New research from the University of Texas has looked at Fitbit devices and found that they’re pretty good at tracking our daily activity patterns, like when we’re awake and active. But when it comes to measuring our sleep, they’re not as accurate.

The study showed that Fitbits work well for tracking our daily routines, like when we’re active and when we rest. They do a job similar to more specialized devices used in research labs. This is useful because it means Fitbits could be used for studies with more people, including older folks.

“A widely available commercial product that many people own can be used to measure rest-activity cycles with precision accuracy,” the researchers say. “This was true in both younger and older adult groups. The latter is important because research has shown that changes in circadian rhythms associated with aging can be sensitive to both cognitive decline as well as dementia vulnerability.”

Testing for accuracy

Fitbits and similar gadgets have become popular in recent years, but we don’t know for sure how accurate they are, especially for older people.

In the study, researchers compared Fitbits to a device called Actiwatch 2.0, which is known to be reliable for tracking daily activity and sleep patterns. They had both younger adults (18-30 years old) and older adults (60-89 years old) wear both devices on different wrists for about 10-14 days while doing their normal activities. Participants also kept track of their sleep in diaries.

The study found that Fitbits are good at tracking daily activity patterns, like when we’re awake and moving around. But they’re not as accurate when it comes to measuring how much we sleep and how long it takes us to fall asleep. This could be because Fitbits are too sensitive to movement or because the way they figure out sleep isn’t perfect.

So, while Fitbits might not be the best for measuring sleep, they could be useful for studying daily activity patterns in bigger and more diverse groups of people. This is because Fitbits are common and easy to charge, unlike other devices that need to be taken to a lab for charging.

“These findings support using Fitbits or other commercial activity bands as an important tool to monitor rest-activity cycles ‘in the wild,’” the authors conclude. “Changes in these cycles could be indicative of distress or changes in cognitive functioning in elderly adults.”