Why the sleep industry makes us care about the wrong things

For many of us, obsessing over how long we sleep is a favorite pastime. In large part, this is thanks to the rise of the sleep industry, which offers everything from wearable trackers to assess sleep quality to melatonin gummies that speed up sleep – but are we looking at it all wrong?

The basic rules of sleep have become gospel: aim for about 8 hours uninterrupted or you could be on the highway to conditions like dementia or diabetes. Anchoring such beliefs can become harmful, as this week’s opening story reveals. Indeed, some of us seem to develop “insomnia identities” even though we’re not actually insomniacs – at least a third of those who self-assign this label are actually good sleepers.

The latest research suggests that our mindset about how much we sleep is crucial: in cognitive tests, it’s a person’s belief about how well they’ve slept, not the objective truth, that predicts how well they’re doing. The 8 hour high is also more uncertain than you might think. Evidence for the much-reported harms of getting less sleep is lacking, provided you get more than 6 hours. Sleeping 7 hours is associated with a longer life, but the extra hours do not confer additional benefits. All this is supported by the fact that stressing about sleep is contrary to sleep.

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The sleep industry could help us understand that most of us sleep better than we realize
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A remedy is possible. For example, the sleep industry could refocus on helping some people—such as those who mistakenly believe they are insomniacs—understand that they are sleeping more and better than they realize, using wearable devices that share this information. Sleep goals put forward by healthcare facilities and doctors could become more realistic, and it could become clear that short-term sleep deprivation is something we are resilient to.

On an individual level, we can commit because we know that the often impossible imposed ideals are less concrete than we might believe. Our obsession with sleep may have become a popular pastime, but it may be time for a new hobby.