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Sleep

gzar

Member
Yeah, this is the exercise forum...but getting quality sleep is crucial for overall health & well-being, exercise recovery, mood and energy levels.

I have been working rotating shifts, rotating days off on a weekly basis for the past 23 years. So getting quality sleep is a constant struggle. Likewise I work in a safety related position with the FAA so efforts to stay mentally sharp & alert can often spill over into poor sleep, like using too much caffiene or too close to sleep times.

I went to my doc for help with this about 7 years ago, i now take a sleeping pill every sleep time, and enforce a 8hr sleep window daily, along with other measures.

A couple weeks ago my girls bought me a fitbit versa that does the sleep monitoring along with heart rate & other fitness tracker stuff. I was very interested to see how my now-honed sleep routine is comparing to the average, non-shift worker.

I am pleased; some data that matches how I feel. Looking forward to sharing this with my doc.

Anybody else using a fitness tracker & doing sleep monitoring?
 

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Before surgery, I used the app Sleep Cycle on my phone. You simply have to have your phone near you (mine is on my nightstand) and it will record you through the night. I was a very heavy snorer before surgery and also tossed and turned all the time. I used the app for a couple of weeks not too long ago and learned that along with no longer snoring, I am tossing and turning less and my quality of sleep has improved. It is really interesting to see the changes from before and after surgery.
 
Before surgery, I used the app Sleep Cycle on my phone. You simply have to have your phone near you (mine is on my nightstand) and it will record you through the night. I was a very heavy snorer before surgery and also tossed and turned all the time. I used the app for a couple of weeks not too long ago and learned that along with no longer snoring, I am tossing and turning less and my quality of sleep has improved. It is really interesting to see the changes from before and after surgery.
I’m not sure I’d want something recording me sleep-for one, my husband is a snorer and tosses a lot-two, I talk in my sleep so there’s no telling what I’d say LOL Also, since having kids I’ve become a mostly light sleeper. I have a weird tendency to start my night sleeping in bed, and then at some point transition to the couch, and then back to bed. Which I why I said I’m a weird sleeper. I feel very rested when I wake up although I’m not sure how considering all my nocturnal activities!
 
Gz, you're right about the healing power of sleep. I didn't know I had sleep apnea though I did know I was a sleepwalker.

In my first sleep study, I stopped breathing for one minute and 20 seconds. Got a CPAP machine and had my first good sleep in forever. Sleep deprivation had ruined my sunny disposition.

A year after surgery my CPAP setting was cut in half. I only snored once all night.

Tracking sleep is a great idea.
 
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Anybody else using a fitness tracker & doing sleep monitoring?

I use my fitbit versa 2. I only take it off when I shower or once a day when I'm sitting to let the skin kind of recover.

I love it. I like the watch feature, the timer, the countdown, the alarm and adore the sleep tracking. Oh, I love the weather on it too.

I will say the sleep tracking is very interesting. My values for deep sleep and rem weren't what I thought they would be. My sleep study results matched my fitbit almost exactly. Astonishing.
 
I’ve been using the fitbit now for 3 months, and really like the data it provides. I’ve recently identified something else sleep-related…my resting heart rate.

3 months ago my resting heart rate was 65; at the time I was running about 2 miles continuously 3 times per week.

As my running distances increased i.e. cardiovascular health improved, my resting heart rate continued to decrease, as expected. However I’ve noticed it fluctuates up/down a few points every week, which seemed odd. In fact if you google fluctuating resting heart rate, it’s a warning sign worthy to get checked out. And I would get it checked out if my resting rate ever significantly changed.

Currently my running distances are starting to get serious, I’m averaging 35 miles per week and nearing 10 miles continuous on my long runs, and my resting heart rate continues to slowly decrease as expected. Currently I’m resting at 58.

However, still I see the fluctuation of 2-4 points sometimes within the same week, which still seems odd.

So yesterday I broke out excel and started plugging in the historical reference on my resting heart rate trying to find a pattern…and there it was. My work schedule i.e. my sleep score / pattern. Good sleep = low resting heart rate. Poor sleep = high resting heart rate.

During my days off, and when I work day shifts – after I’ve gotten 1 or 2 good nights of sleep (8+ hours) my heart rate drops down to 58/59 and stays there until I work evening shifts – when I typically get 4-6 hours sleep per night – at which point it immediately jumps 2-4 points.

It is so accurate of a predictor that I can now look at my historical resting heart rate and identify what my work schedule was.

So here is some personal data showing that getting good rest is crucial for good health & stress reduction.
 
I’ve been using the fitbit now for 3 months, and really like the data it provides. I’ve recently identified something else sleep-related…my resting heart rate.

3 months ago my resting heart rate was 65; at the time I was running about 2 miles continuously 3 times per week.

As my running distances increased i.e. cardiovascular health improved, my resting heart rate continued to decrease, as expected. However I’ve noticed it fluctuates up/down a few points every week, which seemed odd. In fact if you google fluctuating resting heart rate, it’s a warning sign worthy to get checked out. And I would get it checked out if my resting rate ever significantly changed.

Currently my running distances are starting to get serious, I’m averaging 35 miles per week and nearing 10 miles continuous on my long runs, and my resting heart rate continues to slowly decrease as expected. Currently I’m resting at 58.

However, still I see the fluctuation of 2-4 points sometimes within the same week, which still seems odd.

So yesterday I broke out excel and started plugging in the historical reference on my resting heart rate trying to find a pattern…and there it was. My work schedule i.e. my sleep score / pattern. Good sleep = low resting heart rate. Poor sleep = high resting heart rate.

During my days off, and when I work day shifts – after I’ve gotten 1 or 2 good nights of sleep (8+ hours) my heart rate drops down to 58/59 and stays there until I work evening shifts – when I typically get 4-6 hours sleep per night – at which point it immediately jumps 2-4 points.

It is so accurate of a predictor that I can now look at my historical resting heart rate and identify what my work schedule was.

So here is some personal data showing that getting good rest is crucial for good health & stress reduction.
Very cool! Keep up the awesome running work!
 
Wow, you have to split shifts and you still find the ability to sleep at all? I could never do that. I I'm trying to get off Ambien so I am now struggling getting to sleep at all. In the last week at least four times I couldn't fall asleep until 3 or 4 a.m.

It's weird though because I have a naturally occurring low resting heart beat. It's usually around 40 something and when it goes up it goes to about 80. Aerobic exercise barely puts me over a hundred. But I like your research and I thank you very much for it. I'm going to see if there is any connection for me.

And many congratulations on your hard work. It is really paying off and it sounds like you are feeling like a very happy person.
 
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