Banner by Claudia Huggins

The Perfect Amount of Sleep Doesn’t Exi-

by Ira Sharma

A situation that anyone in our chronically sleep deprived society knows all too well consists of lying in bed, mentally priming your brain to frolic in a valley with unicorns and money falling from above, then proceeding to toss and turn like you’re a trained and qualified Olympic gymnast. Could it be anxiety for a big exam that next day? Maybe. The rowdiness of your neighbors blaring music at ungodly hours? Possibly. The seemingly fluctuating temperature, resulting in the infamous one leg in and one leg out? Could be. Or maybe it’s the smart device innocently strapped on your wrist. What if the culprit lies in the solution? 

In a 2017 case study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, multiple undisclosed patients were under observation due to perceived inadequate amount of sleep and the apparent increase in periods of light sleep. Mr. R, a 40-year-old male, complained of light and fragmented sleep during his transition into a new job. These complaints persisted for five years until his girlfriend gifted him a sleep tracker in hopes that the device would consistently track his sleep patterns and get to the bottom of his nighttime fiasco. 

However, the hopeful recipient of the sleep tracker may have gotten more than what he bargained for when he felt an inordinate amount of pressure to achieve eight hours of sleep each night – the holy grail amount of sleep. On the days he averaged roughly seven hours and 45 minutes, Mr. R reported fatigue and symptoms of cognitive decline such as a lack of concentration, memory and attention. The compulsion to see eight hours displayed on his watch in the morning sent him into a spiral of anxiety and stress that consumed his work and personal life. 

Similarly, 27-year-old, Ms. B, who suffered from Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), reported her average sleep efficiency (percentage of time asleep) calculated by her sleep tracker as roughly 60 percent. Despite the combination of medications which seemed to control her RLS, she consistently reported a lack of deep and refreshing sleep. Specialists conducted a series of sleep related examinations for which Ms. B tested normal. Each time, Ms. B questioned why her Fitbit said she was sleeping poorly.

This recently discovered phenomenon is known as orthosomnia, derived from the prefix “ortho-,” meaning correct or straight, and “-somnia,” meaning sleep. It describes an excessive preoccupation with getting the perfect amount of sleep each night, ultimately yielding the opposite effect in which the patient is unable to sleep. The anxiety and frustration surrounding the mighty task is enough to counteract the purpose of sleep trackers such as Fitbits, Apple watches and apps as Sleep Cycle, seemingly preying upon the perfectionist tendencies that reside in us. 

The fundamental problem that stems from technology that tracks sleep patterns is its inherent inaccuracies. Sleep tracking devices use a measuring tool called actigraphy, which essentially records movement during sleep. A particular amount of movement corresponds with being awake while stationary periods correspond to sleep. Therefore, it cannot accurately distinguish between light and deep sleep. This can oftentimes lead devices to mistake being still for being asleep. 

Proper sleep monitoring conditions require a more holistic and comprehensive approach, known as polysomnography, which evaluates brain waves, breathing, heart rate, muscle movement, oxygen levels in your blood and eye movement. As a result, both patients in the study were spending an excessive amount of time in bed to maximize the sleep duration reflected by the sleep monitor, possibly exacerbating their insomnia. The devices encourage insufficient sleep routines and coaxes consumers into staying in bed longer than needed.

With technology at our hands (or on our wrists), we tend to put unwarranted trust in it these gadgets and gizmos, resulting in betrayal that leaves us questioning the validity of the products in which we invest. Far too many people have purchased health or sleep tracking devices hoping to fulfill their “new year new me!” resolution or to simply motivate themselves to live a healthier lifestyle. However, they are swept into the whirlwind that is the perfectionist mentality, despite their good intentions. It is crucial to approach technology with cautious optimism and not fall into the trap of overly relying upon or blindly trusting something that simply claims to cater to exactly what we are looking for. When we make this mistake, it is not difficult to see how the solution becomes the problem itself.