The global sleep tracking devices market is projected to reach $58 billion by 2030, driven by products such as Oura Rings, Garmin, Fitbit, and the Apple Watch Series 11, set to launch this week. In the UK, 27% of adults already use smart devices to monitor their sleep, reflecting a growing reliance on technology to understand nightly habits. While these tools can provide useful data, sleep specialists warn that they may also increase anxiety and contribute to a condition known as orthosomnia, where users become fixated on perfecting their sleep scores.
Sleep deprivation carries a heavy cost. It drains the UK economy of £40 billion annually and results in more than 200,000 lost working days. Lack of rest undermines attention, memory, and concentration, all crucial for productivity. Beyond the workplace, sleep also affects emotional regulation, with research showing a bidirectional relationship between mood and sleep quality. Stress worsens sleep problems, and poor sleep heightens emotional difficulties.
The impact extends to relationships. A study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships found that poor sleep quality increases anger, which in turn reduces satisfaction in romantic partnerships. This highlights how insufficient rest can strain both professional and personal life.
For those struggling, sleep trackers appear to offer solutions. James Wilson, a sleep specialist at Mattress Online, explained: “Trackers can be useful as an engagement tool for someone who is struggling to understand their sleep and the impact it has on their health. For good sleepers, trackers can be helpful as they reaffirm their good sleep and leave them feeling positive about what they are doing.” Devices that monitor heart rate, heart rate variability, and temperature can provide useful patterns to guide lifestyle changes.
But Wilson also stressed their limitations: “Poor sleepers are given the impression that the tracker will give them an answer to their sleep issue, when in fact, they are a measurement tool that can give us an understanding of our sleep. When a tracker tells you you’ve had a bad night, even if you feel fine, that negative feedback can become the very thing that keeps you awake the following night.” This cycle can worsen sleep for those already struggling.
The phenomenon of orthosomnia has grown sharply. Mattress Online reports a 5,000% increase in searches for the term over the past five years. First identified by US researchers, the condition describes people who become anxious about their sleep data, causing their rest to deteriorate further. This paradox underscores how devices meant to improve sleep can sometimes have the opposite effect.
Wilson recommends a balanced approach: “If you have a pragmatic relationship with data, and data reassures, whether good or bad, and you can use the data without it impacting your emotional wellbeing, then a sleep tracker could be helpful, and particularly so if you measure things like heart rate, heart rate variability and temperature, all of which the trackers are generally better at tracking.” He added, “Trackers should inform, not dictate. Use them to build awareness, but don’t let daily scores define how you feel about your sleep.”
Experts suggest that focusing on long-term trends rather than daily fluctuations can reduce anxiety. For persistent issues, consulting a sleep specialist remains the best approach, since trackers are not a substitute for medical guidance. As sleep technology develops, keeping perspective on the data will be vital to ensuring these tools enhance, rather than disrupt, healthy rest.
