not a good night

[Zoe Girl]

I am working on the supportive things for my mental health condition. One thing is making sure I really get 10,000 steps. Last night I was not close so I walked around the beautiful park a few times until the fit bit vibrated. And then I did not sleep well. Like 4 hours according to the fit bit. I knew I laid there in maybe half sleep a long time, apparently until almost 1.

Today my stomach is upset, which has not happened in a long time. I need to force some food before afternoon program. I tried to nap and it didn't work. So I will take a very small dose of anxiety med tonight since I don't need to be in until 10.

Sometimes I forget that I officially am ill, and then it comes back. Not fun but keeps me from overdoing it.

[rosarugosa]

ZG: I don't do the sleep tracker FB. It just made me worry and honestly, I do know when I'm not sleeping well. Getting data to prove it was not useful to me.

[dado potato]

I recently visited a friend in northern Michigan, who wears a step counter. I don't know if hers is a Fit Bit, per se.. We took a boat to South Manitou Island. That day on the way out we had a quartering sea, which caused the boat to pitch, adding to my friend's step count as she sat.

She went climbing the stairs to the top of a lighthouse (I stayed below looking at birds). There was a known number of stairs to the top... the step counter only got about half of them on the round trip.

Why does your Fit Bit vibrate? Is it like an alarm telling you that you've had enough?

By the way, on South Manitou Island I saw white cedar trees that are over 600 years old... the biggest cedars I will ever see in my life … maybe there is one bigger specimen in Canada. I highly recommend South Manitou Island after Labor Day... no bugs, moderate tourists.


A certain number of bad nights are inevitable. I hope tonight will be much better for ya.

[lmerullo]

Someone somewhere has likely done an accuracy comparison of fitness trackers. I know mine is inaccurate, but if it's always inaccurate in the same way - then it's good enough to give me a range of my activity.

The poor sleep is also some feedback I've found to be self-fulfilling, so be aware.

If I were to guess, I would recommend more calming activities before bedtime hours.

Best of luck!

[Chicken lady]

Rest, heal, and advice that is easier for me to give than to take - treat yourself the way you would treat one of your children.

change takes time - you are a bonzai, not a topiary.

[Gardnr]

ZG, know that it is normal for us to have 1 irregular night of sleep per week on average.

I suspect all that exercise close to bedtime did not help at all.

Consider if you will, that while you are healing from the year's trauma, put your Fitbit away. Listen to your body and do as it asks. Would you have walked some more were it not for that thing?

Things to think about.

[Teacher Terry]

Exercise before bed disturbs my sleep. Always just chill a few hours before bedtime.

[ApatheticNoMore]

Yea exercise before sleep disturbs my sleep too. I just don't do it, if I didn't exercise in early evening or earlier, better to miss some exercise than sleep (well the exceptions is when I have a lot of nervous energy and *have to* walk it off).

[Teacher Terry]

ANM, I occasionally have that problem also. It sucks!

[Zoe Girl]

I don't get stressed about the sleep tracker, or worry too much about the number of steps being exact. However I find it helpful to track how stable I am, and relate that to medication. I am not a good judge right now if I sleep or eat or move enough. I started tracking my food in the MyFitness app I have used a long time. I can watch sugar and caffeine mostly, they tend to creep up and I don't notice.

The bonzai is a good image, I was also thinking of marathon instead of sprint.

I saw this Einstein quote today:
Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.

[Teacher Terry]

Last night after walking I had 2 hours to wind down before bedtime. Good thing because I had to sleep through both my husband and son snore.

[luna92]

Actually you shouldn't walk before going to bed, it's not really good for your health. You should relax, watch TV or read books instead. Just walk or go to the gym in the afternoon only.

[Teacher Terry]

It’s fine to walk at night if you do it a few hours before bedtime.