Fitbit just started testing its Personalized Sleep Schedule feature — here’s how to try it

Fitbit’s experimental Personalized Sleep Schedule feature is now available to try through Fitbit Labs, and it’s designed to improve your sleep by tracking your energy levels throughout the day and suggesting bedtimes and wake times.

This is done by taking surveys throughout the day that gauge your energy levels and provide advice on how much sleep you need that night.

The launch of the new feature was spotted by 9to5Google and if you have one of the best fitness trackers made by Fitbit or Google, it’s well worth giving a try if you are eligible.

How to try Personalized Sleep Schedule

To be eligible to try the Personalized Sleep Schedule through Fitbit Labs you need to be using the Android version of the Fitbit app and based in the U.S. Here’s the full list of criteria you need to hit from the Fitbit Help Center.

• Use the Fitbit app on an Android phone.
• Be located in the US and use the Fitbit app in English.
• Be at least 18 years old.
• Sign in to the Fitbit app using a Google Account.
• Review and accept the lab-specific consent.
• Make sure you have a sleep log for the day. If you didn’t sleep with one of the devices listed above, you can manually log your sleep in the Fitbit app.
• Have an offer to join the Personalized Sleep Schedule lab on the You tab in the Fitbit App.

If you hit all the requirements listed then hit the You tab in the Fitbit app, go to the Fitbit Labs section, click See All and then you should see and offer to Get a Personalized Sleep Schedule. If it’s not there then try checking again later in the day after shutting and reopening the app.

How does Personalized Sleep Schedule work?

Once you’ve signed up you’ll be reminded to take surveys throughout the day. The first of these is the morning check-in, which is available up until 10 am. This is a two-minute survey that covers any factors that could impact the upcoming night’s sleep.

There are then three daytime surveys that are spread throughout the day that just have one question to rate your energy levels, which will feed into your sleep suggestions for that night.

The last survey is the evening bedtime check-in which has to be done before 11 pm. This is another two-minute survey about factors that could influence your sleep, and once you’ve taken it you’ll be given your Personalized Sleep Schedule for that night.

This is a suggested bedtime and wake time based on your sleep needs and sleep debt, which are calculated through the sleep you’ve logged through your tracker or in the app, and your responses to the surveys.

How could Personalized Sleep Schedule improve sleep?

Having a consistent sleep schedule is generally advised as one of the best ways to improve your sleep in general, as it can help keep your body in a natural sleep-wake cycle.

There are lots of other factors that go into good sleep though, and some might find it hard to actually stick to the recommendations from Fitbit.

My Garmin Fenix 8 recommends a suggested sleep time to me each day through Garmin's Sleep Coach feature, and I found it more of an annoyance than a help when my child was six months old and waking a lot, for example.

However, checking in on your energy levels throughout the day and thinking about factors that might influence your sleep are both habits that can prove helpful in tracking things that do affect your sleep so you can adjust them in the future.

A suggested bedtime can also be useful in providing an extra nudge to get to bed in the evening when it’s all too tempting to watch one more episode of something or scroll social media instead of hitting the hay.

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