Sleep trackers have become a popular way to monitor everything from bedtime and wake-up times to heart rate and sleep stages. But while the devices may help people understand their sleeping habits, experts warn that becoming too focused on the numbers could have the opposite effect.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), 48% of US adults use some form of sleep-tracking technology. The organisation says trackers can increase awareness of sleep habits, but excessive attention to the data may also fuel sleep anxiety.

For someone already worried about getting enough sleep, seeing a poor score can become another reason to feel stressed at bedtime.

When Tracking Becomes a Problem

Sleep trackers typically estimate information such as total sleep time, sleep stages, nighttime awakenings, and sleep consistency. Some devices also provide an overall sleep score designed to make the information easier to understand.

The problem is that these scores can create a sense that sleep needs to be 'perfect'.

Someone who sees a lower-than-usual score may start analysing what went wrong, checking their wearable repeatedly or worrying about whether they will perform poorly the following day.

That anxiety can make it harder to relax, creating a cycle in which concern about sleep itself becomes another obstacle to falling asleep.

The phenomenon is sometimes referred to as 'orthosomnia', which is a term used to describe an excessive preoccupation with achieving an ideal sleep pattern based on data from consumer sleep trackers.

Your Tracker Does Not Know Everything

Another reason to avoid obsessing over a sleep score is that consumer devices do not directly measure sleep in the same way as a clinical sleep study.

Sleep trackers generally use movement, heart rate, and other signals to estimate sleep and wakefulness. They can therefore be useful for identifying broad patterns, but their measurements should not necessarily be treated as precise medical readings.

A tracker might tell you that you had a poor night's sleep, for example, but it cannot explain every reason why you feel tired. Even sleep-stage estimates can vary between devices and compared with clinical measurements.

Can Sleep Tracking Still Be Useful?

Yes. The AASM notes that sleep trackers can help people become more aware of their sleep habits.

Rather than focusing on a single night's score, experts recommend looking for broader patterns. Someone might notice that they consistently go to bed much later on certain days, wake frequently after drinking alcohol, or sleep longer when they maintain a regular schedule.

That information can be more useful than worrying about whether a particular night produced an 80 or 90 per cent score.

It may also help to avoid checking sleep data immediately after waking if doing so causes anxiety.

When Should You Speak to a Doctor?

A wearable should not replace professional assessment when someone has persistent sleep problems.

Regular difficulty falling or staying asleep, excessive daytime sleepiness, loud snoring, gasping during sleep, or other concerning symptoms may warrant discussion with a healthcare professional.

Ultimately, the purpose of sleep tracking should be to understand your habits, not to turn sleep into another performance test. If checking your score makes you anxious, ignoring the number may actually be more helpful than trying to improve it.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • What is orthosomnia?
    Orthosomnia is an excessive preoccupation with achieving an ideal sleep pattern based on data from consumer sleep trackers.
  • Can sleep trackers replace professional medical assessments?
    No, sleep trackers should not replace professional assessments, especially if you have persistent sleep problems.
  • How can sleep trackers be useful?
    Sleep trackers can help increase awareness of sleep habits and identify broad patterns in sleep behaviour.
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