"Consumer sleep technology (CST), popularly known as sleep trackers, is designed to help individuals become aware of their sleep patterns and to promote better, healthier sleep. But these apps and devices create an ironic paradox: The very technology that is meant to improve sleep can, in some cases, worsen sleep, cause anxiety, result in obsessive behaviors, and even bring on insomnia."
"Orthosomnia, a recent concept, describes situations where an individual becomes obsessed with optimal sleep metrics, based on device-driven sleep data provided by CST, such as fitness trackers and mobile phone sleep apps. Essentially, some people literally lose sleep over the idea of losing sleep."
"Through the lens of illness anxiety, constant checking (or hypervigilance) of any bodily function is seen as maladaptive and unhelpful. Smith et al. (2019) point out that monitoring any biological body signal may create in some individuals a mental health concern of targeting perfection."
Consumer sleep technology, including fitness trackers and sleep apps, creates a paradox where devices intended to enhance sleep quality can actually harm it. Orthosomnia describes an obsession with achieving optimal sleep metrics based on device data, leading individuals to lose sleep over sleep itself. This constant monitoring constitutes hypervigilance similar to compulsively checking blood pressure, yet receives social acceptance due to normalization. The psychological and mental health implications are significant, as monitoring biological signals can create perfectionist anxiety. Over-technologizing natural bodily functions like sleep disrupts the body's inherent ability to regulate itself, resulting in fixation and obsessive behaviors.
Read at Psychology Today
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