Sleep Tracking: Why I’m Ditching My Wearables

As a tech reporter, I’ve spent years being sleep-shamed by every smartwatch, smart ring, and fitness tracker on the market. Once the review period is over, I’m happy to leave that toxic relationship in the dust and never look at my sleep data again.

People love their sleep tracking. That’s why most major wearables, from the Apple Watch to the Oura Ring, include some sort of sleep tracking option. These features are only getting more robust; this year, both Samsung and Apple released new sleep apnea detection features on their respective smartwatches, which have received approval from the FDA.

These are all objectively great reasons to track your sleep. However, at this particular point in my life, it’s causing more harm than good.

Sleep Itself Comes Easily, Getting There is the Problem

Sleep has always been straightforward for me. I know how much sleep I need to feel rested, and the things I need to do to achieve it: avoid caffeine after 3 p.m., steer clear of screens before bed, go to bed at a certain time, and wake up 8 hours later. If I’m tired the next day, I can usually pinpoint the exact reason without even glancing at my sleep data.

I’m also a big fan of sleep in all its forms—sound sleep, cat naps, food comas—so, in theory, I should have no issue getting the recommended amount of sleep and receiving nothing but praise from my tracker. Instead, all I get are passive-aggressive digs at my life choices.

The Culprits

One of the main culprits is kids. Starting at pregnancy, a full night’s rest is as elusive as the hot rabbi from Nobody Wants This. There’s no “parent of small kids” mode I can activate on my sleep tracker, so this is one factor I have zero control over.