I would really like to know if there's a 3rd party app that makes it easier to edit your sleep logs.
I'm OK with the regular AW sleep tracking. I just want something that's easier to edit and view in summary format.
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I have insomnia. How would sleep tracking help me?
- Thread starter The Cockney Rebel
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I would really like to know if there's a 3rd party app that makes it easier to edit your sleep logs.
I'm OK with the regular AW sleep tracking. I just want something that's easier to edit and view in summary format.
Then you should be perfectly serviced by the basic app, tracking capabilities do vary around models but it just works.
I know that if you are Europe based and using a neobank, some tiers of revolut do offer a subscription to sleep cycle that does good tracking without a watch even (you have to sleep with your phone in the bed tho)
No.
I've had issues sleeping for 30 years, but am making a lot of progress lately.
1) get rid of stress in your life.
2) get outside and get an hour of sun/daylight in he morning. A long walk is good.
3) eat well, avoid sugar, caffeine and alcohol in the afternoon and evening. And especially important, don't eat anything for the last 5-6 hours before you go to bed,
4) exercise every day, at a level that makes you sweat and builds muscle/stamina.
5) go to bed at around the same time every night, and get up at around the same time every morning - WITHOUT using alarms
6) avoid TV and screens and basically everything digital an hour or so before you got to bed. Just try to relax in quietness and get in the mood for sleep.
7) the bed, and bedroom, is for sleep, don't use it for resting/slouching. Don't have TVs, iPads, iPhones or anything distracting in the bedroom.
I've had issues sleeping for 30 years, but am making a lot of progress lately.
1) get rid of stress in your life.
2) get outside and get an hour of sun/daylight in he morning. A long walk is good.
3) eat well, avoid sugar, caffeine and alcohol in the afternoon and evening. And especially important, don't eat anything for the last 5-6 hours before you go to bed,
4) exercise every day, at a level that makes you sweat and builds muscle/stamina.
5) go to bed at around the same time every night, and get up at around the same time every morning - WITHOUT using alarms
6) avoid TV and screens and basically everything digital an hour or so before you got to bed. Just try to relax in quietness and get in the mood for sleep.
7) the bed, and bedroom, is for sleep, don't use it for resting/slouching. Don't have TVs, iPads, iPhones or anything distracting in the bedroom.
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It's there for tracking, and while the AW has been shown to be the best wrist based sleep tracking device, that's all it is.
OP, please seek professional help. The reason people keep asking about your other threads is because they all contradict one another and your responses also indicate a lot of innner conflict. Stating that you've stopped medication to help with this is ill advised and it seems like you have a lot to work through IRL.
OP, please seek professional help. The reason people keep asking about your other threads is because they all contradict one another and your responses also indicate a lot of innner conflict. Stating that you've stopped medication to help with this is ill advised and it seems like you have a lot to work through IRL.
No, really, where did you get this particular advice? If someone wants to go to sleep at 10pm, 5 hours before that is 5pm. If you work in a 9-5 job, you don't have time to eat dinner and keep to this guideline.
I've used SleepCycle app for years to monitor sleep (it uses microphone on iPhone to track breathing). Have an Apple Watch now but so far prefer to just leave charging at night. The advantages of tracking have been:
1) To understand exactly how much and how deeply am sleeping;
2) In the case of a really bad night, to consider looking for a siesta during the day;
3) To experiment with different things and be able to see if my sleep has objectively improved. (In my case was able to go from around 4hrs up to as much as 8hrs by relieving tension in the back (yoga etc) - I think compression of the spine is prob. the cause of most people's insomnia. Without data an initial 10% improvement might be invisible and go unappreciated. With data, that's motivation to try harder, then reach 20%..... )
4) To observe the effects of, for example, alcohol (more intermittent, less deep sleep) and learn from that!
1) To understand exactly how much and how deeply am sleeping;
2) In the case of a really bad night, to consider looking for a siesta during the day;
3) To experiment with different things and be able to see if my sleep has objectively improved. (In my case was able to go from around 4hrs up to as much as 8hrs by relieving tension in the back (yoga etc) - I think compression of the spine is prob. the cause of most people's insomnia. Without data an initial 10% improvement might be invisible and go unappreciated. With data, that's motivation to try harder, then reach 20%..... )
4) To observe the effects of, for example, alcohol (more intermittent, less deep sleep) and learn from that!
By trial and error. If you have to eat later, eat something light.
I eat breakfast around 10 am and a late lunch/early dinner around 3-4pm. Get tons of protein, fiber and all my carbs in those meals. Then a protein shake at around 7-8pm then bed around 11-12.
I sleep well most days now. Again, not only because of this but also because of the other points I mentioned earlier.
Another positive of not eating late is it helps me stay in shape, I find if I allow myself to eat later not only does it ruin my sleep, it makes me gain weight too.
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Ah, ok that makes more sense. The protein shake, I'd consider a light snack -- that is, it fills you up enough to prevent hunger pangs.
I do agree with not eating a heavy meal at the end of the day, but you initially said "don't eat anything 5-6 hours before bed." That sounded very extreme! But drinking a protein shake, or perhaps eating a very light snack, as your last meal of the day makes total sense.
My wife and I find sleep tracking very useful. We use the AutoSleep app. It's useful because you can experiment to see how different things affect your sleep. For example, my wife was trying different sleep aids and was able to determine which gave her the best/most quality sleep on average.
Psychopharmacologist here.
