What you need to know
- Fitbit announced a new approach to its sleep score, which is getting more practical and detailed in a public preview update.
- Sleep Score now takes into account a broader range of your sleep data, and Premium subscribers can turn to the Digital Coach and Customized Insights for “actionable tips.”
- Fitbit recently opened its Public Preview to non-subscribers.
The Fitbit Digital Trainer is giving your sleep a hard look this week, as the public preview gets a complete overhaul of your sleep data.
TO community post this morning detailed a full review of Fitbit’s sleep score in its public preview for enrolled users. Fitbit mentions its old sleep score and states that “a single number can only tell part of the story.” This new era moves towards plans to be “more holistic” and “transparent,” so you can see exactly where you need to improve, not just a number.
Fitbit says there’s a lot more going on with your sleep score in this new era, starting with your “total sleep duration.” While this is the “vast majority” of your score, it also looks at how long it took you to reach “Deep Sleep.” Think of this as how long it took you to fall into the deep, REM, or steady rest phase with a relaxed heart rate. Fitbit then details “Sound Sleep,” which is when it adds up “all the moments during your sleep period when your body appears to be fast asleep.”
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Rest, full awakenings and interruptions are also taken into account. Each of these aspects is now divided into bright, colorful bars in the Fitbit Sleep data space. Users can go there and see if they were in range, above or far below range. Fitbit claims these ranges are based on “people your age and gender.”
Sleep is important, now you know
Fitbit Premium users are the ones who can take advantage of this new Sleep Score experience with their digital Coach and personalized Insights. The post claims that if a user’s time to fall asleep has taken a while, the app will now offer “changes to their relaxation routine.” Similarly, if your sleep score has changed in some way and you’re curious, the digital coach might explain that one day you were more tired than another (even if you didn’t feel it).
As this new sleep score arrives, Fitbit says you may notice your number is a little off. This is simply the app adjusting to these new parameters, so it should “level out” based on whatever score your body is at now. Additionally, Fitbit recognizes an issue with its sleep score, as your device may say one thing, but the app will say another. In the future (until it’s fixed), the number on the app is what you should take.
The good thing here is that non-Premium subscribers you can access the public preview now too. If you are not a subscriber, you will not see special subscriber features; keep it in mind. Fitbit’s recent update brought more information for women’s health, such as “Cycle Health” for periods and better insights.
Android Central’s opinion
Know-how is one of those things my colleague Derrek Lee talked about when reviewing The Fitbit Personal Health Coach. The numbers are flashy and nice to look at, but without the backbone, are you really getting anywhere? It seems like Fitbit has realized that and is bringing that practical vibe to its sleep score. Sleep is incredibly important. There are times when I feel like I’m not getting enough (mostly my fault). Anyway, now users can really take a look at what’s happening to make valuable changes.
