Doctor explains why 'sleepmaxxing' could actually be harming your health
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: Getty Stock Images
A healthcare professional has explained why 'sleepmaxxing' could be harming your health, despite the trend's purpose of maximising sleep.
There's no doubt that a lack of sleep can certainly be a problem, particularly for those who wake up early to go to work.
That's why viral trends such as 'sleepmaxxing' are a thing, which promote not only the number of hours kip you're getting, but also the quality of sleep each night.
The aim to achieve the 'perfect' sleep may well be doing harm to your health though, with Dr Deborah Lee, sleep expert from Dr Fox, working alongside Comfybedss, explaining the damage the trend could well be doing.
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According to Dr Lee, the trend could be causing a clinically recognised issue known as orthosomnia.
"This is where people become so obsessed with sleep that it keeps them up at night, ironically," she explained.
"This is typically driven by wearable trackers, such as Apple Trackers, where people are paying so much attention to every minute of sleep they get.
"The cruel irony of orthosomnia is that the harder you try to achieve perfect sleep, the further away it gets. Sleep is not a performance you can force. It requires a relaxed, non-vigilant state and if you're going to bed anxious about whether you'll hit eight hours of sleep, then you've already undermined the conditions you need to actually sleep well."
The 'sleepmaxxing' trend has racked up over 500 million views on TikTok and Dr Lee went on to say how she can see why it appeals to Gen Z.
The health expert added: "Sleep is one of, if not the, most powerful tool we have for our physical and mental health. It’ll help with everything from immune function and weight regulation, to mood, which will affect day-to-day performance.
"When people see a trend that promises to improve sleep, it’s making a promise to improve all of the above, and therefore many people will naturally become curious."
Dr Jag Sunderram, professor of medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, told CNN last year that it's a good thing people are taking sleep health so seriously.
“In the past, it was thought that sleep wasn’t important,” the doctor said. “I think the trend towards understanding that sleep is actually really important, the reason sleep is important and actually focusing on sleep is a good thing."