Are Sleep Trackers Helpful?

Are sleep trackers helpful?

I'm often asked this question and my answer is both yes and no.

On one hand, just like checking the clock, sleep trackers can result in more anxiety about sleep, further fuelling insomnia. Sleep trackers are also not reliable at assessing sleep stages, sleep quality, and awakenings (especially when sleep is poor). If sleep anxiety is very high, generally sleep trackers tend to do more harm than good.

On the other hand, monitoring can be incredibly helpful and can provide helpful data about the irregular timing of sleep, total sleep, and other 'big picture' trends. Just like game scoreboards or steps counters, sleep trackers help when they bring awareness to unhelpful behaviours and fuel motivation.