Sleep Tracking Is Bad for My Mental Health, Actually

As a tech reporter, I’ve spent years being sleep shamed by every smart watch, smart ring and fitness tracker on the market for the sake of research. Once the review period is over, I’m happy to leave that toxic relationship in the dust and never look at my sleep data again. 

As a professional, I can be objective about the many benefits of sleep tracking. Beyond just documenting how much or little sleep you’re getting, some trackers can help improve your bedtime habits, pinpoint sleep disruptors, help optimize your workouts and even signal serious sleep-related conditions.

Though they differ in the execution and delivery of the sleep data, most major wearables from the Apple Watch to the Oura Ring include some sort of sleep tracking option. And these features are only becoming more robust; this year, Samsung and Apple both released new sleep apnea detection features on their respective smartwatches, which have received approval from the FDA. 

These are all objectively great reasons to track your sleep. But at this particular time in my life, it’s a feature that causes more harm than good.

The sleep itself comes easy, getting there is the problem

To me, the topic of sleep has always been straightforward. I know how much sleep I should be getting to feel rested, and the things I need to do to get me there: Steer clear of caffeine after 3 p.m., avoid screens before bed, go to bed at a certain time and wake up 8 hours later. If I feel tired the next day, I can usually pinpoint the exact reason without even glancing at my sleep data.

I’m also a big fan of sleep in all its forms — sound sleep, cat naps, food comas — so in theory I should have no issue getting the recommended amount of sleep and receiving nothing but praise from my tracker. Instead, all I get are passive-aggressive digs at my life choices.

The culprits 

One of the main culprits is kids. Starting at pregnancy, a full night’s rest is as elusive as the hot rabbi from Nobody Wants This. There’s no “parent of small kids” mode I can activate on my sleep tracker, so this is one factor I have zero control over.

And it’s not just the kids. There’s a reason Hollywood often portrays writers as insomniacs who procrastinate well into the night; for some of us, evenings are where we find our groove (I may or may not be writing this article late at night). There’s something about nighttime that makes my creative brain come to life, and nothing takes you out of the zone faster than an alert from your smartwatch reminding you of your bedtime.

Last, there’s doomscrolling, which is basically our generation’s version of a nightcap. All of this amounts to a whole lot of sleep shaming from my wearable devices. “Your sleep score is deplorable.” “You need rest.” “Your Body Battery is low.” As a sleep deprived, breastfeeding mother, I’ve been one alert away from throwing my tracker in the blender. 

The few nights I do get the full 8 hours, I’m again met with a disappointing sleep score, because, lo and behold, I was on my computer before bed, or rolled around too much and wasn’t in “deep sleep” long enough to completely fill up my tank. What I thought would be an energetic, productive day winds up being a self-fulfilling prophecy of self-pity. It has the same crushing effect as crawling into bed and realizing you didn’t close your move rings for the day on the Apple Watch. Except the sleep data hits you first thing in the morning like a cold dose of reality hitting you across the face. 

Having that verdict in writing only locks in my exhaustion. I’m more likely to indulge in that extra cup of coffee (which will then affect my sleep), less likely to push myself to work out and more likely to snap at my husband and kids. 

Ignorance is bliss

I know there will come a time when nights become more predictable and life gets less hectic, which is why I’m only swearing off sleep tracking temporarily. And I acknowledge that there is a lot to gain from these features when used intentionally. But until then, I will continue living in complete ignorance. 

With everything else going on in my life as a mom of three, unplugging from sleep data is the healthiest option for me.