What you need to know
- Fitbit announced a new approach to its Sleep Score, which is becoming more actionable and detailed in a Public Preview update.
- Sleep Score now takes into a account a wider range of data from your sleep, and Premium subscribers can lean on the digital Coach and Personalized Insights for “actionable suggestions.”
- Fitbit recently opened its Public Preview to non-subscribers.
Fitbit’s digital Coach is giving your sleep a stern look this week, as the public preview gains a complete rework for your resting data.
A community post this morning detailed a complete overhaul for Fitbit’s Sleep Score in its Public Preview for enrolled users. Fitbit calls out its old Sleep Score, stating that “a single number can only tell part of the story.” This new era is moving into plans to be “more holistic” and “transparent,” so you see exactly where you should improve—not just a number.
Fitbit says there’s a lot more that goes into your Sleep Score in this new era, beginning 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 “Sound Sleep.” Think of this as how long it took you to fall into Deep, REM, or a steady resting phase with a relaxed heart rate. Afterward, Fitbit details “Sound Sleep,” which is when it adds up “all the moments during your sleep period where your body appears to be soundly asleep.”
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Restfulness, Full Awakenings, and Interruptions are also taken into consideration. Each of these aspects is now broken down into bright, colorful bars in your Fitbit Sleep data space. Users can head there and see if they were in range, above range, or far below it. Fitbit states that these ranges are based on “people your age and gender.”
Sleep is important—now you know it
Fitbit Premium users are the ones who can take advantage of this new Sleep Score experience with its digital Coach and Personalized Insights. The post states that if a user’s time to fall asleep has taken a while, the app will now offer “changes to your wind-down routine.” Similarly, if your Sleep Score has changed in any way, and you’re curious, the digital Coach might explain that you were more tired one day, compared to another (even if you didn’t feel it).
As this new Sleep Score rolls in, Fitbit says you might notice your number is a little off. This is simply the app adjusting to these new parameters, so it should “level out” to whatever score your body falls into now. Additionally, Fitbit acknowledges an issue with its Sleep Score, as your device might say one thing, but the app will say another. Moving forward (until it’s fixed), the number in the app is what you should take.
The good thing here is that non-Premium subscribers can get into the Public Preview now, too. If you aren’t subscribed, you won’t see the features special to subscribers—keep that in mind. Fitbit’s recent update brought more for women’s health, such as “Cycle Health” for periods and better insights.
Android Central’s Take
Actionable insights are one of those things my colleague Derrek Lee talked about when reviewing Fitbit’s personal health coach. Numbers are flashy and nice to see, but without the backbone, are you really getting anywhere? It looks like Fitbit has realized that and is bringing that actionable vibe to its Sleep Score. Sleep is incredibly important. There are times when I feel like I’m not getting enough (mostly my fault). Regardless, now users can really take a look at what’s going on to make worthy changes.
