Many fitness band tracker measure not only the number of steps you take every day and the calories you burn, but also your sleep habits, with some trackers even claiming to measure the time you spend in each stage of sleep.
Although it might be fun to pore over the data, sleep experts say they are skeptical of fitness wristbands' accuracy in measuring sleep.
Popular trackers, such as the Fitbit Force, include a sleep mode that aims to provide users with some insight into their shuteye, such as how long they slept, and how many times they were restless or woke up. Some trackers go a step further: the Jawbone UP breaks down sleep time into deep and light stages, and the Basis B1 recently launched a new sleep analysis that aims to measure REM sleep in addition to deep and light sleep stages.
Fitness trackers' ability to measure sleep often comes from sensors called accelerometers, which detect a wearer's motion, along with the speed and direction of that motion.
Experts say that while most trackers can in theory tell when a person is awake versus asleep, they are prone to mistakes. And as far as distinguishing sleep stages, trackers that include only an accelerometer as their sensor, "can't do what they claim," said Hawley Montgomery-Downs, a sleep researcher and associate professor at West Virginia University, who has studied the accuracy of sleep trackers. [Best Fitness Tracker Bands]
That's because although an accelerometer monitors your movement, "you move the same amount whether you're in deep sleep, or lighter stages of sleep," Montgomery-Downs said.
Experts worry there may be a danger in consumers putting too much trust in these devices to accurately monitor sleep, especially users who have sleep disorders. learn more fitbit sleep tracker.
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