Verdict
Leaning for
Fixating on sleep tracker scores worsens sleep by creating anxiety.
7 sources: 4 positive, 3 partly
By Arun AgrahriLast reviewed 1 timecoded source
Short answer
Yes. Fixating on a sleep score can create anxiety that makes sleep worse, a pattern clinicians call orthosomnia. Sleep researcher Michael Grandner says to remove the tracker when its data causes stress and focus on how you feel. For persistent insomnia he points to CBT-I, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia.
Sleep is the most important pillar of health and longevity.
The verdict on Sleep overall. 8 sources: 4 positive, 4 partly
positive partly neutral negative Each researcher and each study counts once per claim, however often they come up.
Fixating on sleep tracker scores worsens sleep by creating anxiety.
7 sources: 4 positive, 3 partly.
Researchers say
4 positive, 3 partly
Russel Foster, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 08:57
Positive Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 08:57 →“people using these these devices and and and getting sleep anxiety it's now a recognized condition”
Roger Seheult, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:02:14
Positive Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 1:02:14 →“placing too much emphasis on the on the numbers you can miss the forest for the trees and increase anxiety”
Dr. Michael Grandner, on FoundMyFitness, at 3:04:58
Positive Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 3:04:58 →“orthosomnia can be a precipitant to insomnia and it's going to make your sleep worse”
Russell Foster, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:37:23
Positive Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 1:37:23 →“they're completely useless and um they can they can generate huge anxiety”
Guy Leschziner, 3 mentions on this claim
Partly Video
on The Diary Of A CEO, at 53:26 · positive
“sometimes your sleep tracker may be giving you information that is not factually correct and that may increase your anxiety further”
on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 35:56 · partly
“then I think wearing a sleep tracker is potentially very bad for your sleep rather than good for your sleep”
on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 40:29 · partly
“you get a piece of kit that forces you to focus even more on your sleep that may give you data that worries you”
Professor Matthew Walker, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:16:02
Partly Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 1:16:02 →“it starts to create anxiety and the more anxiety that they have the worse that they sleep”
Rupy Aujla, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:38:29
Partly Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 1:38:29 →“Another person would become super anxious about the fact that their Aura ring scoring or whatever tracking device you use is less than 80%,”
Studies show
No study counted yet.
Russel Foster, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 08:57 Video · positive · Opinion
“people using these these devices and and and getting sleep anxiety it's now a recognized condition”
Roger Seheult, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:02:14 Video · positive · Opinion
“placing too much emphasis on the on the numbers you can miss the forest for the trees and increase anxiety”
Dr. Michael Grandner, on FoundMyFitness, at 3:04:58 Video · positive · Opinion
“orthosomnia can be a precipitant to insomnia and it's going to make your sleep worse”
Russell Foster, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:37:23 Video · positive · Opinion
“they're completely useless and um they can they can generate huge anxiety”
Guy Leschziner Video · partly · 3 mentions
on The Diary Of A CEO, at 53:26 · positive · Opinion
“sometimes your sleep tracker may be giving you information that is not factually correct and that may increase your anxiety further”
on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 35:56 · partly · Opinion
“then I think wearing a sleep tracker is potentially very bad for your sleep rather than good for your sleep”
on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 40:29 · partly · Opinion
“you get a piece of kit that forces you to focus even more on your sleep that may give you data that worries you”
Professor Matthew Walker, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:16:02 Video · partly · Opinion
“it starts to create anxiety and the more anxiety that they have the worse that they sleep”
Rupy Aujla, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:38:29 Video · partly · Opinion
“Another person would become super anxious about the fact that their Aura ring scoring or whatever tracking device you use is less than 80%,”
Fixating on sleep tracker scores worsens sleep by creating anxiety.
Russel Foster, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 08:57
Positive Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 08:57 →“people using these these devices and and and getting sleep anxiety it's now a recognized condition”
Roger Seheult, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:02:14
Positive Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 1:02:14 →“placing too much emphasis on the on the numbers you can miss the forest for the trees and increase anxiety”
Dr. Michael Grandner, on FoundMyFitness, at 3:04:58
Positive Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 3:04:58 →“orthosomnia can be a precipitant to insomnia and it's going to make your sleep worse”
Russell Foster, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:37:23
Positive Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 1:37:23 →“they're completely useless and um they can they can generate huge anxiety”
Guy Leschziner, 3 mentions on this claim
Partly Video
on The Diary Of A CEO, at 53:26 · positive
“sometimes your sleep tracker may be giving you information that is not factually correct and that may increase your anxiety further”
on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 35:56 · partly
“then I think wearing a sleep tracker is potentially very bad for your sleep rather than good for your sleep”
on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 40:29 · partly
“you get a piece of kit that forces you to focus even more on your sleep that may give you data that worries you”
Professor Matthew Walker, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:16:02
Partly Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 1:16:02 →“it starts to create anxiety and the more anxiety that they have the worse that they sleep”
Rupy Aujla, on Rangan Chatterjee's channel, at 1:38:29
Partly Video · Opinion
Open the tape at 1:38:29 →“Another person would become super anxious about the fact that their Aura ring scoring or whatever tracking device you use is less than 80%,”
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Fixating on sleep tracker scores worsens sleep by creating anxiety. Orthosomnia is the name clinicians give to an unhealthy fixation on sleep data, where you chase a perfect score until the worry itself keeps you awake. You buy a tracker to sleep better, a mediocre score makes you anxious, the anxiety raises arousal, and the arousal wrecks the sleep you were trying to fix.
Michael Grandner, a sleep researcher and guest on Rhonda Patrick's show, describes the pattern. Matthew Walker, a guest on Andrew Huberman's show, flags the same risk, though he says it may affect only a small share of tracker users.
Grandner's advice is blunt. If your tracker data stresses you out, take the device off, and focus on how rested you feel instead of grading yourself every morning. A tracker measures sleep; it does not treat it, and reading its number as a verdict is where the trouble starts.
Signs you have tipped into orthosomnia: you dread the morning score, you rearrange your day around a bad reading, or your anxiety about sleep has risen since you started tracking.
When trouble falling or staying asleep lasts several nights a week for months and affects your day, the first step is not a better gadget. It is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I). Grandner calls it the gold-standard treatment, one that beats sleep medication for long-term management, and telehealth has made it easier to reach.
This page reports what was said on tape and is not medical advice; take persistent insomnia to a clinician.
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