Dear Stoics,

Let’s start with a question: what do you do first thing in the morning? Do you grab your phone and check your sleep score? If the answer is yes, this letter is for you. (If you said no, you should also read it, because it’s good, as always.)

What is orthosomnia?

This rather serious-sounding term was coined in 2017 by researchers who noticed a growing number of patients seeking treatment for self-diagnosed sleep disturbances because of what their sleep trackers were telling them. The word itself combines the Greek ortho (correct) and somnia (sleep), and the similarity to already well-known orthorexia (obsessive striving to eat healthy) is not a coincidence. These two have a lot in common, and neither is going away anytime soon.

What scientists found out is that orthosomnia, an unhealthy fixation on sleep metrics, does quite a lot of harm instead of helping. It contributes to the real anxiety around sleep and can cause actual insomnia. So, the very thing you’re using to sleep better makes you sleep worse.

Go easy with constant optimizing

Well, this was probably inevitable. We live in a time when optimising and maximising have become the new normal. Many of us track our steps, count our calories, screen time, heart rate, etc. We have multi-step routines and biohacking stacks, and somewhere along the way, sleep got rebranded into an “optimal anti-aging and longevity mechanism.”

A lot of the anxiety around sleep is about wanting to stay in control of our bodies. We don’t want to age or waste our energy. We think: if I optimise this one more thing, I can hold it all together much longer. And that’s an understandable feeling. It’s just not a great strategy for getting healthy rest.

Oh, the irony!

One researcher first noticed the phenomenon when patients started coming in with something that didn’t fit the classical description of insomnia, but it was still keeping them up at night. They had become so dependent on their devices that they were “actually destroying their sleep” because they weren’t measuring up to what their tracker considered a good amount.

The more you try to control your sleep, the harder it gets. And it’s all because of stress that shouldn’t even come near your sleeping habits. So you check the score, feel anxious, sleep worse, and check the score again.

No need to overdo it

Of course, we don’t mean that you should throw away your watch or delete the apps. Just don’t let the score ruin your morning. And if you feel that the data is stressing you out more than helping, it’s totally fine to take a break from it.

The simple truth is that if you sleep well, your body will tell you about it. You’ll be rested and feel like yourself. That can happen after six hours if that’s what you need. It also happens without a perfect sleep score or an ideal room temperature. So chill out instead of worrying! Read a book, listen to some music, journal about your hobbies, or lie down with your eyes closed. Rest is still rest.

Listening to your body works both ways. If you feel sleep-deprived, and it’s affecting your daily life, that’s worth taking seriously. Then, reach out to a doctor, not your phone.

If you’d like to read about some good ways to wind down before bed, we’ve put together a collection in the Stoic app called On Sleep. And remember, a nap is the best remedy for all aches!

Yours truly,
The Stoic App Team

P.S. Sources we found really interesting on this topic, if you want to go deeper:

Prevalence of Orthosomnia in a General Population Sample: A Cross-Sectional Study

Orthosomnia: Are Some Patients Taking the Quantified Self Too Far?

Orthosomnia: when your sleep tracker becomes the problem

Your Quest for Perfect Sleep Is Keeping You Awake

Our circles shift throughout our lives more than we usually notice. A close friend fades into someone you check in with once a year, while a new work colleague becomes someone you call when things get hard. Your groups form, dissolve, and reshape themselves around who you’re becoming with time.

This week in Stoic app, we’re reflecting on that subject. Every day until Sunday, you’ll get a new prompt asking about who the people around you are, and how they got there. It’s a subject worth exploring to find out something new about yourself.