Date:2 December 2025
By Chimnonso Onyekwelu
What if, in trying to fix our sleep, we’re actually making it worse?
We’re living through a global sleep crisis, yet the tools we’re turning to for help may be silently making things worse.
As sleep-tech booms, the world grows more exhausted—raising the uncomfortable question of whether tracking our nights is costing us the rest we’re desperate to reclaim.
Sleep sits alongside good nutrition and exercise as one of the three critical pillars of health, quietly powering everything from emotional balance and cognitive sharpness to physical recovery and longevity. When we sleep well, our minds and bodies flourish. When we don’t, the effects ripple through every part of life—raising the risks of illness, anxiety, accidents, low productivity, and even early death.
Yet despite its importance, the world is struggling to sleep. In the UK, around one-third of adults report symptoms of insomnia, and in the US, as many as half of adults are not achieving the recommended 7–8 hours per night. Traditional sleep studies, like polysomnography, are expensive and not easily accessible to most people, so when sleep-tracking devices emerged in the early 2010s, they appeared to offer the perfect, affordable solution – bringing personalised sleep data directly into people’s homes.
Fast-forward to 2024, and the sleep-tech industry has exploded. Nearly one in three adults now uses a sleep-tracking device, with market revenues exceeding $1 billion in the UK and more than $9 billion in the US. Their promise? To analyse sleep, improve habits, and help us rest better. Yet, despite record-breaking sales and global adoption, the sleep crisis has not eased—if anything, it may be worsening.
This raises an important question: Are these devices genuinely improving sleep, or are they fuelling anxiety and obsession over sleep and the lack of it? How accurate are the results they provide, and do their potential risks outweigh their benefits?
In the second of two articles exploring sleep we investigate the rise of sleep-tracking technology, the science behind its claims, the concerns surrounding its accuracy and impact, and ultimately—whether these devices truly help us sleep better or simply make us think about sleep more.
>>> The silent sleep crisis: reclaiming rest in a restless world
The promise: How smart sleep devices offer to help
Sleep-tracking technology has become a staple of modern wellness regimes, built into smartwatches, rings, and phone apps. These devices monitor movement, heart rate, breathing, and sometimes temperature and oxygen levels. Each morning, they offer a summary of your night—how long you slept, how often you woke up, and the sleep stages you cycled through. The idea is simple: personalised insights to help you understand your nights and improve your days.
For many, this information is genuinely helpful. It highlights habits that quietly undermine rest, such as late-night scrolling, stress, caffeine, alcohol, irregular sleep schedules, and points to environmental triggers like noise or early morning light. By tracking patterns over time, these tools make it easier to link lifestyle changes with better sleep. Features like gentle alarms and bedtime reminders also encourage consistency and healthier routines.
Beyond sleep, studies (here and here) have shown that wearables can detect irregular heart rhythms and support early monitoring of respiratory illnesses, suggesting that consumer devices can provide meaningful data that signals potential health issues when used well.
In the same way, sleep trackers can boost awareness, motivate healthier habits, and prompt conversations with healthcare professionals when patterns look off—such as persistent awakenings or possible breathing issues. While they are not medical devices and are unable to diagnose conditions, their convenience and long-term tracking provide a useful window into sleep patterns, helping many users to feel more informed and in control of their rest.
The problem: When tracking turns into stress
However, for a growing number of people, the quest to ‘fix’ sleep through technology is backfiring. Instead of drifting into rest, they lie awake thinking about sleep scores, REM percentages, and recovery ratings. This pattern is now recognised as orthosomnia—an anxiety-driven fixation on achieving perfect sleep metrics. Studies (here and here) show that people affected by it frequently check their devices, feel uneasy without them, and become increasingly preoccupied with nightly data. Ironically, in trying to control and improve their sleep, they end up making it worse.
Clinical evidence reinforces this concern. In the 2017 paper that introduced the term, researchers found that patients who worried about their sleep often had those fears amplified by tracker data, even when the readings were inaccurate. Many consumer devices struggle to detect wake periods and properly distinguish between sleep stages, yet users treat their reports as an absolute. Because these devices often overestimate sleep, some individuals spend more time in bed than necessary, a behaviour known to worsen insomnia. Once sleep becomes a performance, relaxing enough to fall asleep becomes significantly harder.
This anxiety loop has physical consequences. Stress hormones rise when sleep turns into something to ‘achieve’, making rest more elusive. Checking scores at night, adjusting routines obsessively, or waking up discouraged by a low rating can turn a tool meant to support rest into a source of continual stress. A recent review also noted that while sleep apps build awareness, their reliability is limited, meaning many users worry more without gaining meaningful solutions.
There is also a practical contradiction: sleep hygiene advice recommends reducing screens and stimulation before bed, yet trackers often encourage nighttime checks and morning score reviews. For the roughly 30% of adults already struggling with insomnia, this can turn sleep tracking into a trigger. When data becomes the focus instead of rest itself, sleep stops feeling natural and starts feeling like a task.
