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Whenever I tell people about my sleep disorders, I often get the response “Oh! I’m tired, too! Part of me always wants to say “Yeah right, there’s no way you’re THIS tired!” But, on the other hand, sleep disorders are majorly underdiagnosed, so I try to be understanding, to listen, and to help if that’s something that they are open to.
In the past I have asked people if they wear a FitBit to sleep – FitBits track the movement in your sleep – but that’s about all they are good for. They list what “stages” of sleep you are in, but I have heard that they actually aren’t accurate for that. In fact, there is currently a class action lawsuit against FitBit saying that their sleep trackers are much less accurate than other devices!
So, when people tell me they are tired, telling them to look at their FitBit logs now is something I’m going to avoid.
Luckily, I now have something better to share with them – the Wellue SleepU Wrist Pulse Oximeter.
This device tracks three things – your blood oxygen levels, your heart rate and your movement. Tracking your blood oxygen is something that they do at a sleep study – if your oxygen is dipping a lot, it could be an indicator of sleep apnea.
Though the Checkme O2 is not a diagnostic tool, it can be extremely helpful in getting preliminary data. I tried it one night (while using my trusty CPAP, of course!) and learned that my oxygen does do some dips still, but usually less than once an hour. (If it was several events per hour, I would get myself to the sleep doctor to ensure I didn’t need a pressure adjustment or something else!)
The device does have a vibration setting that will wake you up if your oxygen dips too low. This feature wasn’t something that I liked – it did snap me out of a deep sleep FAST, though! Luckily, you can turn off this feature if you don’t want to use it.
If you are a CPAP user, this is a great tool (along with your machine data) to ensure that your body is responding well to it.
I also got to try out the Wellue O2Ring Oximeter. It’s a little easier to wear than the sleep tracker and just tracks oxygen levels. If you’re bothered by wearing something on your wrist and don’t need movement tracked, this is another great tool!
If you are a sleep disorders advocate like myself, this is a great tool to encourage your friends to try to see how they are sleeping! I already have a whole list of people who want to try it! I will write a follow up post with the data that I collect and hopefully have some follow up news of what they did with the information that they gathered.
