In recent years, people have become quite proactive about keeping track of their health stats. The wearable industry, consisting of fitness bands, watches, heart straps, shoe pods, and more, is now worth over 71 billion dollars globally.
These trackers come in all sorts of price ranges and have become quite popular among both younger and older populations globally. The most common yet controversial aspect of such trackers is the accuracy of the data.
See, most wearables come with a sleep tracking option, which is supposed to tell you when you went to bed, when you woke up, how much the duration of your sleep stages was, etc.
Based on this data, the app gives a sleep score, giving you a sense of achievement when you score higher numbers. But the problem is the lack of accuracy. It seems like every brand has a different algorithm, and in most cases, the results vary by a large margin.
In this article, we’ll explore how effective these wearables are and how you can improve your sleep quality by incorporating CBD sleep gummies into your wellness routine.
Can You Trust the Data From Sleep? How Do They Work?
The simple answer is no! You shouldn’t be completely relying on sleep data tracked by your fitness device.
As per some recent studies, most trackers are only good at detecting when you sleep in and wake up, but they fail miserably when it comes to detecting the duration of REM, deep sleep, and light sleep stages. So maybe take that sleep score with a grain of salt, and don’t go completely insane for chasing the numbers.
Most wrist-based sleep trackers use a combination of heart rate data from a PPG sensor and an accelerometer to gauge sleep metrics. This PPG sensor shines a small light onto the skin and measures how much light is absorbed or reflected by the blood vessels underneath.
When the heart beats, the blood vessels expand and contract slightly, causing fluctuations in light absorption that the sensor detects. By analyzing the patterns of heart rate changes, along with data from an accelerometer that tracks wrist movements, the device’s algorithms attempt to define periods of wakefulness, light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep.
This is not very reliable because they can’t track your brain waves and eye movement patterns like medical-grade devices. Plus, the size of your wrist, skin color, scars, or tattoos can affect the readings from the PPG sensor, which might lead to wrong readings.
Of course, the industry is still new, and these devices are getting better, but still, one should only consider these numbers to get a general idea. If you do have serious sleep issues, it’s better to consult a dedicated doctor instead of trying to get better scores on sleep apps.
Hence, it’s better to stick to a routine, like getting in bed at the same time, waking up at the same time, and avoiding screens before bed. You may also take a CBD gummy or two to feel more relaxed and less anxious before getting ready for bed.
How Can CBD Improve Your Sleep Quality?
You must have noticed us mentioning CBD for better sleep in the above paragraphs. Why? Well, because the main aim of using a sleep tracker is to get an idea of how well you are sleeping, and taking CBD products may help improve that.
Of course, it won’t magically increase the score on your app, but it can definitely improve how you feel during and after sleep and may also improve the time you take to slide into a restful sleep.
When you take CBD before bed, it enters your bloodstream and affects the body’s internal endocannabinoid receptors. These receptors are part of the endocannabinoid system, which is found in all mammals.
It’s responsible for maintaining a state of balance by controlling our anxiety levels, stress response, immunity, appetite, memory, sleep cycles, and more. CBD mainly affects the CB1 and CB2 receptors and improves their efficiency.
This helps in curbing our racy thoughts, anxiety, and pain levels, all of which result in deeper and more rejuvenating nightly sleep.
It’s also scientifically proven through various scientific studies and trials. For example, this study report published in 2019 found that after one month of regular CBD administration, patients reported lower anxiety and higher sleep scores.
It was also noted that CBD is well tolerated by most of the patients, and most didn’t face any severe side effects. So it won’t be a leap to say that CBD is a much better and healthier product for improving sleep hygiene as compared to traditional prescription medicines.
So next time you want to see an actual improvement in your sleep scores, just slap your tracker on the wrist gulp down a CBD gummy before bed, and try to be consistent with this activity for a few months to see noticeable effects.
How To Use Sleep And Fitness Trackers Properly?
See, a fitness tracker can do much more than just track your sleep. Better sleep is directly correlated to your overall health. You can use your tracker to track your daily steps (aim for 8000 per day), set water reminders (drink at least 3 liters ), and set it to remind you to take breaks at some intervals during work.
You can also set alarms on it, which can help you form a habit of going to bed and waking up at the same time daily. All of these activities in conjunction with clean food, supplements like CBD gummies, and regular exercise, can drastically improve your sleep quality. So instead of fretting over sleep score, use your fitness band to make your daily life more efficient and punctual.
Conclusion
To sum it up, yes, sleep trackers do work, but you should only take the data they spew with a grain of salt. Due to hardware limitations and wrist-based working systems, most sleep trackers can’t give you as accurate sleep data as a medical-grade device.
But they can help you assess how much time you spend in bed, and you can use this information to improve your sleep routine. Your tracker will also help you to get step data, reminders, and blood oxygen levels, all of which you can monitor and improve to make your overall sleep quality more efficient.
You can also use natural products like CBD gummies before bed, as they have anxiolytic, analgesic, and antioxidant properties. This can help you relax before bed and doze off into a restful sleep.
Just make sure to buy CBD sleep gummies only from reputable, trusted, and rigorously tested brands like Colorado Botanicals. Remember, improving sleep is a slow process, so you’ll need to be patient and consistent for the best results.