VIDEOSCRIPT:
Sleep is essential for life, and when we can’t sleep, we’re desperate for help. However, our fascination with sleep lately feels as though it’s taken on an urgency. A quick internet search for sleep yields a slew of articles promising ways to make our sleep perfect, from new gadgets and fancy alarm clocks to avoiding blue light. There are countless services, products, and advice columns insisting that we’re sleeping wrong—not enough, poor quality, or in the wrong position. Even more troubling, some sources warn that if we’re not sleeping correctly, we’re doomed to a shorter life and increased risk of various diseases.
One of the biggest worries we have is that we’re not getting enough sleep, with many believing that anything less than seven hours a night leads to poor health outcomes, from high blood pressure to Alzheimer’s disease. However, this kind of messaging has two flaws. First, it’s not entirely accurate. While seven to eight hours of sleep is recommended for adults, it’s an average. Messages simplified for public health communication often lose important nuances. Yes, insufficient sleep over the long term is associated with health problems like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and depression, but focusing only on the seven to eight-hour range ignores individual variability. Different people have different sleep needs—some require eight hours, while others function well on six.
The second flaw in this messaging is that it can be counterproductive, especially for those who already have trouble sleeping. For example, in 2019, an estimated 21 percent of U.S. adults were using sleep tracking devices—a number that has likely grown. While it’s fascinating to monitor sleep data like time spent in deep sleep or dreaming, this information can lead to obsession, resulting in a condition known as orthosomnia. Orthosomnia is a preoccupation with achieving perfect sleep, ironically causing more sleep problems. While this may be an extreme example, the anxiety over insufficient sleep can keep some people awake at night.
So, what do experts suggest? Stop fixating on the number of hours slept, as this can lead to unrealistic expectations. Dr. Colleen Carney, psychologist and head of the Ryerson University Sleep Lab, advises asking three basic questions:
- Do you feel reasonably well-rested during the day?
- Do you generally sleep through the night without disturbances? Or, if you wake up, can you fall back asleep easily?
- Can you stay awake through the day without involuntarily falling asleep? If the answers to these questions are “yes,” there’s likely no need to worry
For those struggling with sleep, instead of investing in expensive blue light filters or fancy sleep trackers, consider talking to a doctor to rule out any underlying medical issues. Then, explore evidence-based recommendations from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. A particularly effective option is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), a non-medication therapy with a very low failure rate.
