Health
Sleep specialists warn obsession with tracking scores can worsen sleep quality
Medical experts caution that reliance on commercial sleep trackers can cause anxiety and orthosomnia, noting that composite sleep scores lack scientific standing.
The short version
- Medical specialists are reporting an increase in patients experiencing orthosomnia, an unhealthy obsession with attempting to optimize sleep data from commercial wearable devices.
- Sleep experts state that commercial 'sleep scores' are marketing constructs rather than recognized clinical measures, as consumer devices monitor movement rather than direct brain activity.
- A University of Oxford study demonstrated that even fabricated negative sleep scores caused participants to experience higher daytime fatigue and reduced mental focus.
- Device makers face ongoing scrutiny over accuracy, including a recent San Francisco lawsuit against smart ring manufacturer Oura, which the company disputes.
Key facts
- Doctors report encountering more patients exhibiting signs of orthosomnia who incorrectly believe they have sleep disorders based solely on wearable tracker data.[BBC News]
- Consultant in sleep medicine Dr. Alanna Hare stated that 'sleep scores' are created by device manufacturers and do not exist as a recognized concept in sleep science.[BBC News]
- Sleep specialist Dr. Neil Stanley noted that most commercial trackers rely primarily on movement measurements rather than direct monitoring of brain activity.[BBC News]
- A University of Oxford study showed that participants assigned randomized, false negative sleep scores reported higher fatigue and showed reduced alertness regardless of actual sleep quality.[BBC News]
- A proposed class-action lawsuit filed in San Francisco alleges Oura rings rely on inaccurate AI estimates for sleep stages, while Oura maintains it stands behind its research and accuracy claims.[BBC News]
What remains uncertain
Sources
- Chasing a perfect sleep score? You could be making it worseBBC News - Top Stories