The evidence: Do sleep trackers improve sleep outcomes?
With so much hype around sleep tech, the question remains: do these devices actually help us sleep better? Evidence so far is mixed. Research (here and here) shows that when compared to clinical polysomnography, consumer trackers are roughly 78% accurate at distinguishing sleep from wakefulness, but accuracy drops to around 38% when estimating sleep-onset time. Likewise, many devices overestimate total sleep and underestimate wake time, particularly in people with insomnia who lie still while awake – leading trackers to register ‘sleep’ that never happened.
Real-world studies show similar limitations. One trial testing popular devices found no meaningful improvement in sleep quality after a week of use, despite a slight increase in time spent in bed. Sleep delay rose by more than 10% on average (and up to 33% for one device), while perceived sleep quality reduced by up to 12%. Although some users felt marginally more alert during tracked weeks, the changes were minimal and did not translate into measurable restorative sleep benefits.
Psychology also plays a role. A 2018 controlled study manipulated sleep-score feedback and found that people who were told they slept poorly—even when they hadn’t—experienced lower mood, reduced cognitive performance, and increased daytime fatigue. Those told they slept well reported the opposite. In other words, feedback alone influenced how participants felt, regardless of actual sleep.
This placebo-like effect raises concerns, especially given reports that more people are seeking medical help based on tracker data that clinical tests later disprove.
Taken together, current evidence suggests that sleep trackers can raise awareness and highlight habits, but they are not accurate or reliable enough for diagnosing sleep issues or guiding treatment. Their greatest value lies in gentle observation, not perfection-seeking. For persistent sleep difficulties or anxiety around rest, it’s best to limit data checks, focusing on how you feel rather than your scores, and prioritising strategies that promote a peaceful descent towards bedtime. Conventional therapies like Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) may also be helpful.
A smarter way to use sleep tech
Sleep trackers are neither miracle nor menace—they are simply tools. For some people, having gentle structure and occasional insights can spark healthier habits. For others, especially those already anxious or struggling to sleep, watching numbers and ‘sleep scores’ can do more harm than good. The question is not whether sleep tech is useful, but how we use it, and whether we’re listening to the device more than our own body.
The smarter approach? Let the data guide you, not rule you. Notice patterns, stay curious, and if sleep remains difficult, seek professional support rather than chasing perfect metrics. If you’re still up for using sleep tech, then we suggest checking the user interfaces before purchase and going for ones that are clear, offer more context, less pressure, and that have a strong evidence-base.
Please remember that real, deep, meaningful rest comes from aligning with our natural rhythms, as humans have done throughout evolution. Consider the importance of exposure to full spectrum natural light, nourishment with healthy foods, a clear day/night routine and time for stillness, being present and feeling connected to yourself and the world around you. The resulting coherence will ripple positive benefits through your entire life, not just your sleep. Technology should guide us toward balance, not pull us from it. Remember—deep, restorative rest isn’t found in a score on your wrist or on the screen of your smartphone, but in gentle habits, mindful pauses, and calmer evenings that allow sleep to arrive naturally and settle in with ease.
Top tips for nourishing sleep
- Keep a consistent sleep schedule
Go to bed and wake up at roughly the same time every day—even on weekends. This helps regulate your circadian rhythm, your body’s natural internal clock, making it easier to fall asleep and wake refreshed. - Create a sleep-friendly environment
Make your bedroom pitch dark, quiet, and cool. Limit exposure to screens, bright lights, and loud noises before bed. Consider blackout curtains, earplugs, or a white noise machine if needed. - Food for sleep
Prioritise foods rich in tryptophan, an amino acid used to produce the key sleep-inducing hormones, serotonin and melatonin such as turkey, fish, eggs, cheese, nuts and seeds. - Practice a relaxing pre-sleep routine
Wind down with calming activities—reading, music, gentle stretches, meditation, or a warm bath. This signals your body that it’s time to shift from alertness to rest. Avoid screentime an hour before you go to bed and invest in some full spectrum bulbs so that you’re not exposed to harsh blue light before bed. - Move regularly, but not too late
Regular exercise improves sleep quality, mood, and overall health. Aim to finish vigorous workouts at least 2–3 hours before bed to avoid overstimulation. - Gestione dello stress
Last, but most definitely not least, prioritise stress management in your life. It’s not a luxury, it’s a necessity. Whether this means finding professional support or appropriate ways to address unresolved pain and trauma, ridding yourself of toxic patterns or relationships, being honest about what is and isn’t working in your life or just connecting to yourself with more commitment every day—you are more than worth it. Stuffing difficult emotions into the ‘too hard basket’ creates underlying systemic stress over time, triggering the immune system, promoting chronic inflammation and sabotaging sleep and inner peace. Amongst the array of available methods for emotional wellness, somatic therapy can be a very potent, non-confrontational, tool for gentle body release that doesn’t involve talking about or reliving the past.
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