything to say then those in above the 30 bracket are more likely to be affected by it. Almost 24 million American according to one survey are diagnosed by it, just imagine 24 million. Good thing is that it is treatable in 75% cases therefore it is even more important to diagnose your symptom’s at the right time.

Before we move forward, one misconception should be cleared: there is general belief among many that those who snores are more likely to victim of sleep apnea to those who don’t. While it is true that those who have chronic issue with snoring they should consult with their doctors about it; after all it is very likely they have developed the condition. It is not necessary that to have sleep apnea you have to snore. No. You can be quiet as fox at night and sleep apnea can creep inside.

The best you can do – if you feel you have gone through an episode of waking up at night with difficulty to breathe – is to contact your doctor. Don’t wait around for smartwatches (doesn’t have to be a Fitbit smartwatch) to announce it. They are not ideal for medical references. At least not in this current age.

Pattern You Should Keep In Mind!

In order to identify the sleep apnea patterns in your sleep routine you should look for the following in your Fitbit:

• SPO2: Oxygen variation in your blood.
• Sleeping Phases: How much time you spent in Deep and REM sleep.

Although just using the these two you are not very likely to accurately diagnose yourself, combine they can give you a general understanding of where you stand. Many people have reported who have gone through episode of sleep apnea affect that their tracker at the time noted sharp variance in measurements.

Especially the SPO2 rating which is concerned with oxygen level and since during the apnea episode there is general distortion of oxygen Fitbit trackers are able to monitor and report about it. However, accurately is matter of debate but from a glance of your graph of SPO2 many insights can be made.

Same principal applies for the sleeping cycle. When you sleep (at least for 3 hours) your Fitbit tracker is able to generate the report about different phases of sleep. General rule of thumb states that deep sleep is when your body is recovering at pace so if – and it is very important if – if you notice variation/disturbance from this stage and for continued period then there is good chance that the cause was sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea Is Treatable

Like we talked about it before sleep apnea is quite treatable. So, even if you are diagnosed with it then there is no reason to panic. With frequent visits to sleep doctor and medication you will recover from it. Many people who have sleep apnea don’t even find out about it for years.

There is nothing to worry about. Of course exceptions are possible in which case we will always recommend that instead of lingering on smartwatches to bail you, get professional aid. Also don’t rely on your partner to identify the pattern for you. Not is it a big undertaking for them you are not likely to get accurate analysis from them. That’s not to say that they can’t tell you what and when it happened, it just shouldn’t be your only way to diagnose yourself. This(sleep apnea) is treatable so just don’t make it difficult for yourself.

Smartwatches Are Not Yet Ready For It

Fitbit trackers are also not the only ones which fails to provide 100% results. You can pick any manufacturer which is in the smartwatch business and all of them can only claims to touch the precision. Yes, even the king of the jungle Apple Watches do not have the system in place which can tell you accurately if you have sleep apnea or not.

Which is not down to the quality control or lack of attention. Companies like Apple & Fitbit spend millions on R&D every year so its not like they don’t want to innovate, it’s just the very nature of smartwatches and how they have become so commercial restrict them to take steps which might threaten their complete identity aka a cool touchscreen watch.