Why the sleep industry has got us worrying about the wrong things

For many of us, obsessing over how much sleep we get is a favourite pastime. Largely, that’s thanks to the emergence of the sleep industry, offering everything from wearable trackers to assess sleep quality to melatonin gummies that hasten slumber – but are we looking at this all wrong?

Sleep rules of thumb have become gospel: strive for around 8 hours uninterrupted or you could be on the highway to conditions such as dementia or diabetes. The embedding of such beliefs can become harmful, as this week’s cover story reveals . Indeed, it seems that some of us develop “insomnia identities” when we aren’t, in fact, insomniacs – at least a third of those who self-assign the label actually sleep well.

The latest research suggests that our mindset around how much sleep we are getting is crucial: in cognitive tests, it is a person’s belief about how well they have slept, not the objective truth, that predicts how well they perform. The 8 hours maxim, too, is shakier than you might think. Evidence for the much-reported harms of having less sleep than that is lacking, provided you are getting over 6 hours. Sleeping for 7 hours is linked with living longer, but extra hours don’t accrue extra benefits. Undergirding all of this is the reality that becoming stressed about sleep is antithetical to getting it.

Remedying this is possible. The sleep industry, for one, could reorientate itself around helping some people – like those who mistakenly believe they are insomniacs – understand that they are getting more and better sleep than they realise, with wearable devices sharing this information. The sleep goals put forward by health bodies and medical professionals could become more realistic, and it could be made clear that short-term sleep deprivation is something we are resilient to.

On an individual level, we can take heart, knowing that the often-impossible ideals imposed are less concrete than we might believe. Our obsession with sleep might have become a favourite pastime, but perhaps it is time for a new hobby.