How to use the sleep tracker with the Microsoft Band

If nothing else the sleep monitoring on my FitBit made it really easy to see the difference between when I did and did not use my CPAP, so I'd assume the MS Band will at least do the same.

Hope much is a band in euros?

Dan you are healthcare? Damn impressive. You have two full jobs huh?

comparation? Is that two words combined? Com = comparison Paration = Corporation.

*You guys
*comparisons sorry for the bad writing.

Working hard or sleeping hard? ;)

Thanks Dan!

I'm really disappointed that it doesn't use the sleep data to figure out the best time to wake you up. For me that's the main reason to wear a device like this at night, to make sure the alarm doesn't go off during an REM cycle. The alarm feature is also pretty disappointing in that it just vibrates for a second before turning off. Hopefully they can improve these features with software/firmware updates. It's neat they can capture this data (specifically your resting heart rate), but they need to do more with the data to be useful, worth wearing every night.

Maybe Microsoft Health Insight will enable this in the future.  The Band is only half of the equasion.  Software/Data is the other. 

The software platform, and especially the data analysis parts of it, is in it's infancy. I'd expect frequent updates ala Cortana, but it's definitely going to take a while to get to a truly useful place. If they create a uservoice page for Health and Band, you should suggest those things.

Too risky for version 1.0!!

Good point, right now it sounds all too statistical and not really adding value. You know yourself how long it took you to fall asleep and how long you slept for. And calories burnt, what are you going to have some chillies before bed in the hope it gives you nightmares so you move around more? Really the data it returns is pretty useless; it needs to be doing something useful with the data - waking you up at the right time is a good example of that. And why do you even have to enable "sleep mode". It knows you are lying down, it knows when you fall asleep, why should you have to press buttons to set it? Does it sync with your phone so when you fall asleep it puts it into sleep mode and DND? And with a 2 day battery life, when exactly are you meant to charge it? Normally i charge my phone when i go to bed, but if i'm using the band to track my sleep, well, that's not possible. It's a device that's meant to be worn 24/7, they need replacable batteries or something.

I actually found the stats pretty interesting to look at, and I really enjoyed waking up this morning to the gentle shake on my wrist versus my phone going off. As far as features, it is way to new for them to be already trying to address certain needs like waking up at the right peak. Another use that this could have would be that if your hear rate exceeds a certain threshold (let's pretend I'm someone with a heart problem) like >180bpm, or low like <20bpm the phone could call 911 and dispatch an automated message saying that the user at this GPS location is suffering from a heart condition. The band offers a great deal of potential and I am sure the genius minds working with Microsoft would love to bring those to us, just don't forget that when devices are making certain assumptions that affect health, FDA needs to approve them and for that they need clinical data. As far as when to charge the band... Well, you can't shower with it and it takes less than 1.5hrs to fully charge, so you can probably charge it for 20~30 minutes every day or when you shower and keep it juiced without it ever running out. Just a thought.

Another use that this could have would be that if your hear rate exceeds a certain threshold (let's pretend I'm someone with a heart problem) like >180bpm, or low like <20bpm the phone could call 911 and dispatch an automated message saying that the user at this GPS location is suffering from a heart condition.

  That's a great idea. I would guess the biggest concern with adding these kind of features to wearables/smartphones causes a big risk. Imagine a situation where someone dies by a heart attack and the device didn't do anything... Could be potential lawsuit mayhem. Professional healthcare companies are well aware of these risks and protect them selves (insurances, policies, etc ...). Not sure Microsoft (or others - hello Apple Watch) will quite go that route.

Yea, the sad  part is that we have the technology available to do certain things (even if not perfectly) that could prevent someone from possibly dying. But because there is a chance it can't save 100%, we can't risk it. I am not saying that .01% or 5% of the population isn't important, but there should be laws in place that allow patients to take advantage of experimental (non-invasive) equipment like this to assist (not necessarily) prevent. I for instance, would rather know that I have a device that could help me (even with chances to fail when I do need) than not having anything at all. The big thing here would be the language and of course full understanding of such patients or people purchasing. Unlike the parachutte, not having the device probably doesn't mean you'll die, but having the device would most likely mean a smart system could have triggered a high alert. An example of not having 100% ensurance that something will work is when people have surgery. There is always a chance of death (no matter how small the procedure), yet people are able to sign waivers and commit to them. Why can't medical device companies implement a similar system, where to activate the device people need to agree to the fact that: --> This is not a life saving device
--> There is possibility of failure
--> Device life expectancy will depend on individual use, and extreme conditions etc Then, companies could have "apps" or "systems" in place that do more than they do to alert at least a loved one if not 911. If you need help and try to dial 911 without any reception, you're not going to get them either. I am aware that medicine and waivers are not that black and white, nor the ways around it. But I wish that the laws in place gave non-invasive technology a chance to improve and inovate a system that's still far behind our technological advances.   (sorry if this is all over the place, i just feel like I have so much to say!!!)

