From firstforwomen.com
While wearable sleep trackers can be helpful when used properly, low-tech options are just as good
Smartwatches and apps that track your activity are all the rage, from counting your steps to examining your sleep habits. But what is the point of sleep tracking, and does it help—or hurt—your nightly slumber?? As supporters of sound sleep, we turned to the experts. And it turns out trying to achieve the “perfect” night’s sleep can actually backfire.
What is the point of sleep tracking?
Sleep trackers analyse your sleep patterns to help determine your total sleep time, how often you’re tossing or turning and what phases of sleep you’re in throughout the night. Using them is “a way to understand what might affect your sleep quality so you can make changes, like adjusting when you go to bed or figuring out what keeps waking you up,” explains Shelby Harris, PsyD, DBSM, director of sleep health at Sleepopolis.
Lauri Leadley, sleep educator and founder at Valley Sleep Center adds that sleep apps (or trackers) can even help resolve sleep disorders or clue you into health conditions like sleep apnoea or chronic stress. However, she recommends starting with a sleep study to gather data first, since sleep tracking devices don’t measure sleep directly.
How sleep tracking can backfire
While there are benefits to sleep tracking, experts worry that fixating on achieving the perfect “sleep score” can lead to poor sleep quality and an increased risk of developing sleep disorders such as insomnia. In fact, the issue has become so common that it’s been dubbed orthosomnia.
“Orthosomnia is when someone becomes overly obsessed with getting the ‘perfect’ sleep, often because of what their sleep tracker tells them,” says Harris. “The irony is that the more they stress about their sleep data, the harder it gets to sleep well.”
Ultimately, this behaviour can disrupt your circadian rhythm, and the lack of sleep can lead to more potential long-term health issues.
Sleep tracking can cause anxiety
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According to a study from Nature of Science and Sleep, specialists were concerned that orthosomnia could harm people’s sleep quality in the long run. This can occur for various reasons: “First, individuals may overestimate the accuracy and reliability of their sleep tracker or mobile phone app data, which can lead them to misunderstand how well they sleep,” the study authors note.
Additionally, too much tracking can cause anxiety while you sleep. That stress makes it harder to relax and fall asleep at night. The authors of the study caution against using these devices if you find yourself obsessing over the data, as they can potentially disregard proper treatment for sleep problems or in-depth sleep tests.
If achieving perfect anything is the goal, then it’s counterproductive, Leadley notes. Instead, she suggests adopting healthier habits to improve the quality of your sleep.
How to use a sleep tracker successfully
Constantly monitoring every little change in your daily sleep habits likely won’t improve your sleep in the long run. “Focus on the big picture instead of obsessing over every single night,” says Harris. “Sleep naturally varies, so look at trends over a week or month and use it to spot patterns, not to beat yourself up if you have an off night.”
It’s also important to use trusted devices or apps. “ I like the ones developed by neuroscientists—individuals that know a thing or two about sleep health,” says Leadley. She suggests the Sleep Genius app (available on both iPhone and Android), as experts in neuroscience, sleep, sound and music created it. The app pairs with a headband that has built-in speakers, which allows it to play specific tones and music that improve your sleep.
If you prefer a traditional wearable fitness tracker, the Oura Ring 4, Apple Watch Series 10 and FitBit Charge 6 can all monitor your sleep cycle to help you snooze soundly, too.
If you’re wary of obsessing over gadgets, experts say it’s best to stick to basic sleep hygiene. Practice going to bed and waking up at the same time, says Harris. Reading, meditating or taking a calming bath before bed can also signal your body that it’s time to wind down.
Don’t knock on classic pen and paper, either. “Even just jotting down how you feel in the morning in a notebook can help you track your sleep without getting sucked into tech overkill,” says Harris. You can also write down when you went to bed, when you woke up and if there were any instances of wakefulness during the night.
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