Remember when your parents used to take away all your phones or laptops and put you to bed early? It was frustrating to undergo that daily ritual but now we all crave to return to that schedule. Those were when we used to get the right amount of sleep every day and wake up all rejuvenated.
Today, our busy schedules have forced us to sacrifice our sleep. This has made us more irritable and significantly reduced our energy levels.
At this point in life, a viral trend called ‘sleepmaxxing’ is gaining popularity. Here’s all you need to know about it.
What Is Sleepmaxxing?
Sleepmaxxing is a trend that has gone viral because of its encouraging approach towards peaceful, distractionless sleep. The practitioners of this concept, called sleepmaxxers, use several products such as magnesium sprays, mouth tapes, and advanced gadgets that track sleep, to boost the quality of their sleep.
In other words, sleepmaxxing means maximizing perfect sleep. Influencers and content creators have posted videos, using cutting-edge technological devices and supplements to induce deep sleep. ‘Sleepy Girl’ mocktail recipes have also made it to the trend to promote a good night’s sleep.
TikTok is now full of one of the angles of this trend, called ‘biohacking’, with videos taking the platform by storm, suggesting that deep sleep can be improved by 34% using specific techniques.
A study published in 2022 in ‘Sleep Medicine Reviews’, a bimonthly peer-reviewed medical journal, revealed that GenZ is experiencing more disturbances in sleep than the previous generations.
Companies are taking full advantage of this trend to maximize their sales. For example, since the demand for technologies that help improve sleeping patterns has increased manifold, products such as AI headbands, which use noise-cancelling brain waves to instigate sleep and advanced mattress systems that control temperature, detect snores and have soft vibration alarms.
This trend is expanding the sleep aid market in India. These products are expected to produce $28 million in revenue and grow by 9.55% over the next four years.
A psychiatrist and co-founder of Anvaya Healthcare, Dr Sneha Sharma, who also treats patients suffering from insomnia, said, “It has become increasingly difficult for people to fall asleep or get a good night’s rest, particularly given today’s lifestyle. Factors such as limited physical activity and excessive screen time are contributing to greater difficulties in both falling and staying asleep, which, in turn, affect the quality of rest individuals are getting. As more people become aware of how essential sleep is to their health, they are becoming increasingly focused on ensuring they get high-quality sleep.”
The director of a mattress brand called Magniflex India, Dr Shankar S Biradar, said, “A good night’s sleep has become a coveted treasure, with many striving to optimise their rest to enhance performance, health, and well-being.“
Read More: Breakfast Babble: Here’s Why Sleep Has Become My Escape
Is This Trend Beneficial?
While sleepmaxxing sounds appealing, especially when we cannot get the right amount of rest, it is not free of harmful side effects.
One of the negative effects of this trend is the heightened chances of developing an obsessive pursuit of perfect deep sleep, a condition that is called orthosomnia. This can be the source of increased stress and anxiety, thereby exacerbating the quality of sleep for some people.
Derek Antosiek, a sleepmaxxer, in an interview with The New York Times, said, “I found myself waking up and immediately looking at my score, like, ‘Did I get good sleep?’” He said so after he became addicted to this trend and started using devices such as the Oura ring (a smart ring used to track sleep), earplugs, nasal dilators, and mouth tape. He then realized the oura ring was not as helpful as the other tools.
Critics have also pointed out other drawbacks of this trend such as developing a perfectionist mindset and surreal expectations regarding perfect sleep, thus, increasing the dependence on gadgets rather than following natural methods like maintaining a regular sleep schedule and reducing screen time before bedtime.
“The pressure to achieve perfection can lead to counterproductive outcomes. When people become overly preoccupied with sleep, they may experience heightened anxiety and stress, known contributors to sleep disturbances,” said Dr Biradar.
A behavioural sleep scientist at the Appleton Institute, Vanessa Hill, spoke to The New York Times about the effectiveness of new gadgets that aim to improve sleep, saying, “Probably none of these are going to help you get a better night’s sleep. It’s most important that you’re comfortable. So if some of these things help you feel more comfortable, great.“
Sleep deprivation is extremely harmful in the long run as it increases the chances of diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases and various mental health disorders. It is advised to prioritize good sleep and maintain a healthy lifestyle that includes physical activities, especially in our fast-paced modern lives.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: Moneycontrol, NDTV, India Today
This post is tagged under: diabetes, blood pressure, heart diseases, mental health disorders, sleep, modern, The New York Times, Appleton Institute, Vanessa Hill, behavioural sleep scientist, screen time, trend, sleepmaxxing, sleepmaxxers, Reddit, oura ring, critics, earplugs, nasal dilators, mouth tape, anxiety, stress, orthosomnia, AI headbands, market, revenue, sales, influencers, content creators, sleepy girl mocktail, TikTok, magnesium sprays, viral, biohacking
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