I was actually thinking of just that, it could be a boon to the elderly or infirm, like the medic alert bracelets, only more intelligent.  Set up some thresholds of what might constitute an emergency situation, have it give several notifications, that if not dismissed, would place a call to emergency response with a potential issue, and forward the telemetry data and health information.  i.e. subject with known arrythmia presenting with HR > 180, sudden onset (obviously not gradual build up such as working out), any signals from the galvanic skin detector, etc.  My father ended up in his house for 2 days suffering from a stroke, if something had been able to detect the symptoms and call emergency services, that could have made a huge difference!   Right there you have integration with band, phone, MS HealthVault for conditions/medications, thats a full stack there!

...

  Ive been reading random reviews and I have to agree with your comment about the battery life. Its really my main concern...well along with the question of whether or not you HAVE to have your phone also on you when you jog...but yes 2 days just doesnt seem reasonable. I had a fitbit that lasted 2 days [i ended up returning it] and it just wasnt useful which is exactly what i told Fitibit when i returned it. I know some people charge it while getting dressed or sitting at their desk but I dont think thats the norm. Really these kind of devices are meant to be worn for longer durations to the point where you can just forget its on your wrist while it does its thing. Whats the point of having a device that tracks your sleeping and steps and heartbeat if every other day you have to take it off and recharge it? I hate to say it but i feel like alot of people are giving this a pass simply because its a MS product. If the fitbit or the Up had 2 days batterly life it would be a serious issue. I was just watching a review the Moto 360 and apparently that only has a single days worth of battery and thats unacceptable. Devices that are meant to be worn and used for tracking should at least have a 4 day life. Its not accurate to compare it to a phone, which some people have been doing, which isnt meant to stay on your body. When your cell is low you take it out your pocket and put it on your desk and charge it. But these devices are meant to stay on you. On the other hand we all may be jumping to conclusions, the battery life could be based on HEAVY use such as GPS and such...guess we will wait and see. 

This is a thought, why coud they not make it a replaceable battery, that way, you are charging the spare externally and you only interrupt for a minute or two to swith battery for say every 2 days.

It would be gross not to take the Band off during showering. Common sense people, not laziness which this device is actually trying to tackle.  Charge it when you are showering, its so simple.

Okamo why don't you let someone who actually has one comment on battery life instead of rushing to judgments. I charged mine while showering last night and then put my kids to bed. Wore it to sleep all day and 24 hrs later the icon is like 80% full. No GPS today tho. Plan to use it fill out to see how long it lasts. But under my use all day & night its looking very good. So just relax and stop bashing. There are plenty of bands and users out there that will be giving data.

Seems like everyone an expert nowadays and want to tell Microsoft how to do their job. Who says that the band is meant to be worn all of the time, pure nonsense. it's especially for people who are doing sports or (maybe) have an ilness that might warrant such a monitoring device. 24 hour monitoring, in both cases is not neccessary.

I would say charge it when you wake up and are getting ready for work. It goes from 0 in 90 minutes and from 0 in 30. That said, I would probabbly try to get in on the charger for the full 90m before going for a GPS assisted run.

You take 90 minutes to get ready for work??? Wow! From the time I get out of bed, till the time I'm out the door, it's usually no more than 25-29minutes. So jealous!  

The two days a week I need to go to the office, about an hour or so. Make coffee for the wife, do some reading... I like to ease into the morning. And don't be jealous. You get an extra bit of sleep!

How would it know the difference between watching lord of the rings or titanic versus light sleep without pressing sleep mode? Don't get me wrong, but these questions or problems are easily resolved. That it collects the data is a good thing. Now they use data and telemetry to proved additional features and functionality. Short sighted not to have done it already? Perhaps. Critical for a fitness product? That's another question. I wonder where sleep tracker rates on marketing list.

