Fitness/Sleep tracker band thing?

Jamesyboyjim · 4 Feb 2016 at 10:43

Sorry to lower the tone, but if you, *ahem* do what us blokes do when we're on our own and bored

, well... That'll put the step count right up too!

JayMax · 4 Feb 2016 at 10:45

Yea, the Mi Band says I've ran 100 meters, worst thing is it says it's a World Record completed in under 8 seconds!

neil_g · 4 Feb 2016 at 11:07

JayMax said:
However, I washed the car yesterday and it reported 20,000 steps and 14km walked - but that's to be expected, I think other trackers would do the same.

yeah theyre all accelerometer based as far as i know.

ive gone over my step goal doing the washing up before. also on the M4 (man thats a bumpy road).

Kemik · 4 Feb 2016 at 11:34

These bands are not accurate for sleep monitoring. If that is the sole reason you're buying one, I wouldn't bother. Most are off by at least an hour a night.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-christopher-winter/sleep-tips_b_4792760.html

The Darkness · 4 Feb 2016 at 11:34

The mi band will record movements similar to walking as walking, its an issue with all non gps devices. Saying that, its remarkably accurate at estimating distance during walks/runs. For example, I'll often wear a gps watch as well as the mi band and the mi bands estimate is usually only +/- 10% for distance.

I have never tried to extract the sleep data, sorry. The app keeps months/years of data, but only the summary data (ie length of deep/light sleep, start/end time).

FutileBreadMachine · 4 Feb 2016 at 11:37

What's the point of tracking your sleep? Don't you just go to bed when you are tired and wake up when your alarm goes off? If you have to get up early then you go to bed early.

russell664 · 4 Feb 2016 at 11:47

Everyone in my work seem to be getting fitbits, and there is me with a Moto 360

Jamesyboyjim · 4 Feb 2016 at 11:48

FutileBreadMachine said:
What's the point of tracking your sleep? Don't you just go to bed when you are tired and wake up when your alarm goes off? If you have to get up early then you go to bed early.

Knowledge is err... power?

edGfaCTor · 4 Feb 2016 at 11:49

It is far more simple to use pen and paper to just keep a diary of times you do activities, eat plus sleep I have done this for years it is very useful.

Getting a sleeping pattern is hard breaking it is very easy but you have to force yourself to go to bed or stay in bed for set times even at weekends or when you are off work.

Freefaller · 4 Feb 2016 at 11:50

Jamesyboyjim said:
I bodybuild and yes, it does throw the steps up into the air but so does moving your arm around etc. Step count / stairs climbed I find are completely inaccurate whatever you do with your day. its good for seeing your heart rate during a workout though.

I meant mainly for the heart rate monitoring.

I have a separate HR monitor, and whereas I peak at 80% often, the HR thinks I'm not going much more than 50-60% at the most.

Freefaller · 4 Feb 2016 at 11:51

Skeeter said:
Nope. Walking and cycling are my activities, and I track those with apps anyway.

In which case it should suit you well. I do a lot of walking and it's relatively accurate when comparing it to my GPS tracker on my phone.

SexyGreyFox · 4 Feb 2016 at 12:42

I'd like an app that makes it so I don't have to get up 5 times a night to have a pee.

Semple · 4 Feb 2016 at 12:53

I find it quite funny when i wake up in the morning and my fitbit has tracked me with 40-50 steps... and no i do not sleepwalk!

The algorithms are never going to be 100% perfect.

I have the charge HR, and it tracks when you've gone to sleep by lack of movement, and wake up when there is movement.

Distance i can only assume is done based on step count rather than GPS measurements.

Floors can also be a bit off, i was reading that the floor counter goes off atmospheric pressure changes, so any hills, even without a massive incline can count as a floor.

You do also have the option via the app to track your liquid intake, as well as your food/calorie intake.

SPG · 4 Feb 2016 at 12:55

Get a pebble.

checjb · 4 Feb 2016 at 13:03

Semple said:
I find it quite funny when i wake up in the morning and my fitbit has tracked me with 40-50 steps... and no i do not sleepwalk!

My wife and I had a lazy morning of 'cuddling' and her Charge HR recorded 846 steps. I felt rather proud of that.

mattyg · 4 Feb 2016 at 13:09

SexyGreyFox said:
I'd like an app that makes it so I don't have to get up 5 times a night to have a pee.

SPG said:
Get a pebble.

I don't think blocking the hole is good advice

Skeeter · 4 Feb 2016 at 13:13

Jamesyboyjim said:
Sorry to lower the tone, but if you, *ahem* do what us blokes do when we're on our own and bored , well... That'll put the step count right up too!

I will put it on my left wrist....

Skeeter · 4 Feb 2016 at 13:17

FutileBreadMachine said:
What's the point of tracking your sleep? Don't you just go to bed when you are tired and wake up when your alarm goes off? If you have to get up early then you go to bed early.

Its about measuing the quality of sleep. I can get 6 hours and wake up feeling great, when other times I can get 8+ and wake up feeling worse than when I went to bed.

Collecting this information and aligning it with other things like food, excersize, where I am, etc will hopefully allow me to increase the amount of good sleep I get.

SexyGreyFox · 4 Feb 2016 at 13:45

Another toy to end up in the man drawer after 6 months.

FutileBreadMachine · 4 Feb 2016 at 13:55

Moses said:
You can find out if you're having disturbed sleep/do stuff to sort that out (light/noise/whatever). Then you can have apps/wristbands which wake you up when you're in a lighter part of your sleep phase, so you feel less rubbish when you wake up.

Guess I'm just lucky, I never feel the need for a lie in or anything. As soon as my alarm goes off, that's it, I'm up. Always been like that since I was a teenager.