What should I know about Fitbit sleep stages?

For other questions about sleep, refer to How do I track my sleep with my Fitbit device?

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What are sleep stages?

While you're asleep, your body typically goes through several sleep cycles that last on average 90 minutes. Each cycle alternates between 2 types of sleep:

Light Sleep and Deep Sleep: With less brain activity than REM sleep, non-rapid eye movement (NREM) includes the stages of light sleep and deep sleep. Periods of deep sleep are typically longer early in the night.

Rapid Eye Movement (REM) Sleep: The stage associated with vivid dreams, REM sleep periods are typically longer as the night goes on (source).

Important: During a sleep cycle, you commonly switch from light sleep to deep sleep, then back to light sleep, and into REM sleep, then the cycle generally repeats, but sleep patterns vary naturally.

How does my Fitbit device detect my sleep stages?

Sleep stages are traditionally measured in a lab using an electroencephalogram to detect brain activity, along with other systems to monitor eye and muscle activity. Your Fitbit device can estimate your sleep stages in a more comfortable and convenient way.

Fitbit estimates your sleep stages by using your movement and heart-rate patterns. When you don't move for about an hour, your tracker or watch assumes you're asleep. Additional data such as the length of time when your movements indicate sleep behavior (like rolling over), help confirm your sleep status.

While you sleep, your device tracks the beat-to-beat changes in your heart rate, known as heart rate variability (HRV), which fluctuate as you transition between light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep stages. When you sync your device in the morning, it uses your movement and heart rate patterns to estimate your sleep cycles from the previous night.

What does each sleep stage mean?

Fitbit's sleep researchers and the National Sleep Foundation describe the following sleep stages. We've chosen these names for your Fitbit sleep log.

Light Sleep

Light sleep serves as your entry point into sleep each night as your body unwinds and slows down. This stage typically begins within minutes of falling asleep. During the early part of light sleep, you may drift between being awake and asleep, remaining somewhat alert and can be easily awoken. Your breathing and heart rate usually decrease slightly during this stage.

Light sleep promotes mental and physical recovery.

Deep Sleep

Deep sleep typically occurs in the first few hours of sleep. When you wake up feeling refreshed in the morning, you likely experienced solid periods of deep sleep the night before.

During deep sleep, you become harder to be awakened since your body becomes less responsive to outside stimuli. Your breathing slows down, your muscles relax and your heart rate usually becomes more regular. Adults often have a normal decrease in deep sleep as they age, though sleep patterns vary among individuals.

Deep sleep promotes physical recovery and supports aspects of memory and learning, as well as your immune system.

REM Sleep

The first phase of REM sleep typically occurs after you've had your initial stage of deep sleep. You generally spend a longer period in REM sleep during the sleep cycles in the second half of the night.

During this final stage of sleep, your brain becomes more active. Dreams mainly occur during REM sleep, and your eyes move quickly in different directions. Your heart rate increases, and your breathing becomes more irregular. In principle, muscles below the neck remain inactive to prevent you from acting out your dreams.

REM sleep has been shown to play an important role in mood regulation, learning, and memory as your brain processes and consolidates information from the previous day so that it can be stored in your long-term memory.

How do I check for my sleep stages?

1. In the morning, open the Fitbit app and sync your Fitbit device.
2. Tap the sleep duration tile. (If it says "Analyzing your sleep", your device's data hasn't synced yet.)
3. Swipe down to the Sleep timeline graph.
4. Press and hold on the graph. Move your finger left or right to check your sleep stages. Tap the Benchmark or 30 day average tabs to check additional data.

How do I use the sleep stages benchmark?

The benchmark is based on published data to show how your sleep stage estimates from the previous night compare to the averages of others in the same age range and sex (source). The graph displays the typical range for each sleep stage as a shaded area. Keep in mind sleep cycles vary naturally, so you may notice your sleep data occasionally fall outside the typical ranges.

Another way to analyze your sleep stages is to compare your data from last night to your own 30 day average (under the 30 day average tab), since your sleep patterns may vary over time.

How can I check the start and end times for my sleep stages?

Check the start and end times for your different sleep stages to gain insight into your sleep patterns.

1. From the Today tab  in the Fitbit app, tap the Sleep duration tile .
2. Press and hold your finger on the Sleep timeline graph. Move your finger left or right to check the time spent in each sleep stage.
3. Tap Benchmark to show the percentage of time spent in each sleep stage.

Can my Fitbit device alert me if I snore?