Well considering it's not water proof charging it while you shower & get ready generally gives you enough charge to make it through 24 hours. Or possibly on your commute? 

Go try it.  You have opinions too strong for how much you know. The reviewer set the down in the mouth, limited analysis based on limited knowledge/experience tone, so your similar approach may not be your fault. The band adds a lot of value by providing the data.  The data is VERY useful.  I now have information that I had no idea of before.  How I sleep, how many calories I burn, how far I walk, what my heart rate is all day, etc. Plus all of the handy info from my phone.  I'm better off using the data in my own personal analysis and I can make changes as I see fit By learning your own personal sleep habits, you can adjust when you go to sleep and wake up - to wake refreshed for work.  I can also make adjustments to increase my sleep efficiency by experimenting with factors that can affect sleep. Again, if you had one, you would know why you have to turn on sleep mode (just two quick button hits).  Monitoring is different when you are sleeping.  And it has to know when to start counting to know how long it takes to fall asleep, so you don't count lying in bed reading, tweeting, emailing, which may have nothing to do with your sleep patterns, though you are horizontal.  And when I'm in the family room, horizontal on the couch, watching TV and using my phone and tablets, I have no intention to sleep. The charging process I use is charging while I'm getting ready for work in the morning, every day.  Works just fine.  In fact, this is the suggested charging process.  I've also tested letting it run down to near zero and it charged fast enough to not get in my way. All in all, the Band is now a useful part of my daily life. The more data we can get the better as you cannot manage what you cannot measure. As in all things, I suggest that people become subject matter experts before they hold and spout any opinions on anything.  I know, that should reduce internet traffic by 90%.

The alarm vibrates three times, then pauses for several seconds before vibrating again. I only let it do that once during my test, but I would guess it does that several more times until you turn it off.

Interesting. I'll try that out later.

There is an alarm on the Band? That's nice to know, as I haven't heard of there being one. I might actually get this thing, but not making it water-resistant is holding me back.

To Boss: Sorry I'm late for work, my band is set to "do not disturb" during REM cycles :-/

The way it works is you give a window of time to wake you up in before you enter deep sleep. You wake up less groggy, more energy if it is not out of deep sleep, hence why people power nap. The alarm may go off earlier than you set, but you feel less tired/more energy. Of course this would be an optional feature, but smart people would use it.

I wish FitBit would allow you to disable the 4 tap sleep mode.  It goes into sleep mode when mowing the lawn or pushing a grocery cart and then it looks like I went to sleep in the middle of the day and woke up 452 times and the steps aren't counted.  I guess I could just stop mowing the lawn...

Imagine fitbit putting that on your resume.

I wore both my Band and Fitbit Flex last night for sleep tracking, and will be wearing both all day today to track steps. If my data will help, let me know what & where to send!

Interesting - which one provides the most accurate data? Are there any differences in the data you receive? I'm either going to get the Band or the Flex, but I can't decide.

my watch mode turned off when I set sleep mode on.  

It's bright during the time before i put sleep mode on

I thought so too, but by putting the brightness on Auto, it dimmed down nicely during the evening and at night.

Mine turned off too.  Dan, did you really try out the sleep mode? lol

First off, this was Mark's article. Second, he was talking about Watch Mode at night in general being too bright, which it is, not for when he went to bed ;)

Mark - I can tell you right now you need more sleep. ;)

Can you set it to wake you up during your light sleep and not your restful sleep?

Not yet, but presumably they will add that down the road.

Thanks for this confirmation!! I have been specifically interested in this feature on a smart band. Hopefully a future update might add that.

How can one sleep with that on their hand

Um, ever sleep with a watch on? It is no different.

Sleeping Naked is the best :P

Actually (back when I had a watch - which is getting hard to remember) I always took it off when I went to bed because I found it uncomfortable.

didnt bother me at all.

yeah, that would be hard for me too. i gave up on watches when phones started telling time.

Exactly This...and now they tell me i need a smartwatch...media bullshit hype... shoving unnecessary products down your throat... as if 95% of world cares about how many calories they burnt in their sleep... to each their own...

No one is telling you that you need one, and certainly no one is making you get one.

