Sleep experts have advocated for keeping it simple when addressing sleep issues
Sleepmaxxing is a popular trend on various social media platforms that encourages individuals to optimise their sleep through various techniques and products. The trend encompasses practices such as using sleep-tracking devices, taking supplements like melatonin, utilising white noise machines, wearing weighted blankets, mouth-taping to encourage nose breathing, and adhering to rigid sleep schedules. The goal of sleepmaxxing is to improve the overall quality and quantity of sleep in pursuit of better physical and mental health. While it highlights the importance of sleep, the obsessive focus on achieving "perfect" sleep can have unintended consequences. Read on as we discuss how this "health trend" can be unhealthy for people who may want to practice it.
How is sleepmaxxing unhealthy?
Though the concept promotes awareness of healthy sleep habits, the obsessive implementation of these hacks can lead to adverse outcomes, including:
1. Orthosomnia (sleep anxiety)
Overanalysing sleep patterns or excessively relying on sleep data from tracking devices can lead to anxiety about achieving perfect sleep. This anxiety disrupts the natural process of falling and staying asleep, leading to a vicious cycle of poor sleep quality.
2. Dependence on sleep aids
Relying on supplements, tools, or routines to fall asleep can create psychological belief that these aids are essential. Over time, this dependence may diminish the body's ability to regulate sleep naturally.
3. Disruption of natural sleep cycles
Constantly experimenting with new sleep-maximising trends can disturb the body's natural rhythm and routine. For instance, mouth-taping or other experimental techniques can cause discomfort, potentially disrupting rather than enhancing sleep.
4. Focus on metrics over rest
Using wearables or apps to track sleep often shifts the focus to numerical metrics like REM percentages or "sleep scores." If the numbers suggest poor sleep even after someone feels rested, it can create unnecessary stress and lead to insomnia.
How does sleepmaxxing affect health?
The effects of sleepmaxxing on health can be both positive and negative, depending on its implementation:
Positive effects
The trend has drawn attention to the important role sleep plays in your mental and physical health, encouraging people to adopt habits that are better for them like limiting screen time and creating a conducive sleep environment. Besides this, for some people, techniques like using white noise machines or weighted blankets can genuinely improve sleep quality without causing dependency.
Negative effects
- The hyper-focus on sleep optimisation can increase your cortisol levels due to stress, missing the very purpose of the trend. This stress can further impair the ability to relax and fall asleep.
- Certain practices, such as mouth-taping, may pose risks like breathing difficulties, and potentially worsening sleep disorders like sleep apnea.
- Sleepmaxxing's rigid rituals can interfere with your social life or lead to guilt when these strict routines are not followed. Over time, this can negatively affect mental health and relationships.
Sleep experts have advocated for keeping it simple when addressing sleep issues. Proven techniques include maintaining consistent time to sleep and wake up, creating a dark and cool sleep environment, avoiding large meals and caffeine before bed, and practicing regular exercise. Focusing on these fundamentals can help reduce stress and avoid the pitfalls of overcomplicating sleep routines.
In summary, while sleepmaxxing underscores the importance of sleep as an obsessive approach can harm rather than help. Emphasising sustainable, evidence-based practices ensures the best long-term health outcomes.
Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.