I track my sleep for a living. Not really. My sleep data is central to testing and reviewing products. Even when not testing mattresses or sleep apps, I check my sleep data regularly, especially when I know I slept poorly or feel particularly tired. It’s a habit I’ve developed.
Many of us wear sleep trackers because they give us key insights into our health. They can help us identify bad sleep and strive for better sleep. As with anything good, checking your sleep data can become a tendency that hurts you.
Becoming obsessed with your sleep data is called orthosomnia.
“The relatively new condition is spurred by society’s obsession with technology, which has trickled into our sleep solutions via trackers that gamify sleep by assigning scores,” says Meredith Broderick, M.D., sleep neurologist and Ozlo Sleep medical advisory board member.
Pursuing better sleep is something we always do, but monitoring sleep data in the pursuit of perfection can backfire and impact our health. Here’s what to know.
Want more on healthy sleep habits? Learn how to shower for better sleep, why you should skip the nightcap and our expert tips for sleeping cool during the summer.
3 ways obsessing over sleep data can hurt you
Orthosomnia is not a medical diagnosis. Instead, it’s a concept researchers use to describe the fixation with sleep data. Still, the habit of attempting to optimize your sleep habits can have real impacts on your health.
It can lead to self-diagnosed sleep disorders
According to a case study examining orthosomnia, fixation on sleep data can lead to an increase in self-diagnosed sleep disorders. It’s not hard to see how it could happen.
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Sleep trackers make it easy to interpret data with charts and summaries. For example, my Fitbit data tells me how long I slept, how often I woke up and how much time I spent in each sleep cycle. Is it bad that my sleep score is only 76? It’s lower than my 30-day average, but that’s the only conclusion I can draw.
Sleep trackers do not offer any clinical context for the average person. Studies have shown that while the data commercial sleep trackers collect is generally reliable enough for daily use, they are often not sensitive enough to accurately detect wake times or sleep cycles.
“Low scores can lead to stress and adversely affect sleep, while insufficient sleep can increase stress levels. As a result, we’re seeing more and more patients seeking treatment for what they perceive to be poor sleep or periods of restlessness in an effort to improve their sleep scores,” says Broderick.
You can’t draw clinical conclusions by yourself from your sleep tracker data. Fluctuations in sleep quality are completely normal and not a cause for alarm. The only way to know if you have a sleep disorder is to speak with your doctor and undergo a sleep study.
Inform how you feel based on your score
Even if you’re not convinced you have a sleep disorder, your sleep data can inform your feelings for the day.
Tell me if this sounds familiar: You wake up and start your day. You’re feeling pretty good. Then, you check your sleep tracker data, which tells you that you slept less than normal or your score is low. Then you yawn, realizing you don’t feel rested at all.
It becomes a chicken-or-egg situation. Do you feel tired because you actually are, or do you think you should be when faced with a poor sleep score? This can impact how you feel, mood and productivity for the day.
Impact your mental health
The impulse to optimize your sleep can impact your physical and mental health in ways you might not expect.
“A fixation on sleep data obsession can exacerbate mental health issues such as depression, and the stress of achieving perfect sleep can result in insufficient sleep, which can pose health risks like glucose intolerance and obesity,” Broderick says.
Feeling anxious about falling asleep to achieve a high sleep score won’t just impact you during the day. It will also follow you into the bedroom. When stressed, our body activates the sympathetic nervous system, and our fight or flight response takes over. Adrenaline and the stress hormone cortisol are released. As a result, your heart rate and breathing pick up. Another side effect of cortisol is that it keeps us awake.
Focusing too closely on your data can cause enough stress to make it harder to sleep. To combat anxious feelings at night, add a weighted blanket to your bed or use a meditation app.
Read more: 6 Things to Do if You Have Morning Anxiety
Focusing too closely on your sleep data not only can exacerbate mental health conditions, but it can also lead to the formation of unhealthy sleep habits to achieve the perfect score. Such as staying in bed longer to try to pad your numbers. Your sleep score doesn’t take into account your mental health.
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What metrics should you pay attention to?
Keeping track of your sleep data is a good thing for recognizing bad sleep hygiene habits and tracking your habit changes. A 2023 survey found that 68% of people have changed their behavior based on what they learn from their sleep tracker.
There are limits. If you want to improve your sleep, don’t take your sleep data without additional context.
“The most effective sleep technology goes beyond sleep tracking and emphasizes education — helping people identify the root cause(s) of sleep issues and providing actionable, science-based insights to instill healthy sleep habits that improve wellbeing long-term,” Broderick adds.
When faced with an abundance of data, you don’t need to analyze every piece. While some people need to monitor their heart rate or oxygen variation, it’s not something the average person needs to get hung up on each day. Nor do you need to strive for perfection in your sleep.
Broderick says there are three main data points from your sleep tracker that you should look out for.
- How long you slept: Your total sleep duration is the basis for sleeping well. For the average adult, it’s between seven and nine hours.
- Sleep Efficiency: Sleep efficiency refers to the ratio of time spent asleep to how long you were in bed. Broderick says an ideal range for sleep efficiency is 85% to 90%.
- Consistency: It’s important to keep an eye on your regular sleep and wake times. Our bodies love routine, and it is best to abide by your body’s natural circadian rhythm.
3 tips to avoid orthosomnia
When simply a background tool to help you get better sleep, sleep tracking can be a real benefit. If you’re fixating on your sleep data or worried you might, a few behavioral changes can help you kick your addiction to data and sleep without the pressure of perfection.
Find boundaries that work for you
First, you should establish boundaries around how you’ll interact with your sleep data and phone throughout the day. One option many people use is keeping your phone away from your sleep. Maybe that means it’s not in the bedroom or across the room.
Broderick suggests that instead of relying just on the data your tracker gives you, you should take a comprehensive approach to using that information. Instead of just paying attention to the numbers, try keeping a sleep journal to subjectively reflect on how you slept. It can give you another perspective on your sleep quality.
Focus on relaxation before bed
Adding relaxing activities to your nightly routine can help you banish the stress you may have placed around sleep. Instead of thinking about the score you want to achieve, do something that relaxes you. For some people, it may be reading a book or taking a bubble bath. For others, they may brew a cup of tea or implement yoga poses for sleep.
To maximize the benefits of relaxation techniques, it’s best to add them to your bedtime routine each night. A routine will help your body anticipate sleep and boost melatonin production.
Use technology for good
Technology is not inherently bad for your sleep. It’s the relationship you have with it that can compromise your sleep quality. It’s entirely possible to use technology to improve your sleep. There are meditation apps like Calm that can help you drift off more easily. Deep breathing tools like moonbird can also help you focus on relaxation.
Too long; didn’t read?
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t track your sleep. It’s a useful tool for monitoring sleep quality and helping you track progress in any habit changes you make. If you let it, sleep data can consume you and inform how you feel.
We’re all going to have nights in which we sleep poorly. Too many factors can impact your sleep, and there is no way to anticipate them all. Don’t let perfection be your goal for sleep. Sometimes, taking a break from tracking your sleep is the best for your physical and mental health.
Also, see what tips CNET staff use to sleep better at night and why the Sleepy Girl Mocktail is worth trying.
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