Fitbit/tracker users sleep patterns

[bfoley]

Greetings all!

I am curious about other people with ANs and their sleep patterns.  I have been wearing one for quite a while.  The funny thing is when I started having balance issues before diagnosis, I also saw that my sleep pattern was changing.  There is a "benchmark" in mine I can check against for people your age/gender for light/REM/deep sleep. 

Prior to balance issues, I had been right in with the benchmark.  My husband was hospitalized, I went under a severe amount of stress, and balance issues began.  I attributed it to the stress, vowing to eat better, sleep better etc once he was home.  The sleep pattern showed more than "benchmark" amounts of deep sleep.  Even if I slept as much as I liked, it always was slightly to significantly higher for deep sleep.  All other areas are in benchmark.  It continues on to this day.
(Edit) After 3 months of eating sleeping better, balance was NOT better and I fell New years Eve.  That began my steps towards discovering my AN in February 2019.

My theory is that for people with balance issues, we are learning daily and trying to have pathways connect. Deep sleep (I think?) is a slow wave - non REM stage. 

from the webpage https://exist.io/blog/sleep-learning/
"Studies in the effects of sleep on visual perception skills have found that REM and slow wave sleep (the third, and final, NREM stage) had the biggest impact. The Harvard researchers pointed out several possible reasons for this difference, including the difference of complexity in the tasks used for the experiments, and the different areas of the brain needed for working with sensory input vs. motor skill output."

So basically wondering if anyone else has more deep sleep than benchmark - and if so - is balance a continuing challenge?

TIA!

[judyette]

I don't have a Fitbit or tracker of any kind, so can't contribute any data to your deep sleep bench mark inquiry.  However, I do have significant balance issues with my untreated small AN.  And I've always been highly interested in sleep states and dreaming.  I've recorded my dreams for many years, and have been a member of various dream groups and studies over the years.  While I've recognized that many of my recalled dreams are either directly or symbolically connected to the AN, I never even thought about a connection between the AN and my sleep cycles.  I want to do some research into this now.  Thank you for your post

judyette

[BattMaclaren]

That's interesting that you've noticed a shift in your sleep patterns since you started experiencing balance issues.

[MarlaB]

Notice this comment is more than two years old...I hope you get a response, but keep asking questions!! Welcome to the forum!!

Marla - Admin

[esenilson]

I'm new here but I've also been using a Fitbit for a while to track my sleep patterns. I find it interesting that your deep sleep is consistently higher than the benchmark, and your theory about it being related to learning and pathway connection makes sense. As for your question, I haven't personally experienced more deep sleep than the benchmark, but I did come across Sleep Underground. They have some interesting articles about sleep patterns and disorders. They suggest that certain lifestyle changes and therapies, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, can improve sleep quality and reduce sleep disorders.

[donjehle]

Thank you, esenilson, for your post.  I have been tracking my sleep for several years, but I was not familiar with the Sleep Underground website.  Please continue to post and share your knowledge.