With a Premium subscription, turn on the snore and noise detection feature to allow the microphone on your Fitbit Sense or Fitbit Versa 3 to track noise, including snoring from you or someone next to you. When you wake up, you'll find a summary of your nightly results in a report. Learn how your Fitbit detects snoring and noise levels.

Can my sleep stages tell me if I have apnea or any other sleep disorder?

Your sleep stages data helps you track your patterns and notice variations. If you have any concerns about your sleep health, we recommend sharing the information with your doctor. The National Sleep Foundation 

offers additional valuable resources.

Why do I get awake minutes?

It's normal to have awake minutes in your sleep stages. You may not remember waking up since you likely fell right back to sleep, especially if you were awake for less than 2-3 minutes at a time. If you wake up in the morning feeling like you had a restless night, you may notice more awake minutes in your sleep stages as compared to other nights.

If you previously tracked sleep with Fitbit, your log showed the time spent awake, restless, and asleep. We fine-tuned our mechanism for tracking sleep to estimate your sleep stages by incorporating heart rate and other data. As a result, we combined your awake and restless time into total awake minutes to give you a clearer picture of your sleep cycles.

You may notice more awake minutes in your sleep stages than in your previous sleep data due to this change. If you're concerned about meeting your Fitbit goals, you can adjust your sleep goal to ensure you still achieve it. For instructions, refer to How do I track my sleep with my Fitbit device?

Note that the sleep sensitivity setting on your device doesn’t affect sleep stages. For more information, refer to How do I track my sleep with my Fitbit device?

Why aren’t my sleep stages showing up today?

If you received a sleep log, but it only includes your sleep pattern (which shows your time asleep, restless, and awake) check the following possible causes:

• You might have slept in a position that prevented your device from getting a consistent heart-rate reading or wore it too loosely. For best results, wear your device higher on your wrist (about 2-3 finger widths above your wrist bone). The band should feel secure but not too tight. Learn how to wear your device for optimal sleep tracking.
• You might have used the Begin Sleep Now option in the Fitbit app instead of simply wearing your device to bed. For more information on automatic sleep tracking, refer to How do I track my sleep with my Fitbit device?
• Sleep stages require at least 3 hours of sleep. If you slept for less than 3 hours, you won’t receive sleep stages.
• Your device's battery might be critically low. To check your current battery level, refer to How do I charge my Fitbit device?

For more information about why you got your sleep pattern instead of sleep stages, tap or click the sleep record that shows your sleep pattern.

If you didn’t receive a sleep log at all, check the following possible causes:

• Your Fitbit device might not be syncing with the Fitbit app. For troubleshooting, refer to Why won't my Fitbit device sync?
• Your device’s battery might be critically low or depleted. To check your current battery level, refer to How do I charge my Fitbit device?

Why didn’t I receive sleep stages for a nap?

Your device needs at least 3 hours of sleep data to estimate your sleep stages, so you won't find sleep stages for shorter naps.

Can I edit my sleep stages data?

If your sleep start or end times are incorrect, you can manually edit your sleep log to better reflect your time asleep. Note that if you extend your time asleep, you may find gaps at the start or end of your sleep stages. For step-by-step instructions, refer to How do I edit or delete sleep logs in the Fitbit app?

What are some tips for getting a good night's sleep?

There are several steps you can take to increase your chances for getting a good night's sleep. The National Sleep Foundation suggests sticking to a sleep schedule, avoiding naps in the afternoon, practicing a relaxing bedtime routine, and exercising daily among other recommendations.

Additionally, Fitbit offers several tools to help you sleep better. You can set a sleep schedule in the Fitbit app to maintain a more consistent sleep pattern. You can also explore your sleep habits through sleep insights and set a bedtime reminder in the Fitbit app to help you wind down each night. For more information, refer to How do I track my sleep with my Fitbit device?

For more information on sleep stages, check our blog posts REM, Light, Deep: How Much of Each Stage of Sleep Are You Getting? and Your Heart Rate Is the Key to Smarter Sleep Stages. Here's Why.

For additional sleep information including tips for feeling rested, visit the Fitbit blog.

Can my Fitbit device adjust my alarm based on my sleep stages?

When you set an alarm on Fitbit devices that support Smart Wake, turn on Smart Wake to avoid waking up while you're in deep sleep. Smart Wake attempts to find the best time to wake you, starting 30 minutes before your set alarm. It avoids waking you during deep sleep, increasing your chances feeling refreshed.

If Smart Wake can't find the ideal time to wake you, your alarm will alert you at the set time. For more information, refer to How do I manage alarms on my Fitbit device?