Gina Johnson
Sleep tracking is a popular way to monitor sleep patterns and quality. Sleep trackers come in the form of apps, bracelets, and other wearable devices that use input such as sound, heart rate, and motion to estimate sleep duration and quality. While these trackers can provide valuable insights into sleep habits, there are concerns about their accuracy and potential negative impacts on mental health. Some people may become overly anxious about their sleep data, leading to a phenomenon known as orthosomnia, where individuals obsess over optimizing their sleep data. This can result in unhelpful behaviours and even worsen sleep quality. Despite these concerns, sleep tracking can be beneficial for some individuals, helping them establish routines and make informed decisions about their sleep habits.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Usefulness | Sleep tracking can be useful for helping you recognize patterns in your sleep habits, increasing awareness of sleep, and encouraging healthy sleep behavior. |
| Limitations | Sleep trackers don't directly measure sleep quality, they don't measure sleep directly, and they are less effective at determining wake periods and sleep stages. |
| Risks | Sleep tracking can increase anxiety about insomnia and do more harm than good. There is a risk of developing orthosomnia, an anxiety phenomenon affecting people who obsess over the results of their sleep trackers. |
| Recommendations | Sleep tracking is not for everyone. If you feel preoccupied with your sleep and anxious about it, you're probably not a good candidate for sleep tracking. |
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What You'll Learn
Sleep tracking accuracy
That being said, sleep trackers have been found to be quite accurate at detecting sleep and wake cycles. A 2024 review found that consumer sleep trackers perform as well as, or even better than, actigraphy, a sleep test based on data collected from a wrist-worn device. Another study of 11 consumer sleep trackers found that some devices showed substantial agreement with polysomnography, a medical sleep study, indicating their potential for sleep monitoring. The Ultrahuman Ring Air and the Oura Ring have also been praised for their accuracy by users.
However, it's important to note that the classification of sleep stages remains unreliable and inconsistent across devices. A study of 11 consumer sleep trackers found significant variation in performance across sleep stages, with some devices excelling in certain stages while falling short in others. This variation in accuracy across devices and sleep stages underlines the importance of not putting too much emphasis on the data, which may be imprecise.
While sleep trackers can provide valuable insights, it's recommended to take the numbers with a grain of salt and not become overly fixated on optimising the data. Doing so may lead to unexpected problems, such as orthosomnia, a condition characterised by an obsession with achieving perfect sleep data. Instead, it's important to listen to your body and make adjustments based on your own experiences, in conjunction with the insights provided by sleep trackers.
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The pros and cons of sleep tracking
Sleep tracking has become increasingly popular, with sources estimating that one in three Americans has used a sleep-tracking device. While some people find it useful, others find it unnecessary or even harmful. Here are some pros and cons of sleep tracking to help you decide if it's worth trying:
Pros of Sleep Tracking:
- Increased awareness of sleep habits: Sleep trackers can help you identify patterns in your sleep habits. For example, you might discover that you sleep better when your bedroom is cooler or on days you exercise. This information can help you make informed decisions about your bedtime routine and environment.
- Encouraging healthy sleep behaviour: Sleep tracking can motivate you to establish a healthy sleep routine. It can encourage you to go to bed and wake up at regular times, which is essential for improving sleep quality.
- Experimenting with sleep optimisation: Sleep data can be used to experiment with different evening routines and sleep habits. For instance, you can try going to bed earlier or reducing caffeine intake to see if your sleep improves.
- Convenience and accessibility: Commercially available sleep trackers, such as Fitbit or Oura Ring, are easily accessible and relatively low-cost. They provide personalised sleep data without requiring much effort from the user.
Cons of Sleep Tracking:
- Potential for obsession and anxiety: Sleep tracking can lead to a preoccupation with optimising sleep data, a phenomenon known as orthosomnia. This can cause performance anxiety and paradoxically worsen sleep quality. It is important to remember that sleep tracking data should not be the sole indicator of your sleep health.
- Inaccuracy and overestimation of sleep: While sleep trackers are improving in accuracy, they are better at detecting sleep than wake periods and may overestimate the time spent asleep. They are also limited in their ability to accurately detect sleep stages, such as REM sleep.
- Unnecessary for some individuals: Some people may naturally be in tune with their sleep needs and be able to adjust their habits without the need for a sleep tracker. If you are alert, able to concentrate, and feel you have a good quality of life, you are likely getting enough sleep without needing a device to confirm it.