You don't need one, but they are nice to have. Even my GF is really impressed by this device. She works in the lab and loves the Cortana stuff, since she can't always pull her 1520 out of her pocket.

i never said useless... ofcourse it must be usefull...but its un necessary...  also how accurate is it scientifically...

Oh, I missed that commercial. Link please?

hmm...i was talking in general sense..not this particular article...

The world is a big scary place, but with a little time and patience, you too can make a change to wearing something on your wrist like so many millions of people that have walked the path before you. We have faith in you.  Tell us when you start and we will cheer you on! :-)

applause...

I have my watch on pretty much all the time, and don't notice it, this is no different

As stated by other, watch mode turns off automagically when you start sleep mode.  I was thinking about turning it off because of the brightness as well.

I think what you do with the data is for you to decide.  That;s where I landed with my Fitbit when I started tracking.  You start to notice patterns  "I get a lousy sleep when I eat that / do that / after that.  I get a good sleep on nights when I........"  It starts to help you mange your own expectations about how you will sleep.  And also can help reassure you that you actually DID sleep -- when you might think you did not sleep well.

This! Not a must, but a useful tool to gather data to make somewhat informed decisions about your habits and health. User it or not, it's a choice.

We need a feature in the app that the Band match the color of your phone. And the manual option too (I know that this we already have, but have both) =)

I'm not sure why you think the Band data didn't answer your questions.  70% efficiency, which is not good.  44min restful sleep, which is not enough.  As for how to improve your sleep, that's a question for your doctor. I suffer from mild sleep apnea.  According to the Band, I slept last night for nearly 9 hours, but woke up 13 times, had 79% efficiency, and got only a little under 2 hours of restful sleep.  My graph looks like yours -- rapidly switching between the variouis modes of sleep.  My wife, by comparison, slept for less than 8 hours, but woke up only once, had 97% efficiency, and got more restful sleep than me.  Her graph only had a four blocks in each sleep mode, and they were each lengthy.  This information tells me a clear answer:  I should have worn my CPAP last night!  I will tonight and see how much of a difference it makes. 

What is a CPAP ?

CPAP = Continuous positive airway pressure therapy. You basically where a mask that pumps in pressurized air from the room to open up your throat/nasal passages. You know when people snore? It's actually not a good thing, as it signals a blockage of air due to relaxing of the jaw. As we get older, this can cause people to literally stop breathing during the night, resulting in disrupted sleep (and low blood oxygen levels). While sleep apena rarely kills you directly, long term it results in increased risk for stroke, stress on the heart, higher cholesterol, increased stress hormones and you are at more risk in life for accidents as you are likely sleep deprived. You also tend to gain weight, as being tired your body wants sugar, so you eat crappier foods and then don't exercise (too tired to). Vicious cycle. Source: I was a sleep-tech in NYC

I wear mine every night...not overweight, super large tonsils + narrow throat, equals bad sleep apnea...anyway, yes, killed my Dad...enlarged his heart to the point where it just quit...serious stuff! I'm tracking my sleep now with the band...looking forward to the data it provides.

Sorry to hear about your dad. Hopefully health wearables such as this one lead the fight to preventions and maybe one day no one will have to go sleep worrying if they'll ever wake up. I just wrote an essay about the wearable market and man the Health sector is moving extremely fast the technology is really changing lifes. One day, you'll see :)

That's some awesome information.

