The New FitModo

Last year, the Fitbit One was our favorite fitness tracker. It had a great design, solid accuracy for steps and floors climbed, and a nice screen. The only problem was that it was so easy to accidentally leave in a pair of pants. To combat this, the company created the Fitbit Flex, its first wrist-worn product. Unfortunately, while aping the Nike Fuelband, Fitbit accidentally threw out everything that made the One so great.

Now, roughly six months after releasing the Flex, Fitbit has come out with the Force. It is, quite simply, everything the Flex should have been.

What Is It?

It's a health tracker that measures your steps taken, floors climbed, time spent active, and the quality of your sleep.

Who's It For?

People who are trying to be more active and want some measurable data about their daily activities. Having even basic metrics about what you do throughout the day can paint a much clearer picture of your health, and may vary greatly from your perception of how active you are. The Fitbit Force will help you set goals, too.

Design

While it looks a lot like the Flex, but with a slightly wider band, the Force feels more high end. Unlike the Flex (which required you to pop out its brains every time you wanted to charge), the Force is one single piece of hardware. Its silicone band wraps around your wrist and snaps into itself easily. It's thin enough that it won't bother you while typing, unlike Samsung's much larger Galaxy Gear smartwatch.

Up front is a bright, mono-color (cyan) LED display that clearly shows your metrics as you go. There is one single button on the left side which you use for waking up the display scrolling through the various screens. Subjectively, it's pretty good looking (the black version is, at least), and it wouldn't look out of place if you were dressed for business, whatever your business might actually be.

Using It

It's really pretty brainless, which is nice. You use one button to flip through the time of day, your steps taken, your (estimated) distance traversed, your (estimated) calories burned, the number of floors you've climbed, and the amount of time you've been in a higher state of activity (like jogging). Hold down that button and it'll start a stopwatch, which is a handy feature. And that same button is also how you track your sleep at night (starting it when you hit the sheets, and stopping it when you wake up).

All of that data is then wirelessly synced to the cloud. The smartphone apps let you sync your Force throughout the day, without even having to think about it, using the Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy protocol.

The Best Part

This tracker gives you the most data for the least amount of having to think about it. It's comfortable enough to wear 24/7 and you don't have to worry about taking it out of your pocket every night, transferring it into a soft sleeve so that you can track your sleep, and then reversing the whole process in the morning.

Tragic Flaw

There's nothing really tragic here. But, because we have to pick something, we'll say that we wish it worked with more Android devices.

This Is Weird...

I'm not sure I totally trust the way it measures sleep patterns. You have two options to choose from: Normal, or Sensitive. In Sensitive mode, my sleep efficiency was always down between 48 and 56 percent. Horrible. I would be a total zombie if that were true. However, if I flip it into Normal mode, suddenly I'm a sleep guru with 96 to 98 percent efficiency. There is simply no way that either of those are accurate. While I suspect that Normal is more correct, the truth has got to lie somewhere in the middle. But where? With a gigantic spread like that it's impossible to know. Who should use Normal, who should use Sensitive, and why? We have no idea.

Test Notes

Battery life on this thing is fantastic. Fitbit claims it will go ten days before needing a charge. We found that it went up to eleven. It only takes an hour or two to recharge, too.

The Force is dubbed "water resistant," "splash proof," and "rain proof," but I decided to wear it during a 5K mud run anyway, because that seemed like a realistic use case. It was at one point under 2-3 feet of liquidy mud and was covered with sludge for the entire time. I thought I'd killed it for sure. But upon hosing it off, it was just fine, and it had been tracking all the while. Impressive.

Unlike the Flex, the Force is extremely accurate. To test this, I counted my steps very carefully and would then check it against the Force. I counted a few hundred steps while walking normally, while walking with my hands in my pockets, and while jogging. In all cases, the Force was within just a few steps of what I counted.