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Sleep tracking devices
However, it's important to note that sleep trackers do not directly measure sleep quality. Instead, they often measure inactivity as a surrogate for estimating sleep. As such, there are limitations to the data sleep trackers collect, and they may overestimate the overall time you spend asleep each night. Additionally, the classification of sleep stages remains unreliable and inconsistent.
If you are preoccupied with your sleep and find that you become anxious about it, you may not benefit from a sleep tracker. Orthosomnia, a condition characterized by an obsession with the results of sleep trackers, can lead to unhelpful behaviors such as spending more time in bed to improve sleep tracker data, ultimately worsening sleep quality and quantity.
Overall, while sleep tracking devices can provide insights into your sleep patterns, they should be used as a tool to complement your own awareness of how well-rested you feel rather than as the sole indicator of your sleep health.
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Sleep tracking data and its uses
Sleep tracking data can be useful in helping you recognise patterns in your sleep habits. For example, you might discover that you feel more sluggish sleeping from 10 pm to 6 am than from 11 pm to 7 am, or that your bedroom temperature or caffeine intake affects your sleep. Sleep tracking devices can also help you establish a sleep routine, which is vital if you want to improve your sleep quality.
Sleep tracking data can be especially useful for shift workers, helping them stick to a sleep schedule. Sleep trackers can tell you things like whether it's taking you a long time to fall asleep, or if you're waking up earlier than you should. They can also help you identify changes in trends. For example, if your sleep time changed abruptly two weeks ago, you can look for changes in stress, environment, or daytime habits that might have sparked that change.
Sleep tracking devices can collect a lot of information about your sleep habits, but they don't measure sleep directly. Instead, they often measure inactivity as a surrogate for estimating sleep. Commercially available sleep trackers, like a Fitbit watch or Oura ring, can gather sleep data such as total sleep, time in bed, sleep efficiency, resting heart rate, REM sleep, light or deep sleep, restfulness, sleep stages, and heart rate variability. However, it's important to note that the classification of sleep stages remains unreliable and inconsistent across different trackers.
While sleep tracking data can be insightful, it's important not to put too much emphasis on it, as it may be imprecise. There is a risk that an increased focus on optimising biometric data may lead to unexpected problems, such as orthosomnia—an anxiety phenomenon characterised by an obsession with getting the numbers right. If you feel you might be preoccupied with your sleep and find that you become anxious about it, sleep tracking is probably not for you.
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Sleep tracking and mental health
Sleep tracking can be a useful tool for those who want to gain insight into their sleep patterns and overall sleep health. It can help users establish a sleep routine and encourage healthy sleep behaviours, such as going to bed and waking up at regular times. Sleep tracking devices can also help users identify trends and patterns in their sleep habits, such as the impact of caffeine consumption, exercise, or bedroom temperature on their sleep quality. This information can then be used to optimise sleep by tweaking certain habits or setting an earlier bedtime.
However, it is important to note that sleep tracking is not for everyone. Some people may become preoccupied with their sleep data and develop orthosomnia, an anxiety phenomenon characterised by an obsession with achieving perfect sleep metrics. This can lead to unhelpful behaviours, such as spending more time in bed to improve sleep tracker data, which can ironically worsen sleep quality and quantity. Additionally, sleep trackers do not directly measure sleep quality; they primarily track movement and estimate sleep based on inactivity. As such, it is important to take the data with a grain of salt and not get too fixated on achieving "perfect" sleep scores.
Ultimately, the decision to use sleep tracking technology depends on individual preferences and needs. If an individual feels they might be preoccupied with their sleep or experience anxiety about their sleep, sleep tracking may do more harm than good. However, for those who are generally healthy and simply want to gain insight into their sleep patterns, sleep tracking devices can be a good option.
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Frequently asked questions
Sleep tracking can increase awareness of sleep and encourage healthy sleep behaviour. Sleep trackers can help you establish a routine, which is vital if you want to improve your sleep quality. They can also help you recognise patterns in your sleep habits. For example, you might discover that your bedroom needs to be cooler for you to sleep well, or that caffeine after lunchtime disrupts your sleep.
Sleep trackers don't directly measure sleep quality. They also don't provide exact data about your sleep habits—for that, you'd need a medical sleep study. Sleep trackers also tend to overestimate the amount of time you spend asleep. There's also a risk that the increased focus on optimising the data sleep trackers provide may lead to orthosomnia, a phenomenon characterised by an obsession with getting the "numbers" right.
Sleep tracking is not for everyone. If you're preoccupied with your sleep, or find that you become anxious about it, you're probably not a good candidate for sleep tracking. However, if you're a healthy person who wants to gain some insight into your sleep routine, sleep tracking might be a good option.
