Fitbit counts yoga as time asleep!

rosebette

I've been using a Fitbit HR, and it's tracking the time I do yoga as time asleep but restless! Obviously, the yoga is burning so few calories that it shouldn't count as exercise, but it makes me wonder what's happening to my heart rate during yoga. Could it be dropping so low that the Fitbit thinks I'm asleep?

Sabine_Stroehm

wow. Pilates certainly doesn't make my fitbit think I'm asleep.

rosebette

Pilates doesn't do that to my Fitbit either, but in a Pilates class, I'm constantly moving even if it's not intense movement, while in a yoga class, I am still for periods of time. This time, I turned off the workout counter before the final "meditation" -- corpse pose -- that closes class so it wouldn't think the yoga was a "prelude" to going to sleep, but it still registered my yoga class as "active sleep." I do wonder whether the yoga is indeed lowering my heart rate enough to tricking the device.

editorgrrl

rosebette wrote: »

I've been using a Fitbit HR, and it's tracking the time I do yoga as time asleep but restless! Obviously, the yoga is burning so few calories that it shouldn't count as exercise, but it makes me wonder what's happening to my heart rate during yoga. Could it be dropping so low that the Fitbit thinks I'm asleep?

I have a Fitbit Charge HR, and it's never gone into sleep mode during yoga. Whenever your Fitbit acts weird, step one is to reset it: http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/How-do-I-restart-my-tracker

If the problem persists, contact Fitbit customer service. They'll walk you through troubleshooting, and replace your Charge HR if it's defective.

PS. MFP has a Fitbit Users group: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1290-fitbit-users

rosebette

I'm wondering whether it's because I press the button down like I do when I start a workout, but according to the manual, you can also do that to record sleep. Perhaps because I have time motionless, that's what it thinks. Today I didn't set it to "workout mode" during yoga, and it didn't record it as sleep.

hekla90

I can only assume this means you've found your nirvana, isn't that the goal of yoga

rosebette

sunparakeet wrote: »

I drove a couple miles down a bumpy field road at work the other day and my fitbit thought I walked 3 miles

That happened to me once in an off-road vehicle in Monument Valley.

MeanderingMammal

rosebette wrote: »

.. what's happening to my heart rate during yoga. Could it be dropping so low that the Fitbit thinks I'm asleep?

It depends on the style that you're practicing. If you're doing Astanga it shouldn't be, but if you're doing a more restful style then it's not out of the question.

If it is then that demonstrates that you're having some success.

rosebette

I guess it all depends on what defines "success" in yoga -- as spiritual practice, that it can lower one's heart rate and metabolism to the point that the body mimics sleep certainly qualifies. Those who are looking at yoga as a "workout" might not see it that way. However, I think it's important that we have physical practices that restore our body as well as exercise it.

Homemaker57

Some styles of yoga are specifically designed to calm your body and being you into a meditative, peaceful state. If your goal is to burn calories, consider a different routine that keeps you moving.

The_Invisible_Boy

sunparakeet wrote: »

I drove a couple miles down a bumpy field road at work the other day and my fitbit thought I walked 3 miles

Haha. I mow about 3 acres with a riding mower! It would log over 15k steps!!