Daniel, Thanks for sharing the information. I use a CPAP machine. I didn't snore at all when I was young but I do now. I went and had a sleep study done after years of my wife *claiming* that I would stop breathing in my sleep and that she was afraid. I say *claiming* as I couldn't remember any issues with breathing at night but she was convinced and would wake me up in fear and sometimes frustration if I would snore loudly. The results of my sleep study showed that within a 2 hour span, I stopped breathing over 90 times with the longest time not breathing being close to 30 seconds. I was shocked beyond belief....then scared..then confused (how could this happen to me, I was "proud" of the fact that I didn't snore, even just 5 years ago) and then sad. I didn't know that was happening and I didn't "feel" like I had any problems sleeping or breathing beyond being tired throughout the day yet not feeling like it was from a lack of sleep. The last straw that caused me to go have a sleep study is that I began falling asleep on the way home from work, on long road trips after only driving a couple of hours and barely able to finish work sometimes. With my CPAP machine, I sleep like hard like a 2 ton boulder that hasn't moved since the foundation of the world and as quiet as the sound that dry ink makes on paper. After initially being sad that I would have to use a machine and half mask at such a relatively young age, I got over it and chose to sleep better and live longer. My family and close circle of friends have been supportive and haven't made me feel bad and when we travel, I have built up the courage to inform those that we room with that I am bringing my small CPAP due to obstructive sleep apnea. I noticed a change within 3 weeks. I took a 700 mile roadtrip and I was able to drive all the way without feeling sleepy at all and before, I couldn't make it 200 miles before I would have to ask my wife to take the wheel. I do not work out but I have a naturally athletic build, 6'1 and I average around 217 pounds so by looking at me, all appeared to be well. I am definitely looking forward to purchasing a Microsoft Band and using all of the features, especially the sleep tracking. My wife and I will be getting a Microsoft Band, buying an elliptical, walking more, using Xbox fitness and doing other exercises. The kids are grown and out of the house now and we need to focus on our lives and health. I hope that everyone lives a long and healthy life and I encourage you to not wait until it is almost too late like I did. Heed the concerns voiced by friends and loved ones, even if you cannot verify their claims in your own mind. Listen to what your own body is telling you, ask questions and take the time to get a checkup if you or anyone has any concerns about your well being. Daniel, thanks for taking the time to reply in the detail that you did above. Mark, thank you for the article. Keep up the great work guys and have a great and safe weekend.

Nice, glad you got the help you needed (and had an attentive wife). I helped hundreds of people like you working every night in the city, needless to say, it was a very rewarding job--really loved it. Sleep apnea is a serious concern and a growing epidemic. Maybe I'll do an article on it sometime, it's fascinating stuff.

Glad you found help! I snore sometimes - makes me wonder if I should take a sleep study as well. Ps. I wonder when people started saying"have a safe weekend"? And is it an uniquely American expression? For one I know it is not used in my home country (yet?), although e.g. "Have a safe trip" is. Anyhow, Happy Halloween all!

Thank you Viipottaja. I sometimes say have a safe weekend when there is a holiday weekend as people travel and there are many dangers. On holiday weekends, some people encounter situations that may be unsafe, drivers that are intoixicated, events that turn violent, late night incidents and so forth so I hope that those that have a holiday weekend or are out and about do it safely. It is possible that I am the only one that says that. :)

Thanks for sharing your experience. Kinda motivates me to look into this. The thing that bugs me about CPAPs is that they will screw up your teeth and bite over time. It's not really an if, more like a when. I see it all the time. ​ ​

​ That isn't true for all CPAPs as their mask designs vary. I have a newer ResMed CPAP and it just has two nose pillows. My mouth isn't covered at all and it doesn't have an obstructive mask. The ResMed CPAP also has a humidifier built in and a water chamber for distilled water. The machine is about the size of a size 12 shoe. I'm sure there are even better and more advanced CPAPs than what I have but mine is comfortable, doesn't have a mask, doesn't affect the teeth and is portable. If you do look into it, I do recommend looking into ResMed CPAPs with Nose Pillows. I am sure Daniel has much more knowledge and anyone can correct me if I am wrong about any of my statements as I only have info from my experience. ​ ​

Nice info! It was like you've been waiting all these years for that question to come up in the comments :)

Great info Daniel, thanks for taking the time to share and starting your qualifications on the subject! Wore my band for the first time last night while sleeping. Said I woke up 6 times with 91% sleep efficiency, whatever that means. What was weird is that, with just 6 hours and 51 minutes of sleep, I woke up feeling more refreshed and less tired than I ever remember. Made me wonder if the band had somehow detected snoring in some way and buzzed me, forcing me to turn to a position where I was getting more restful sleep. Maybe not a bad idea if not, but this is not a subject that I'm well versed in!

You know as soon as the userVoice site comes on for this smart band, you sir, are writing that request! lol smart feature.

What is a CPAP?

Read two comments above.

One question, it was uncomfortable to use the band during sleeping?

I usually don't wear watches, so it's noticeable that I'm wearing something while I sleep. didn't bother me though. I was a little worried it'd pick up the heartbeat of the person I'm cuddling with.

You did get an efficiency %, so you know how much you can improve. And you have lots of web articles about nice tips to sleep better :)

You needn't worry about that, the Band uses an optical method to detect heartbeat, so unless the person you're cuddling with somehow gets their skin between the band and your wrist...

