Give That Sleep Tracker a Rest

The ceaseless search for the perfect night’s sleep may actually be wrecking it.

That’s because that sleep tracker you’re wearing may actually be keeping you from a good night’s sleep.

The market for wearable sleep tracking devices has exploded in recent years: Consumers can get everything from a band to wear on the wrist to non-contact monitors, even trackers that attach to the bed. Each of these devices and the programs they’re connected to claim to help people better understand how they sleep so they can get quality rest.

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But sleep experts are concerned a growing number of patients are seeking treatment for self-diagnosed sleep disturbances based on their sleep tracker data — that is either unnecessary or doing more harm than good.

“It’s great that so many people want to improve their sleep. However, the claims of these devices really outweigh validation of what they have shown to be doing,” said the report’s lead author, Rush University psychologist Kelly Glazer Baron, PhD, MPH, according to Science Daily. “They don’t do a good job of estimating sleep accurately.”

Sleep studies have shown there are nights participants get a great night of rest and deep sleep, but their trackers show they’ve slept poorly. And people are trusting their trackers more than they are the experts and scientifically proven data.

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“They [the trackers] are not able to differentiate between light and deep sleep,” she added. “They might call it sleep when [someone is] reading in bed.”

So consumers are relying on feedback from an app that may not be totally accurate — and basing decisions on how to improve their sleep when that may not be necessary.

The devices, according to Baron, can also reinforce poor sleep habits. “For instance, in hopes of increasing the sleep tally on their trackers, each of the patients in the Sleep Medicine study spent more and more time in bed, behavior that runs contrary to the recommendations of sleep therapists,” Science Daily reported.

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Baron said the trackers can be helpful, and she’s glad to see so many people are taking their sleep seriously. A good night’s sleep can benefit our minds, our moods, our hearts, our weight, our skin and much more. But users should understand these devices have limitations.

Anyone with bigger concerns, including data from a tracker that seems really off, should check with a doctor.