Fitbit's newest feature could help you sleep better and longer

The CDC reports that roughly one in three people struggle to get the proper amount of rest, but Fitbit's latest feature could provide a solution. The Personalized Sleep Schedule is part of Fitbit Labs, and it will 'survey your energy levels multiple times daily to analyze your responses and provide an evening sleep schedule.'
In other words, the feature will determine your overall sleep debt and what you need to recover, and will then suggest a wake-up and bedtime centered on that data. Fitbit says the calculation comes from 'your last night of sleep data and your survey responses throughout the day,' so you will need to take the time to complete the surveys to maximize its effectiveness.
Compared to other smartwatch features, the Personalized Sleep Schedule feels somewhat high maintenance. The morning check-in is a two-minute survey, and you have to answer it before 10 AM in your timezone. The daytime surveys are short responses about your current energy levels. And the evening/bedtime check-in is another two-minute survey.
In total, that's roughly five minutes a day, but it equals quite a few interruptions if you're trying to stick to your answers. The timing requirements are also inconvenient; if you don't answer the evening survey by 11 PM each night, you won't receive a Personalized Sleep Schedule.
Fitbit also warns the feature uses generative AI. While generally accurate, the answers might not always be correct. That said, the feature should grow more accurate over time as it 'learns' your habits and behaviors.
Despite the absolute need for sleep, medical science still lacks a firm understanding of the biomechanics behind it. As such, most sleep trackers are left wanting. Each tracker is slightly different in how it determines results, but Fitbit is taking a step in the right direction by looking at things throughout the day instead of just the quality of the previous nights' sleep.
If you're interested, you can sign up for Fitbit Labs through the Fitbit on Android app. For now, this feature is limited only to users in the United States, and anyone participating in the Personalized Sleep Schedule Lab must be over 18 years old.

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Chicago Tribune

26 minutes ago

• Chicago Tribune

US measles count now tops 1,200 cases, and Iowa announces an outbreak

The U.S. logged fewer than 20 measles cases this week, though Iowa announced the state's first outbreak Thursday and Georgia confirmed its second Wednesday. There have been 1,214 confirmed measles cases this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Health officials in Texas, where the nation's biggest outbreak raged during the late winter and spring, confirmed six cases in the last week. There are three other major outbreaks in North America. The longest, in Ontario, Canada, has resulted in 2,179 cases from mid-October through June 17. The province logged its first death June 5 in a baby who got congenital measles but also had other preexisting conditions. Another outbreak in Alberta, Canada, has sickened 996 as of Thursday. And the Mexican state of Chihuahua had 2,335 measles cases and four deaths as of Friday, according to data from the state health ministry. Other U.S. states with active outbreaks — which the CDC defines as three or more related cases — include Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota and Oklahoma. In the U.S., two elementary school-aged children in the epicenter in West Texas and an adult in New Mexico have died of measles this year. All were unvaccinated. Measles vaccination rates drop after COVID-19 pandemic in counties across the USMeasles is caused by a highly contagious virus that's airborne and spreads easily when an infected person breathes, sneezes or coughs. It is preventable through vaccines and has been considered eliminated from the U.S. since 2000. There are a total of 750 cases across 35 counties, most of them in West Texas, state health officials said Tuesday. Throughout the outbreak, 97 people have been hospitalized. State health officials estimated less than 1% of cases — fewer than 10 — are actively infectious. Fifty-five percent of Texas' cases are in Gaines County, where the virus started spreading in a close-knit, undervaccinated Mennonite community. The county has had 413 cases since late January — just under 2% of its residents. The April 3 death in Texas was an 8-year-old child, according to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Local health officials said the child did not have underlying health conditions and died of 'what the child's doctor described as measles pulmonary failure.' A unvaccinated child with no underlying conditions died of measles in Texas in late February; Kennedy said the child was 6. New Mexico held steady Friday with a total of 81 cases. Seven people have been hospitalized since the outbreak started. Most of the state's cases are in Lea County. Sandoval County near Albuquerque has six cases, Eddy County has three, Doña Ana County has two. Chaves, Curry and San Juan counties have one each. An unvaccinated adult died of measles-related illness March 6. The person did not seek medical care. Oklahoma added one case Friday for a total of 17 confirmed and three probable cases. The state health department is not releasing which counties have cases. Arizona has four cases in Navajo County. They are linked to a single source, the county health department said June 9. All four were unvaccinated and had a history of recent international travel. Colorado has seen a total of 16 measles cases in 2025, which includes one outbreak of 10 related cases. The outbreak is linked to a Turkish Airlines flight that landed at Denver International Airport in mid-May. Four of the people were on the flight with the first case — an out-of-state traveler not included in the state count — while five got measles from exposure in the airport and one elsewhere. Health officials are also tracking an unrelated case in a Boulder County resident. The person was fully vaccinated but had 'recently traveled to Europe, where there are a large number of measles cases,' the state health department said. Other counties that have seen measles this year include Archuleta and Pueblo. Georgia has an outbreak of three cases in metro Atlanta, with the most recent infection confirmed Wednesday. The state has confirmed six total cases in 2025. The remaining three are part of an unrelated outbreak from January. Illinois health officials confirmed a four-case outbreak on May 5 in the far southern part of the state. It grew to eight cases as of June 6, but no new cases were reported in the following weeks, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. The state's other two cases so far this year were in Cook County, and are unrelated to the southern Illinois outbreak. Illinois unveils online tool showing measles vaccination rates by schoolIowa has had six total measles cases in 2025. Four are part of an outbreak in eastern Johnson County, among members of the same household. County health officials said the people are isolating at home, so they don't expect additional spread. Kansas has a total of 79 cases across 11 counties in the southwestern part of the state, with three hospitalizations. All but three of the cases are connected, and most are in Gray County. Montana had 22 measles cases as of Friday. Fourteen were in Gallatin County, which is where the first cases showed up — Montana's first in 35 years. Flathead and Yellowstone counties had two cases each, and Hill County had four cases. There are outbreaks in neighboring North Dakota and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. North Dakota, which hadn't seen measles since 2011, was up to 34 cases as of June 6, but has held steady since. Two of the people have been hospitalized. All of the people with confirmed cases were not vaccinated. There were 16 cases in Williams County in western North Dakota on the Montana border. On the eastern side of the state, there were 10 cases in Grand Forks County and seven cases in Cass County. Burke County, in northwest North Dakota on the border of Saskatchewan, Canada, had one case. Measles cases also have been reported this year in Alaska, Arkansas, California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Health officials declared earlier outbreaks in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania over after six weeks of no new cases. Tennessee's outbreak also appears to be over. Cases and outbreaks in the U.S. are frequently traced to someone who caught the disease abroad. The CDC said in May that more than twice as many measles have come from outside of the U.S. compared to May of last year. Most of those are in unvaccinated Americans returning home. In 2019, the U.S. saw 1,274 cases and almost lost its status of having eliminated measles. The best way to avoid measles is to get the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The first shot is recommended for children between 12 and 15 months old and the second between 4 and 6 years old. Getting another MMR shot as an adult is harmless if there are concerns about waning immunity, the CDC says. People who have documentation of receiving a live measles vaccine in the 1960s don't need to be revaccinated, but people who were immunized before 1968 with an ineffective vaccine made from 'killed' virus should be revaccinated with at least one dose, the agency said. People who have documentation that they had measles are immune and those born before 1957 generally don't need the shots because so many children got measles back then that they have 'presumptive immunity.' Measles has a harder time spreading through communities with high vaccination rates — above 95% — due to 'herd immunity.' But childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the pandemic and more parents are claiming religious or personal conscience waivers to exempt their kids from required shots. Measles first infects the respiratory tract, then spreads throughout the body, causing a high fever, runny nose, cough, red, watery eyes and a rash. The rash generally appears three to five days after the first symptoms, beginning as flat red spots on the face and then spreading downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet. When the rash appears, the fever may spike over 104 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the CDC. Most kids will recover from measles, but infection can lead to dangerous complications such as pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and death. There's no specific treatment for measles, so doctors generally try to alleviate symptoms, prevent complications and keep patients comfortable.

