Sleep score court is in session
A humorous commentary on the frustrations of wearable sleep tracking technology. The author argues that sleep scores often fail to account for real-world disruptions like camping, noisy neighbors, and childcare duties.
Why it matters
It highlights the growing tension between data-driven health metrics and the messy, unpredictable reality of human life.
Your honor,
We all know that the woman who sits before you is tired. Just look at the circles under her eyes. The novelty Pride and Prejudice T-shirt and Muji sweatpants that pass for pajamas. The unkempt, banana clip hairstyle that says “I really did wake up like this.” But she’s doing her best. And that’s why she deserves this court’s time and attention, to correct the injustice of last night’s sleep score.
To be clear, my client thinks the sleep score assigned by her Pixel Watch is generally fair. Should she go to bed before 10:30PM most nights? Sure. Dinging points for a late-night Instagram scrolling session is reasonable. She’s receptive to the valuable insights that the watch offers, like “go to bed earlier” and “stop going to bed so late.” But allowances should be made for extenuating circumstances.
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