The Force has a silent alarm feature I really like (as did the One and the Flex). You set your alarm time either on Fitbit.com or within the app, sync the device, and go to bed. At the appointed time, the Force will silently vibrate on your wrist until you stop it, thus waking you up, but leaving your sweetie-pie in dreamland.

In generally, Fitbit's site isn't quite as nicely laid-out or easy to navigate as the site (or apps) for the Withings Pulse.

The Force has a wacky "coming soon" feature. When paired with iOS 7, you will be able to received incoming call notifications on your Force. It will vibrate and show the caller's name (if it's in your contacts) or number (if it isn't). This feature should be rolling out in the next month or two, unless they deep-six it.

A Good Night's Sleep Without the Hangover

The older classes of sleep medications, particularly the benzodiazepines -- think Valium and Xanax -- do more than just help you sleep. They affect how you sleep, altering your actual "sleep architecture," says Donna Arand, PhD, clinical director of the Kettering Sleep Disorders Center in Kettering, Ohio.

"They tend to decrease the amount of time spent in certain stages of sleep, particularly stages three and four (the deepest, most restful stages of sleep)," says Arand, who serves on the boards of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American Insomnia Association. "People also complained of hangover effects from these medications." That's because they tend to have a longer "half-life," which is the length of time the drug stays in your body.

Non-benzodiazepine hypnotics like Ambien, Ambien CR, Rozerem, Sonata, and Lunesta, however, share key advantages over previous generations of sleep drugs:

• They have a relatively short half-life, so you won't wake up groggy the next day. "There are minimal reports of 'hangover' effects with these new drugs," says Arand.
• They are less likely than the older sleeping pills to cause addiction, withdrawal symptoms, or a buildup of tolerance (when you require more and more drug to have the same effect).

Why? The newer medications act only on specific receptors in your brain that are focused on sleep, while older groups of drugs have a more generalized effect on multiple brain receptors. "These new drugs are among the safest medications in medicine," says Thomas Roth, MD, Director of the Sleep Disorders and Research Center at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit.

New Sleeping Pills Aren’t Right for Everyone

"If you have insomnia due to sleep-related breathing disorders [sleep apnea] or restless legs syndrome, for example, these drugs won't address your underlying problem," says Roth. Pregnant women, of course, shouldn't take these medications. And if you're "on call," frequently getting up in the middle of the night for work or for a child, they might not work for you.

If you're regularly having trouble either falling or staying asleep (insomnia), make an appointment with your doctor. Treatment is available — but it depends on what's causing your insomnia. Sometimes, an underlying medical or sleep disorder can be found and treated, a much more effective approach than just treating the symptom of insomnia itself.

Behavior changes learned through cognitive behavioral therapy are generally the best treatment for persistent insomnia. However, there are times when prescription sleeping pills may be helpful. Although sleeping pills don't treat the underlying cause of your sleeping problems, they may help you get some much needed rest.

Today's prescription sleeping pills don't carry the same level of risks of dependence and overdoses as sleeping pills of the past. But risks remain — especially for people who have certain medical conditions, including liver or kidney disease. Always talk with your doctor before trying a new treatment for insomnia.

Here's information on some of the most common types of sleeping pills used today.

Types of prescription sleeping pills

Prescription sleeping pills are available to help you fall asleep easier, stay asleep longer — or both. Before prescribing a medication to help you sleep, your doctor will ask you a number of questions to get a clear picture of your sleep patterns. He or she may also order tests to rule out any underlying conditions that may be causing difficulty sleeping.

To reduce the risk of side effects and of becoming reliant on drugs to sleep, your doctor likely will prescribe medications for two to four weeks. If the first medication you take doesn't work after the full prescribed course, call your doctor. You may need to try more than one prescription sleeping pill before finding one that works for you.

Some prescription sleeping pills are available as generic drugs, which are typically less expensive than are brand-name drugs. Ask your doctor whether there is a generic version available of the medication he or she prescribes. Insurance companies may have restrictions on which sleeping pills are covered, and they may require that you try other approaches to your insomnia first.

