Why 'sleepmaxxing' could be making your sleep worse
The things you're doing to make your sleep better could actually be making your sleep worse.
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Sleep scores, magnesium, white noise machines - what was once the simple act of sleeping has become a minefield.
Trying to optimise sleep in this way is called "sleepmaxxing". Take it too far, and you could end up with "orthosomnia" - the clinical term for an obsession with achieving perfect sleep.
While it's not formally recognised as a condition in the UK, doctors tell the BBC they've noticed signs of orthosomnia in their patients, with some bringing their sleep tracker data into appointments convinced, wrongly, that they have a sleep disorder.
That fixation is actually making people's sleep worse, they warn.
So how and why did sleep become so complicated? And if sleepmaxxing isn't the answer, what is the elusive secret to a good night's sleep?
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