Sleep trackers can cause insomnia because users are worried about the amount of monitoring that they are getting.

Follow-up sleep patterns can cause insomnia, as people lose sleep by worrying about the amount of sleep they receive.

According to experts, "observe sleep" by monitoring the sleep habits of an application can make it more difficult to obtain the correct amount.

There is a word for this condition – orthosomnia – and this can cause stress and anxiety, producing hormones like adrenaline and cortisol that keep people from sleeping.

Dr. Guy Leschziner, sleep expert at the Sleep Disorders Center at Guy's Hospital in London, said that trackers rely on data that "does not really represent sleep".

Before talking about sleep science at the Cheltenham Science Festival, the consulting neurologist said, "We have seen many people develop significant insomnia as a result of sleep monitoring or some reading about the devastation of lack sleep is for you.

& # 39; My perspective on sleep follow-ups is quite cynical. If you feel tired on awakening and have had a restful night's sleep, then you know you have a problem.

If you wake up every day and feel refreshed, if you are awake all day and are ready to sleep at the same time each night, you probably sleep enough and you do not have enough sleep. need an app to tell you that.

"This obsessive state of sleep makes sleep even more difficult.

At a briefing on sleep last year, the Parliamentary Bureau of Science and Technology has expressed physicians' concern that sleep trackers could bring in "normal sleepers". to worry about non-existent sleep problems ".

The British Sleep Council states that people should not try to "micromanage" sleep, because the best sleepers tend not to think about it too much.

Stephanie Romiszewski, sleep physiologist, said in front of an audience at the Cheltenham Science Festival: "With regard to follow-up in general, I think the research tends to show that the use of follow-up as anecdotal, because you are curious, well.

"But if you start looking at this and start worrying about what's going on, and that anxiety starts to make you anxious while you sleep, and you start worrying about going to bed at night, that's a risk. do not be very difficult. well & # 39.

She added, "We actually worsen sleep problems by doing a follow-up, doing a poorly reported research, and that can sometimes be a bit alarmist, and it actually does not help – it's a obstacle."

In Britain, it is estimated that four million people buy smart watches and fitness monitors each year, which often record sleep and exercise.

The cheapest can cost as little as £ 50 and are worn on the wrist where they measure movement patterns via an accelerometer.

The most expensive models include a heart rate monitor that measures your pulse by illuminating and measuring the movement of the arteries close to the skin.

A study conducted in 2017 by the University of Chicago coined the term "orthosomnia," stating that people were focusing on improving sleep data recorded in order to "achieve perfect sleep."

Dr. Leschziner finds that a high proportion of people suffering from insomnia are importing data from sleep apps for smartphones into his clinic.

He said, "No matter what people say, they rely on data that does not really represent sleep. Many work following the movements.

"Some are a bit more advanced, they probably give a reasonable measure of your sleep.

"They do not tell you about the stage of sleep or the quality of sleep. This is even more the case if you have a sleep disorder.

Sleep experts told an audience in Cheltenham that caffeine does not disrupt everyone's sleep because of gene differences, and that blue light can also affect people differently.

It is advisable for people who have trouble sleeping to try to get up at about the same time rather than lying on the weekends and going to bed only if they are tired enough.