Are you tracking your sleep religiously? What if that pursuit of perfect slumber is actually making things worse? Experts reveal how popular fitness gadgets are inadvertently fueling a new sleep disorder, orthosomnia, turning wellness efforts into nightly stress. Are your gadgets helping or hindering your rest?

The pursuit of optimal health has led many to embrace digital tools, yet an alarming trend is emerging where these very devices, particularly popular sleep trackers, are inadvertently fostering a new sleep disorder: orthosomnia. This condition, characterized by an obsessive preoccupation with achieving perfect sleep based on tracked data, is increasingly recognized by sleep experts as a significant concern.

Orthosomnia draws parallels with orthorexia, an unhealthy fixation on healthy eating, illustrating a broader societal drive towards the “perfect” self. In the context of sleep, this translates into an intense desire to control and optimize every aspect of one’s rest, often leading to heightened anxiety rather than improved sleep health.

Specialists in sleep medicine report a notable increase in patients who attribute their sleep difficulties, including chronic insomnia, directly to their use of sleep-tracking gadgets. These fitness gadgets, designed to monitor and supposedly enhance sleep quality, are paradoxically triggering problems for many users who become overly reliant on the data they provide.

A recent survey underscores this troubling phenomenon, revealing that a substantial portion of sleep tracker users — nearly half, in fact — admit to feeling a sense of failure or having “done something wrong” when their device indicates poor sleep. This emotional response highlights the psychological pressure exerted by these digital wellness tools.

Expert opinions consistently caution against the over-reliance on consumer-grade sleep data. Dr. Guy Leschziner, a prominent sleep expert, expresses cynicism regarding the accuracy and utility of such trackers, asserting that subjective feelings of rest are often a more reliable indicator of actual sleep health than device-generated scores. The pressure to meet arbitrary metrics can exacerbate existing sleep issues or even create new ones.

Further survey data indicates that despite efforts to optimize sleep, more than a quarter of individuals still do not feel rested. Alarmingly, a quarter also report increased stress about sleep the more they attempt to fix it, with Gen Z being particularly susceptible to these anxieties. This suggests that the quest for data-driven perfection can be counterproductive to genuine rest.

A significant portion of users, specifically two in five, acknowledge that their device’s readings often contradict their actual feelings of rest, yet they still place greater trust in the gadget’s score than their own body’s signals. This over-reliance can lead to an unhealthy detachment from one’s natural sleep rhythms and internal cues.

The dangers of sleep deprivation are well-documented, ranging from impaired focus and irritability to severe long-term health risks like obesity and heart disease. However, the emerging challenge of orthosomnia highlights how the very tools intended to promote sleep health can, when used obsessively, contribute to a cycle of stress and anxiety, ultimately hindering true rest and digital wellness.