New research shows sleep tracking apps are potentially causing more anxiety and insomnia

Hannah Devlin, the Science correspondent at the Guardian Newspaper, recently shed light on the negative effects of what neurologist Dr. Guy Leschziner has categorized as "metricizing our lives". The interesting article, which you can read here, explores why sleep tracking apps are increasing anxiety and, most counterintuitively, insomnia amongst their users.

You know how you feel

In a world where notifications and tracking are so prevalent amongst personal tech gadgets, we're often asked why doppel does not include any tracking information. Well, we always wanted doppel to work with the human body and for the wearer to feel the effect through their senses, a clean break from the graphs and digital notifications of many of today’s wearables - because ultimately, you know how you feel.

On the topic of sleep apps, neurologist Dr. Guy Leschziner expresses “My view of sleep trackers is fairly cynical. If you wake up feeling tired and you’ve had an unrefreshing night’s sleep then you know you’ve got a problem,” he said. “If you wake up every day and feel refreshed, are awake throughout the day and are ready to sleep at the same time every night then you’re probably getting enough sleep for you and you don’t need an app to tell you that.” And we completely agree, which is why doppel is about providing a solution, not just offering more information, for the problems you already know you have.

The article also includes a reference to case studies which discovered that people who obsessively micromanaged their sleep habits with the use of apps began to develop orthosomnia, a disorder diagnosed to those who feel stressed because they do not measure up to their tracker’s definition of “good” sleep.

What do you think?

Do any of you use sleep apps or benefit from tracking devices in general?

It would be great to hear about your experiences and whether you’re in agreement with Dr. Guy Leschzine.

Hannah

doppel Community Manager