That would be awkward...:P

I didn't even notice it. It's just like wearing a watch, no different.

nope. I didn’t even notice it at all.

I wish it would automatically track sleep instead of having to do this manually, I did it last night but found it cumbersome. Maybe setting the usual sleep pattern on the app instead of triggering it manually every single time...

I thought the same, it knows you are lying down and hardly moving, and then can tell when you fall asleep; so why do you need to set it to sleep mode?

Pressing two buttons when you get into bed is cumbersome?

Consumes too many calories. :P

Hopefully they'll update it so it's automatic someday.

I have the Fitbit Flex and while I appreciate the sleep tracking, I almost always forget to turn it on. Wish it was smart enough to figure out that I am sleeping based on my movements somehow. At least on Fitbit you can go in and mark the sleep time later on when you forget, is that possible with the Band as well?   As for whether it helps, it has definitely helped me be aware of how little sleep I get and tried to correct that. Kind of like with stepcounting or calorie counting, just seeing it in "print" makes a difference to me even if I have an idea of the levels I take in. Awareness helps. :)

exactly what i was going to ask.   Also, Can you use cortana to activate Sleep?  This to me would be great. "Goodnight Cortana"  Puts in sleep mode.  

Great idea! My husband thinks I'm crazy when I slap my Fitbit Flex 5 times every night. At least the Band doesn't require that!

How can I update the ms band if I don't own a laptop? I only have a Microsoft Surface RT and it says it can't download the app

I am sure they will release the modern app soon. Surprised that the WP app is not universal...

Yup someone brought up this exact same point yesterday. Then someone else said it was due to restrictions that Store apps had on Windows 8.1 I guess the windows phone version did not face the restrictions and therefor the universal app hit a wall. Though im sure its just a matter of time before we see Microsoft health app on the windows Store.

Seems like you would just use your phone. That's how it's already loading info and apps on the Band.

I hope it can hook up to a CPAP machine.

This may have been asked and answered in another article.  Does it matter which wrist you wear it on?  I'm going to assume it's like other wrist devices and they recommend you wear it on your non-dominant hand.  I wear a watch on my left wrist (I'm right-handed, and yes I'm weird for wearing an actual watch) and want to continue to wear the watch on that wrist.  How much of a difference would it make which wrist I wear this band on?

GOQii fitness band which I use currently says it should be wore on a non dominant hand (left wrist in my case)

The manual says either wrist, inside or out, is ok. However, the store rep said he was told (during store training, I assume) it was designed for the right wrist. He did not know why. I'm going with the manual, myself.

The main reason you want it on your non-dominant hand is safety of the device. You use your non-dominant hand much less and thus the band will encounter far less "collisions" that will scratch it and such. Also, you tend to hold your phone in your dominant hand, so you risk looking, well, weird if you are holding a phone so close to a "banded wrist". ;-)

So when you get up in the middle of the night to pee you press the button to stop sleep mode then start it again once you get back in bed post void?

no, i don't think so, that just gets recorded as awake and active. Then when you look at your graph, you can see what time it was.  I imagine it is very much like the fitbit.  Won't konw for sure till i get mine on Monday. 

I don't think that's a normal function for most people...

Xxcorpxx- So when you get up in the middle of the night it detects that you briefly woke up? Anyway pls lemme know thanks! Willied- more normal than what you think! Lol

Yes, it will know you woke up, and it keeps a count of how many times you woke up during the sleep cycle.

Cool.

I hope they release a less bulky one down the road. However, I'll most likely still buy this by Christmas.

Good demo Daniel. While you sleep, does it track if you skip a heartbeat due to a lovely sweet dreams?  It will be nice if this will also report to the appropriate authorities (in my case -- my wife)  if I suddenly fake my own death (holding your breathe for too long that is) while sleeping :-) 

Not sure why you disabled Watch Mode since as soon as you enter sleep mode, the display is turned off. Having used the sleep data provided through Fitbit for some time, the data provided by MS Band is far superior and much, much more useful. I firmly believe the device does provide information to indicate how well you are sleeping. As far as to how to improve your sleep, it seems that would depend on a lot of factors that the device cannot possibly take into account, However, with the data in hand and a little research to include medical or sleep center advice, you can easily find the answer.

