Chasing a perfect sleep score? You could be making it worse
The article discusses "sleepmaxxing," an obsession with optimizing sleep using trackers and gadgets, which can lead to "orthosomnia" – a fixation on achieving perfect sleep that paradoxically worsens sleep quality. Doctors report seeing patients bringing sleep tracker data, wrongly convinced they have sleep disorders, due to anxiety caused by these devices.
Why it matters
This trend highlights the potential negative psychological impacts of technology designed for self-improvement, raising concerns about mental health and the commercialization of basic human functions like sleep.
By Ashitha Nagesh BBC News Published 33 minutes ago Sleep scores, magnesium, white noise machines - what was once the simple act of sleeping has become a minefield.
Trying to optimise sleep in this way is called "sleepmaxxing". Take it too far, and you could end up with "orthosomnia" - the clinical term for an obsession with achieving perfect sleep.
While it's not formally recognised as a condition in the UK, doctors tell the BBC they've noticed signs of orthosomnia in their patients, with some bringing their sleep tracker data into appointments convinced, wrongly, that they have a sleep disorder.
That fixation with sleep is actually making people's sleep worse, they warn.
So how and why did sleep become so complicated? And if sleepmaxxing isn't the answer, what is the elusive secret to a good night's sleep?
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