I can see no reason why a watch with sleep monitoring would inherently help you fall asleep faster or stay asleep.
The one aspect where I think it could be useful is letting you understand your sleep patterns and helping you determine a preferable wake up time that will result in you feeling rested and ready to get moving in the morning… assuming that is a problem for you, which it may not be. That’s not the root issue though.
To whatever degree it can detect the possibility of sleep apnea, I suppose it could be helpful.
It’s possible through logging your activities and emotional state, the data collected might help you better understand how unknown factors are influencing your ability to fall/stay asleep.
The best thing you can do is target whatever the underlying issue is that is disruptive to your sleep- whether it be environmental (noise, light, bad mattress, etc) or stress, anxiety, depression, PTSD, sleep apnea, hyperthyroidism, pain, overactive bladder, etc, etc. Certain medications can cause insomnia as a side effect. Stress/anxiety is very common for many people, including myself.
Use proper sleep hygiene and form a healthy turn-down routine- dim the lights, no screens, etc. If you don’t know about sleep hygiene, I encourage you to read up on it.
Also, sleep medications can themselves be problematic depending on what type they are and how they are prescribed. I find many patients are often not informed about tolerance formation and rebound insomnia associated with many medications prescribed for sleep. (Some sleep medications also interfere with the sleep cycle, leaving people feeling unrested despite sleeping through the nights.)
Sleep monitoring on an Apple Watch I think has very limited practical benefit, none when it comes to “treating”’insomnia. I think in some regard it’s a bit gimmicky. I’m not sure how reliable this technology either- it’s obviously not used to preform sleep studies or to use to diagnose a health conditions.
I don’t know your circumstances but I suggest you reach out to your primary healthcare provider if your insomnia is not well under control and it’s interfering with your quality of life. Consider a specialist if necessary.
Given the potential resistence buildup to the intake of targeted Benzodiazepines how do you feel about blanket GABA supplementation.
@OOP: My current personnal supplemental (evening) regimen, as someone with lifelong sleep related issues is now:
- GABA (500mg)
- L-Theanine
- Calcium Magnesium Zinc
If the sleep pattern varies +- 2h from baseline => 1-2 Mg melatonin fast acting.
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I’ve been consistently wearing my watch to bed.
I swear it’s not very accurate, as I can’t be sleeping as long as it says.
I did get an AF alert this morning, which is a bit concerning.
Wishing everyone well.
I swear it’s not very accurate, as I can’t be sleeping as long as it says.
I did get an AF alert this morning, which is a bit concerning.
Wishing everyone well.
What's the discrepancy between how long you think you've slept, and what the watch says? You do know that most people tend to underestimate their sleep? Someone can wake up a few times during the night, and feel like they "didn't sleep a wink" when they were asleep most of the time.
Well, one night, it claimed 10+ hours sleep.
That was technically impossible as I was still awake at midnight, and my watch went on the charger at 7.
Well, which part of the night did it think you were sleeping when you were actually awake? You are being very unspecific with details here.
You charged your watch at 7, then when did you put it back on? And what were you doing that night? People have reported that the watch thought they were asleep when they were watching movies, for instance.
Yes, this, and what is your sleep focus set to?
And yes, I know of posts here like @Night Spring says, and in addition I’ve noticed that the watch thinks I’m asleep when I know I was awake, but that has been for periods of maybe a half hour. Overall my experience is that it is accurate over time…
I could make a joke of this, and say that I feel like I’m under caution, in a police station, being interrogated 😀.
My bedtime routine it to use my iPad. For all of the things it can to.
iPad gets put away at 10, and I try to sleep. 12 pm, still no sleep.
I reckon I finally drift off at about 1.
The watch goes on the charger at 7, and does not get put on until I get up at 8 or 9.
Thus, how can that be 10 hours of sleep?
If the watch can’t get that right, not is it only flawed, but providing the wrong information can have a detrimental effect.
I'm just trying to get all the relevant details, so we can troubleshoot.
Wait, the watch was on charger all night? You hadn't worn it to bed? Ok then, it really shouldn't report any sleep at all, but then, for whatever reason, it probably registered all the time it spent on the charger as "sleep."
When the watch tracks your sleep, you get a chart like below in the Health app. What did you get in the Health app when your watch reported 10 hours of sleep?
Wrong.
I wore it to bed, whilst using my iPad.
iPad went away at 10.
I must have drifted off at 1am.
Got up at 7, and put the watch on the charger.
So I did wear it to bed.
This was another day, but my sleep pattern looks nothing like yours.
Supplemental GABA is not something I’d personally recommend to my patients. Given its chemistry in theory it should not cross the blood brain barrier. Clinical studies are overall inconclusive and most studies are of mediocre quality. If it did cross the BBB, in theory it could carry the similar risks as benzodiazepines/alcohol due to its activity on GABA-A receptors. I’ve never that manifest clinically though.
If you do take GABA, you definitely should not drink alcohol with it because if it does cross the BBB, that could be a very dangerous situation.
Melatonin has really only been proven to work for realigning sleep schedules ie in the case of jet lag and not chronic insomnia. 1-2mg is the right dose though, many people assume the more you take the stronger the effect, but going higher can actually have diminishing results.
Chamomile tea is an often forgotten non-pharmaceutical option that works well in insomnia.
I’d suggest talking to your prescriber or local pharmacist who has a background on your particular health situation.
If something works for a patient, even if it may be a placebo effect, so long as whatever they are taking is safe and they know any potential risks, I wouldn’t tell them to do something different.