Sleep trackers may make you sleep worse: Experts warn 'sleep score' is a fiction

Author, Ashitha Nagesh

Character, BBC reporter

Posted: 12 minutes ago

Reading time: 3 minutes

Sleep scores, magnesium supplements, white noise machines—sleep was once a simple matter, but now it's a minefield.

This attempt to optimize sleep is called "sleep maxxing." If done too much, it may evolve into "orthosomnia", which clinically refers to an obsession with pursuing perfect sleep.

Although it is not officially classified as a disorder in the UK, doctors told the BBC that they have noticed signs of perfectionism in some patients. Some patients come to the clinic with sleep tracking data, mistakenly convinced that they have a sleep disorder.

Doctors warn that obsession with sleep is actually making people sleep worse.

Why has sleep become so complicated? If "sleep maximization" isn't the answer, what is the secret to a good night's sleep?

"Sleep scores are completely created out of thin air."

The first commercial tracker to incorporate sleep analysis functionality was the Fitbit Classic launched in 2009.

Since then, several brands, including Garmin, Whoop and Apple, have added sleep tracking capabilities to wrist-worn devices, as have smart rings such as Oura, Ultrahuman and RingConn.

These devices vary, but generally provide the user with a nightly sleep report categorized by sleep stage—awake time, light sleep, deep sleep, and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Many devices also provide what's called a "sleep score."

However, Alanna Hare, a consultant sleep medicine doctor at London's Royal Brompton Hospital, said the concept of sleep scores was "completely invented out of thin air".

She told the BBC: "There is nothing recognized in sleep science called a 'sleep score'. It's purely a concept created by the manufacturers."

Does sleep tracking make you sleep worse?

Dr. Hale said she has noticed trackers causing anxiety in some patients.

"I'm finding that more and more patients are coming to me with data from various trackers and asking a lot of questions about sleep, and these questions... are probably exacerbating their sleep difficulties."

She said that even if some people undergo medical examination and are confirmed to have no problems, it does not eliminate their worries.

"The public pays more attention to sleep as a part of physical and mental health, which is a good thing. But sleep is not actually suitable for improvement through the pursuit of perfection."

In San Francisco (San Francisco), a proposed lawsuit last month alleged that the Oura ring cannot accurately measure sleep quality and sleep stages, but instead relies on estimates generated by artificial intelligence, with an accuracy "as good as tossing a coin."

In response, Oura told the BBC that the company is "confident in its scientific research and claims of accuracy."

"We are committed to making it clear what Oura actually measures, what it estimates, and how members should use this information," the company added.

Effects of daytime performance

Research also shows that even if sleep trackers are inaccurate, they may still affect your performance during the day.

In the Oxford study, participants were given sleep trackers with scoring functions. But the scores were actually randomly assigned and had nothing to do with the participants' actual sleep conditions.

The next day, participants assessed their mood, fatigue and alertness, and then took tests on concentration and reaction time.

Researchers found that people who were told they "didn't sleep well" reported feeling more tired and less mentally alert, even though all sleep ratings were false.

"The cycle of worry"

Jess Hill, 32, has noticed it in herself.

She works in human resources in London. After buying a Garmin watch a few years ago, she said, "I started to use the watch as the basis for judging whether I was sleeping well or not."

"I'll think, 'I had a bad night's sleep last night, so I'm going to have a rough day today,' even though I probably slept pretty well. If I sleep really well, I'm confident that I'm going to perform at my best. Even if I'm tired, I'll push through."

She described her "obsession" with pursuing high sleep scores for three years until earlier this year when she began to notice that the results displayed on her watch were inconsistent with reality.

She told the BBC: "One night a few weeks ago, I was awake for four hours in the middle of the night, and my watch said 'Wow, what a great sleep!' - I was clearly awake from 1am to 5am."

The BBC has asked Garmin about this.

He told the BBC: "The problem with sleep tracking is that it gives you a number and that number becomes a target. So you start to get stuck in a cycle of worrying about the quality and amount of sleep because of those numbers."

How exactly do you sleep well?

Sleep expert Dr. Hale’s advice: