As someone who has dedicated 20 years to studying how sleep impacts health and wellbeing, it’s safe to say I take my sleep seriously. Like many others, I have a routine of checking my sleep quality scores each morning using my trusty sleep tracker embedded in my mattress. Normally, I score around 90-95%, so waking up to a 35% rating was alarming. My mind raced with thoughts like, “Am I coming down with something?” or “Should I skip my run today?” I even scolded myself for not managing stress better. Just as I was sinking into a pit of worry, my husband mentioned the Wi-Fi had gone out overnight. That was the missing piece—my sleep tracker relies on Wi-Fi, and the low score was just a glitch.
I share this story as a gentle reminder to those who might be too dependent on their sleep trackers. These gadgets can be great if they motivate you to adopt healthy habits, like sticking to a regular sleep schedule or getting daily exercise. But if they’re causing stress or making you feel inadequate, it might be time to rethink their role in your life.
There’s even a term for the anxiety caused by obsessing over sleep data: orthosomnia. It’s when focusing too much on sleep metrics actually worsens insomnia. If your tracker data leaves you anxious or simply confirms what you already knew—that you didn’t sleep well—it might not be doing you much good. The best use of these devices is to look at trends over time, rather than getting fixated on a single night’s numbers.
However, amidst all this data, let’s not forget the importance of trusting how you feel. Your subjective sleep experience—how rested and refreshed you feel upon waking—is something no tracker can measure. In fact, subjective sleep quality is one of the most reliably linked sleep metrics with health outcomes. Sometimes, your own perception of your sleep quality is the most reliable indicator of how well you’ve rested. Combining this self-awareness with tracker data can provide a more holistic view of your sleep health.
At the end of the day, sleep trackers are tools, not the ultimate judge of your sleep quality or life choices. Sometimes, after a rough night, the best thing you can do is go about your day as planned. If poor sleep becomes a pattern, consider seeking professional help. Remember, a tracker can’t solve sleep issues any more than a scale can make you lose weight.