I think you would sleep better without the MS Band. I sleep the best when I'm as far away as possible from electronics.  

I went to sleep last night, woke up this morning, and felt like I slept pretty well. How would all this data improve that self-assessment? Cool that it records it, but the Health app needs to actually do something with the data to make it useful. Maybe link it to Cortana and have her suggest out loud that you go to sleep earlier/later based on your data to help you sleep better, and recommend the best time of day to exercise to affect more sound sleep, and automatically wake you a bit earlier than your alarm if it detects that you're in a good sleep stage to be woken up. Looking forward to Microsoft adding dynamic intelligence on top of data collection. Until then, I'll just drink more coffee in the morning when I need it. Much cheaper.

That would be awesome. I hope they eventually do something like that.

I believe the questions about your sleep will be added into the microsoft health plataform.. I imagine something like... "when you exercise you sleep well" or "play Evil Within at night is not a good idea if you want to sleep well today" but for those answers they need more inputs for the machine learning..    

So...if you're wearing it at night, and it has a 48-hour battery, when do you charge it? My phone's on the charger each night.

Whenever you have some downtime.

I ended up charging mine while sitting at my desk today...took about 30 mins to top it off after 24 hours of usage.

Microsoft website says it only takes 1-1/2 hour for a full charge, so I'll just plug in every day when I shower. Can hardly wait; being delivered Monday!

That's a pretty long shower you know... ;) :P

Mark, why don't you just repeat the procedure for a week or so. Then it may give you a pattern of your sleep and you can figure out what's actually affecting your sleep. I hope the MS Health cloud system can help the users with this calculation and patterning. This is when the true potential of the band and the cloud system will be realised.

I slept goooood... Never tracked my sleep before. Not sure how I burned 575 calories though?

You burn calories even when you're doing nothing thanks to your metabolism.

Everyone burns calories in their sleep - the slower your resting HR The lower it is.. Be careful you aren't also sleep eating though as that might use up any sleep calories you burn.. (and don't even get started on other activities that might happen while half asleep)

I used it to track my sleep last night. I hit 82% efficiency with actual sleep time of 5h 8m. I think that is the number you are looking for Daniel. That and how many times you wake up would indicate how well you sleep.

Im sure we all have read enough posts these past few days to realize the cloud services planned will eventually give us the more in-depth look you're all asking for. Im shocked that we are surprised its not all there yet after night 1 of launch.

If this comes to Belgium I would buy it.

Can you try out the silent alarm function? Microsoft's website says it does silent alarm like Fitbit, but how well does it work? Thanks!

When I tap on sleep tile in app, it tries to get data, but just hangs. I return to start screen, try to bring up Health again, and the app crashes.

Did you solved that issue? I am suffering from the same... I tracked many sleeps already, but I can access none via the Health App :-/ Anyone any idea? The app is crashing every time I try to access my sleep activities...

I do have the same issue :-( I tried to reinstall the app and it didn't solve the problem. My friend has the app on his Android and it don't crash. I have a Lumia 920 with the Developer Preview. I don't know if that might be the issue. My next step would be to try it with my wife's 920 (with the regular cyan update). Also, I'm in Canada, but put my phone in the US regional settings in order to be able to download the Microsoft Health app.

No you are not sleeping well. You need more restful sleep. And you need to wake up less.

Should I go to sleep earl... SLAP! (Resurrecting an old one haha)

This sleep monitoring is very interesting... I may be tempted to get one!

2 hours 22 minutes restful sleep, 96% efficiency. Feel like ass.

Ass feels good,no?

Not today it doesn't

You probably need to go to bed earlier. That was my problem last night, and as a result I had similar results and effects as you: 2h 10m restful sleep at 98% efficiency, and feeling like crap for too much of the day.

I want

I used it. It was fine. I think I get better step tracking with my fitbit than my band

But the other features on the band are awesome

I would be very interested in the sleep monitoring as Ive been diagnosed as narcoleptic. Wondering if the Band would conferr what was found in my daytime sleep studies from a few years ago.

A silly question to ask, when to charge my band then?

When you wake up, drop it on the charger while you're getting ready and pull it off as you leave for the day. Mostly people spend at least an hour from wake to leave. If you have a desk job, you could charge it while you're sitting at your desk working during the day and not very active.  

Another recommendation is when you are showering since you cant use it anyway. those 20-30 minutes a day will have your band running 24/7 365. Assuming you shower everyday :P

It would be really great if some of you with knowledge about sleep could post some general info and tips for the rest of us to use as a general informative guideline until MS updates the app. Like the difference between between Light and Restful sleep, what the best ratio should be and benefits of one over the other. What is the meaning of Sleep Efficiency. I've heard the term REM sleep, does that correlate with one of those? Anything those of you with knowlege might know.

I'm glad to see new devices from Microsoft, but enough with the band already.

Really, not any different treatment than almost every other device upon launch. One thing though, I would have expected a lot more fanfare that Microsoft managed to keep this one so well under wraps, and even more impressive: launch and immediate release. I really hope this is a habit that Microsoft sticks to.

I think the answers will come as they flesh out the Health platform. Its built on the Azure analytics platform and will be mining all kinds of data to give you "answers". Right now they need a lot of users feeding it data in order to see what possibilities can be created.

Hey Danny rub stop hijacking other writers comment sections. I kid I kid actually im an adult. Also where's the Xbox one app ?

So, this means this device will only charge while we shower?

I really want one! Anyone willing to pick one up and ship it to Sweden? :P

No takers? :(

There are legit services that would do that for you..

can't wait to get mines... that sleep thing mother be cool and useless on us insomnia driven folks :'( but I like the device anyways

When do I charge the band if I sleep with it and wear it the whole day ?

Got a desk job? Charge it while at your desk. Commute to work? Plug that baby in. There are probably half a dozen activities you do every day that would yield a good time to top of your Band's tank. Even if the battery lasted four days, you'd still have this issue.

The display turns off completely in Sleep Mode even with Watch Mode enabled. Just got to wait for the display to timeout.

Another toy that the masses will buy-  30% will use it regularly while 45 % say they do (but don't) and the other 25% (don't forget the 45 % who lie about use) admit they bought it's just because cool and want to show it off = the new "walkman".

I like the MS Band, but would never use the sleep monitor.  When I get up in the morning, I can tell if I had a good night's sleep (or not) - and am not really interested in all the data points that explain why. But hey - that's just me. Does anyone know if the band has a timer or stop watch type function?  I like to time myself on my weekly mt bike ride up to my fav summit.

Yes, it has both.

I used it for the last two nights and the sleep tile only captures and display one day worth of data on the phone (Iphone) you can see more days under activity history but it only shows one day at a time (vs cumulative or over a few days) Oddly for the  heart rate it only shows you the most recent 24 hours and tech support said that was a limitation of the memory on the band.

For a second I thought MIcrosoft sent a band to your house and they all slept with you... :D

My Band said Goodnigh to me, seriously, and went dark., I did not have to turn the watch off.

Does the band track your snoring? Ho long did you snore? How long did you not snore?, etc.

Been using the MS Band for 7 days now.  Love it!  Charge it when I'm in the shower & getting ready about an hour each day. Set the color for my outfit of the day. :)  Discovered it fits & feels best when worn under the wrist, with the display where your wrist is flatter on the bottom.  What is the difference between light sleep and restful sleep?  How does it know? Overall it reduces glances at my phone 50%. Makes driving safer. Software wish list:
Comparisons/ aggregation of sleep data & recommendations.
Do not wake from REM sleep detection.
Integrate with MS Health & MS Health Vault for Calorie tracker like MyFitnessPal - display calories yet to eat each day.
Stock Widget should show the change not just the price
Disable GPS option to save battery life
A way to filter Email alerts to just favorites - A universal problem I know.
Actionable items - suggestions
Better reports in MS Health, comparisons, running averages, etc. Hardware wish list:
Scratch resistant screen
Longer battery
Better fit, curved display? Over all I lvoe it, a great first attempt, glad to see Microsoft in the game and leading in some areas.  Software is their strong suit and most of these issues can be solved with software.      

I have been using the band for a mouth now, only charging it while in the shower (20 mins) each day and have never gotten below 50% or higher than 80% (take forever to charge 80% 100%). Would love to see previous sleep so I can see what I am doing right or wrong. Does it sync with the cloud and a PC app could show trends etc.  I am thinking that I need to finally start using a CPAP.

I hope they can enable this to do this automatically like fitbit soon.