Sleeping pills that help you fall asleep

The following prescription medications are used mainly to help you fall asleep.  

Snuggle Up with the Perfect Pillow

Nothing starts your day off better than getting a good night's sleep. And sleeping with the right pillow can help.

"Pillows can not only impact the quality of our sleep, but also how healthfully we rest and recharge," says sleep expert Michael Breus, PhD, a clinical psychologist and author of Beauty Sleep: Look Younger, Lose Weight, and Feel Great Through Better Sleep.

But the wrong pillow may worsen headaches, neck pain, shoulder and arm numbness, discomfort, sneezing, and wheezing, notes orthopaedic surgeon Andrew Hecht, MD.

"A bad pillow won't be the cause of any of these problems, but using the incorrect pillow can certainly exacerbate many of the underlying problems linked to these symptoms, and it certainly can keep you from getting a good night's rest," says Hecht, the co-chief of spine surgery at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York.

And if your pillow is past its prime, it may contain skin cells, mold, mildew, fungus, and dust mites, which make up more than half of an older pillow's weight, Breus notes.

Is it time to buy a new pillow? Experts say the general rule is to buy a pillow every 12 to 18 months. After two years, it's definitely got to go.

Pillow Shopping: Consider Your Sleeping Style

Before you buy a new pillow, think about your sleep position.

"The goal of using a pillow is to help keep your head in what is called a 'neutral alignment,' meaning your head is sitting squarely on your shoulders without bending back too far or reaching too far forward," says Kammi Bernard, PT, a physical therapist at the Baylor Health Care System in Dallas.

Some expert advice:

• If you sleep on your back: "Back sleepers need thinner pillows, so their head is not thrown too far forward," Bernard says. Also look for a pillow with extra loft in the bottom third of the pillow to cradle your neck.
• If you sleep on your side: Side sleepers need a firmer pillow to fill in the distance between the ear and outside shoulder.
• If you're a stomach sleeper: Look for a very thin, almost flat pillow. You may not even need a pillow for your head, but consider tucking one under your stomach to avoid lower back pain, Breus suggests.

Pillow Stuffing Options

There is no shortage of fillings you can find stuffed in a pillow these days. The most common ones are down-feather combinations, foam, or polyester fiberfill. Memory foam and latex pillows have become quite popular in recent years, particularly among people looking for additional neck support.

What's right for you? That may depend on how you're feeling on a given day, says Breus, who recommends that most people have more than one type of pillow to choose from. A pillow wardrobe, in other words.

"Pillows serve multiple purposes," Breus says. For instance, you may want a pillow to support your neck if your neck is bothering you one day. But once your neck feels fine again, that same supportive pillow may not be the most comfortable for you, Breus notes.

Here's what to look for in each type of pillow filling:

• Foam: "Go by the density," Breus says. "The higher the density, the less breakdown, and the more support you will have without getting too soft."
• Memory foam: These are popular because they reduce pressure points by continuously molding and adjusting to the shape of your body as you move throughout the night. Memory foam pillows come in various shapes, including a popular contoured S-shape, which is meant to support the neck. Breus notes that memory foam material is known to make sleepers hot, and can sometimes emit an unpleasant chemical odor.
• Latex: This is the firmest type of pillow, and it resists mold and dust mites, Breus says. Latex pillows may also help with back and neck alignment, as they're often contoured for neck support.
• Wool/cotton: Wool and cotton pillows are hypoallergenic and resist mold and dust mites. Both also tend to be quite firm. So if you love a squishy pillow, these fillers aren't for you.
• Down/feather: Many sleep experts recommend these as one of the best pillows for a good night's rest. "One of the great things about down pillows is that you can move the stuffing around so that you have the most support where you need it," Bernard says. "Plus, it's soft, yet firm enough to give you the support you need."