The Sleep Tracking Trap

Track Your Sleep, Lose Your Sleep?: Wearables have made it easy to monitor every detail of your night — but new research published in Frontiers in Psychology suggests that for people with insomnia, that data obsession may actually backfire.

The Study: About 1,000 adults in Norway completed a questionnaire with demographic information, insomnia symptoms, sleep-app usage, and feelings about sleep apps. Almost half (46%) used a sleep-tracking app or device. Overall, participants noted more positive effects of sleep apps than negative ones. Younger adults reported more benefits. People with insomnia, however, were more likely to report negative effects and more worry about sleep from the apps.

The Takeaway: Preoccupation with perfect sleep or anxiety about not sleeping can actually lead to worsened sleep (called orthosomnia). Some studies have found sleep tech can improve sleep habits, but the information overload can increase sleep-related stress and worry in others.

Keep in Mind: Participants were drawn from a web panel of interested candidates who self-reported information, which, the researchers say, does not provide a fully representative sample.