The Hill

a day ago

• The Hill

Vaccine advisers set to review ingredient in influenza shot

PRESENTED BY The Big Story Coming next week: The first meeting of RFK Jr.'s handpicked vaccine advisory panel. © Photo credit It's the first meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) since Kennedy fired all 17 members and appointed eight new panelists, several of whom are vocal vaccine critics. As part of its scaled-down two-day meeting beginning Wednesday, the committee is set to vote on influenza vaccines that contain thimerosal — an ingredient wrongly linked to autism. Kennedy has long advocated for banning thimerosal, a preservative that was widely used for decades in a number of biological and drug products, including many vaccines. In his 2014 book, Kennedy said thimerosal was 'toxic to brain tissue' and likely caused autism. Thimerosal, a compound that contains mercury, is used as a preservative to prevent harmful bacteria in multidose vials of vaccines. The compound has been largely phased out as manufacturers have shifted toward single-use vials that contain little or no thimerosal, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Thimerosal was largely removed from pediatric vaccines by 2001, amid concerns that it could be linked to autism in children. But according to the CDC, 'a robust body of peer-reviewed scientific studies conducted in the U.S. and other countries support the safety of thimerosal-containing vaccines.' The draft agenda for next week's ACIP meeting revisits issues that scientists and public health experts have long considered to be settled, including the use of the measles mumps, rubella and varicella vaccine in children under 5 years old. It's unclear yet what the panel will discuss regarding the shot. The current CDC childhood vaccine schedule recommends two doses for children, with the first dose at age 12-15 months and the second at age 4-6 years. 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Washington Post

a day ago

• Washington Post

US measles count now tops 1,200 cases, and Iowa announces an outbreak

The U.S. logged fewer than 20 measles cases this week, though Iowa announced the state's first outbreak Thursday and Georgia confirmed its second Wednesday. There have been 1,214 confirmed measles cases this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday. Health officials in Texas, where the nation's biggest outbreak raged during the late winter and spring, confirmed six cases in the last week.