Sleep tracking is the process of monitoring a person's

sleep Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited Perception, sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefuln ...

, most commonly through measuring inactivity and movement. A device that tracks a person's sleep is called a sleep tracker. Devices capable of tracking a person's sleep include dedicated sleep trackers, trackers that clip onto a person's

pillow A pillow is a support of the body at rest for comfort, therapy, or decoration. Pillows are used in different variations by many species, including humans. Some types of pillows include throw pillows, body pillows, decorative pillows, and man ...

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

s, fitness trackers,

smartwatch A smartwatch is a wearable computer in the form of a watch; modern smartwatches provide a local touchscreen interface for daily use, while an associated smartphone app provides management and telemetry, such as long-term biomonitoring. While ...

es, and other

wearable devices Wearable technology is any technology that is designed to be used while worn. Common types of wearable technology include smartwatches and smartglasses. Wearable electronic devices are often close to or on the surface of the skin, where they dete ...

. Some sleep trackers are capable of tracking the stages of a person's sleep (

light sleep Non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM), also known as quiescent sleep, is, collectively, sleep stages 1–3, previously known as stages 1–4. Rapid eye movement sleep (REM) is not included. There are distinct electroencephalographic and other char ...

deep sleep Slow-wave sleep (SWS), often referred to as deep sleep, consists of stage three of non-rapid eye movement sleep. It usually lasts between 70 and 90 minutes and takes place during the first hours of the night. Initially, SWS consisted of both St ...

REM sleep Rapid eye movement sleep (REM sleep or REMS) is a unique phase of sleep in mammals and birds, characterized by random rapid movement of the eyes, accompanied by low muscle tone throughout the body, and the propensity of the sleeper to dream vi ...

), the length/duration of a person's sleep, the quality of a person's sleep, and the consistency of a person's sleep. Some sleep trackers offer other features, such as "sleep scores" that rank how well a person slept, "smart alarms" that wake a person up within a set period of time based on the circumstances of the person's sleep, and the ability to track the amount of light and/or the temperature in the person's

bedroom A bedroom or bedchamber is a room situated within a residential or accommodation unit characterised by its usage for sleeping and sexual activity. A typical western bedroom contains as bedroom furniture one or two beds (ranging from a crib fo ...

. As of 2017, it is estimated that 10% of adults in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

use a wearable fitness and/or sleep tracking device on a regular basis.

Effectiveness

Dr. Alan Schwartz, director of the

Sleep Disorders Center Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a dec ...

Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center (abbreviated JHBMC or Bayview; formerly Francis Scott Key Medical Center and Baltimore City Hospitals) is teaching hospital trauma center, neonatal intensive care unit, geriatrics center, and is home to the Johns ...

, said that while sleep tracking devices can be useful for helping a person recognize patterns in their sleep habits, they are not capable of directly measuring a person's sleep unlike

sleep study A sleep study is a test that records the activity of the body during sleep. There are five main types of sleep studies that use different methods to test for different sleep characteristics and disorders. These include simple sleep studies, polysom ...

. Instead, according to Schwartz, "Most sleep tracking devices make some guesstimate as to how much you’re actually sleeping." and that the information the tracker provides to the person using it should be taken "with a grain of salt", but added that the tracker will still "give you something to reflect on". Dr. W. Chris Winter, ''

Men’s Health ''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands. Started as a men's health magazine by Rodale, Inc. ...

'' sleep adviser and author of ''The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broken and How to Fix It'' said that the data sleep tracking devices provide can be useful and that the trackers do a good job of providing insight into a person's sleep patterns over time, such as the total time a person's probably sleeping. However Winter also said that trackers can struggle with determining the stage of sleep a person is in. Dr. Isha Gupta, a

neurologist Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal ...

at IGEA Brain & Spine said that sleep tracking devices offer a good way to gain an overall idea of how often a person wakes up at night, how long it takes a person to fall asleep, and data that can help a person tweak their habits, such as setting an earlier bedtime or keeping their bedroom cooler. However, according to Gupta, there's concern that trackers overestimate sleep when a person's body is still and the person's

heart rate Heart rate (or pulse rate) is the frequency of the heartbeat measured by the number of contractions (beats) of the heart per minute (bpm). The heart rate can vary according to the body's physical needs, including the need to absorb oxygen and e ...

has slowed, but the person is not actually sleeping. Raphael Vallat, a

postdoctoral researcher A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

at the

Center for Human Sleep Science Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, recommended that people don't check their sleep data through sleep tracking devices on a regular basis, saying that it "can modify the perception of your sleep” in that "You may think: 'Oh, gosh, I didn’t sleep well. Should I be tired? Am I in a bad mood?'" In a study published in the

Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine The ''Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering sleep medicine. It was established in 2005 and is published by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, of which it is the official journal. The editor-in ...

on February 15, 2017, researchers from

Rush University Rush University is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. The university, founded in 1972, is the academic arm of Rush University Medical Center. Rush University comprises: * Rush Medical College * Rush University College of Nursin ...

Medical College and

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chart ...

’s

Feinberg School of Medicine Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is the medical school of Northwestern University and is located in the Streeterville neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1859, Feinberg offers a full-time Doctor of Medicine degree p ...

found that the three patients involved in the study using sleep tracking devices complained about the sleep data that was collected by

applications Application may refer to: Mathematics and computing * Application software, computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks ** Application layer, an abstraction layer that specifies protocols and interface methods used in a c ...

and devices from

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine given ...

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ances ...

Fitbit Fitbit (stylized as fitbit) is an American consumer electronics and fitness company. It produces wireless-enabled wearable technology, physical fitness monitors and activity trackers such as smartwatches, pedometers and monitors for heart r ...

and other companies.{{Cite news, last=MacMillan, first=Amanda, date=April 27, 2018, title=What Is Orthosomnia? All About the New Sleep Disorder You've Never Heard Of, work=

Health.com ''Health'' (formerly ''In Health'') was an American magazine focused on women's health and owned by Dotdash Meredith. The magazine's topics range from improper diet to dealing with life issues such as weak relationships and growing stress. Additi ...

, url=https://www.health.com/condition/sleep/what-is-orthosomnia, url-status=live, access-date=December 28, 2020, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026032752/https://www.health.com/condition/sleep/what-is-orthosomnia, archive-date=October 26, 2020 The researchers also found that the patients involved spent excessive time in bed in order to increase their "sleep numbers", which may have actually made their

insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy ...

worse. The researchers involved in the study warned that sleep tracking devices could provide inaccurate data and worsen insomnia in the person using the device by making them unhealthily obsessed with achieving perfect sleep, a condition the researchers called

orthosomnia Orthosomnia is a medical term for an unhealthy obsession with getting perfect sleep. The term was coined by researchers from Rush University Medical College and Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in a case study published on F ...

, which they coined in the study.

References

Sleep Health Tracking

Effectiveness

See also

References