What if sleep isn’t just our body’s way to repair and re-energize, but a game we're playing to win? Sound like a bad dream? Maybe, but for millions, chasing winks with the latest sleep-measuring technology has become a nighttime sport, complete with sleep scores and strategies on how to best sack the competition. Some people are even…..well…...losing sleep over whether or not they're sleeping up to their full potential. Sleep gadgets aren’t new. Many restless dozers have drifted beyond counting sheep and sipping herbal tea to the growing array of sleep-oriented wearable apps, or bedtime products, including white-noise machines, lulling lights and robots that one can cuddle for relaxation. Now, Type-A Z-seekers also want to conquer bedtime with the dedication of ultramarathoners. One popular gadget, the Oura Ring, retails for $300 and requires a monthly paid membership. It tracks biometrics through infrared LED lights that beam from the ring into the finger, all of which feed into Oura’s algorithm to determine sleep quality. Scientists have already coined a term for that nocturnal affliction: orthosomnia — an anxiety about optimizing sleep that can lead to trouble sleeping. The good thing about these apps and devices is that people are thinking more about what their sleep looks like and what they might be able to do to improve it, but the dark side is that people can get really hyper focused on sleep and become so distressed about their performance that it causes insomnia and creates even more anxiety.
