Sleepyhead - interpreting results

[KSMatthew]

Is there a way to tell when "sleep" actually begins and ends?

[sptrout]

Not really, you need a brainwave monitor to do that. However, some folks that have been doing this for a long time can get a good idea by looking at their breathing pattern on Sleepyhead. I think I remember reading that anyway.

There used to be a product called Zeo that did measure brainwaves and sent the data to a bedside device. It was a great product that helped me discover many things that caused me sleep problems. Unfortunately, they went out of business a couple years ago.

A new product on the market just recently called Sleep Shepherd Blue can measure brainwaves and help with other sleep issues.

[Ockrocket]

I use a Garmin VivoFit fitness tracker watch.... it does a reasonably accurate job of recording actual sleep time.

It also gives a break up of deep v light sleep based on slow or rapid body movements while asleep, though this is not as accurate as being wired up with electrodes monitoring brainwaves, it does give a reasonable guide.

The VivoFit tracks walking/distance/steps and other activities as well... similar to the FitBit, and all the other myriad of activity trackers do, just cheaper than most.

[KSMatthew]

I was looking at traces on a couple Sleepyhead charts. I *think* I can see some repetitive patterns that indicate sleep. What I wanted to do was to get a feel for how long it took to actually fall asleep ("sleep latency"?). Some nights it feels like it takes forever, but when I look at the clock it really hasn't been very long. Plus, it gives me a chance to skip past any junk that gets recorded while I'm still awake.

[chill]

I can usually get a pretty good idea by looking at a zoomed in waveform and waiting until it become regular for a period of time.