I work in breakfast radio and to any other shift worker that finds themselves waking up at 3.30am you’d feel my pain in having constant unsettled sleeps. It’s always such a challenge to fall asleep at the right time and it’s vital you nail 6hrs of sleep, but you never quite remember when you fall asleep and how wrestles you actually were and how long you were asleep . . . all you know is that you feel so vague when that alarm goes off.

So, for the past week I have been able to monitor my sleep patterns and it’s so fascinating to see the pattern. I’ve been able to play with my new toy the Fitbit Versa and it not only tracks your sleep patterns but your lady cycle too, exercise, health EVERYTHING.

After night one I was surprised to wake up to the report that over a 12-hour course of sleep (it was Saturday, Saturday is my don’t set an alarm day) I had only covered 9 hours of actual sleep the rest was time spent awake or restless, and of the 9 hours only 4 hours was deep sleep and the other 5 light sleep. I woke up 13 times through-out the night and spent a total of 1.5hrs completely awake just lying there.

I had no idea that my sleep pattern was like that and the other fascinating fact that I’ve discovered is how many steps I actually do in a day. They say that 10,000 steps per day is the daily target to hit but to achieve that can seem unrealistic without actually trying . . . or is it? You really can underestimate how far you walk each day.

Yesterday for example, between 4am and 12pm at work I had gone to the toilet at least 15 times (I drink a lot of water) and the toilet is at least 100 steps there and back each time which means I hit 1000 steps just by going to the toilet. That’s just the toilet, by the time I had finished an 8hr shift at work I had done 3600 steps. I then walked my dog for 20mins and gained another 2000 steps and then I went shopping for 2hrs and by 3pm my wrist started vibrating and showcasing balloons and streamers . . . 

I’d hit 10,000 steps but I didn’t feel like I had to sweat my ass off to do it.

Let the Fitbit Versa motivate you further, once you incorporate it into your daily routine you will realise how active you are, you’ll get a better understanding for your health and sleeping patterns too. Not to mention the new look is sexy, it’s like wearing a cool watch that matches every outfit you don’t need to take it off (unless you shower or get a spray tan) 

I can even read my text messages on it and play my favourite music as I’m falling asleep.

Our health is important, and I don’t put enough focus on it, I can get lazy . . . but if I’m tracking it I have more control and more motivation.