This is the final article in The Conversation’s six-part series on insomnia, charting the rise of insomnia from industrialization to today’s sleep apps. Read other articles in the series here.
Insomnia is not just a personal problem that affects an individual’s health and well-being. This is a public health issue and impacts public safety. This is a socio-economic problem, as poor sleep quality leads to lower education and income. And it’s increasingly becoming a commercial problem.
The global insomnia market is expected to reach USD 6.3 billion by 2030 due to the rise in diagnostics, treatments, and sleep aids such as sleep apps.
Read more: A short history of insomnia and how we became obsessed with sleep
There’s an app for that
There are many digital devices and apps that can help people sleep better. You can purchase wearable devices such as smartwatches, smart rings, and wristbands to digitally monitor your sleep. You can download an app that allows you to track your sleep time, as well as your fatigue and concentration levels.
Some devices are designed to promote sleep by producing white noise, brown noise, or other soothing sounds. You can also buy “smart” pillows, mattresses, and a variety of smart light fixtures and light bulbs to help track and improve your sleep.
Such technologies work to ādigitizeā sleep as part of a āquantified self.ā Convert your sleep habits and body reactions into data so you can check them. As such, these devices are being touted as providing scientific insights into how to control the disruption in people’s lives caused by sleep deprivation.
You can listen to “Sleep Stories” (bedtime stories, music, and guided meditations to help you sleep). We also have sleep blogs, podcasts, and social media content like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram.
Where there is social media content, there are social media āinfluencersā who share their views on sleep and how to get more sleep. These “sleep influencers” have a large following. Some people are paying to make money by live-streaming themselves sleeping or inviting viewers to wake them up.
Sharing and Connecting Helps
There may be benefits to joining an online community of people who have trouble sleeping, whether it’s an online forum like Reddit or a specially designed sleep improvement program.
Sharing and connection can reduce feelings of loneliness, which we know can affect sleep. And technology can facilitate this connection when no one else is around.
We know that social media communities provide much-needed support for more common health issues. These allow people to share their personal experiences with others who understand, and to exchange tips about the best health professionals and treatments.
Therefore, online sharing, support, and a sense of belonging can reduce the stress and unhappiness that can prevent people from getting a good night’s sleep.
Read more: Social media, activism, and trucker hats: The interesting story behind the long COVID-19 pandemic
What does this immobilization cost us?
However, there are some problems with quantifying sleep. Focusing on sleep can create a vicious cycle in which worrying about not getting enough sleep itself makes your sleep worse.
The use of sleep tracking apps and wearable devices can lead people to become overly attached to the metrics these technologies collect.
Data generated by digital devices is not always accurate or useful, especially for groups such as the elderly. Some young people say using sleep apps makes them feel worse.
There are also data privacy issues. Some digital developers do not adequately protect the highly personal information that smart sleep devices and apps generate.
Additionally, there is the fact that using digital devices before bed is itself associated with sleep problems.
Read more: Are sleep trackers accurate? Here’s what researchers currently know
Have we overlooked a bigger problem?
Other critics argue that this intensive focus on sleep ignores that for some people, no matter how hard they try or what expensive devices they buy, it is impossible to sleep well. I claim that there is.
People living in poor housing or noisy environments have little choice in the conditions for good sleep.
As with other health issues, factors such as people’s income and education level affect sleep. Additionally, multiple socio-economic factors (such as gender, ethnicity, and economic hardship) combine to make you even more likely to be sleep deprived.
Sleep quality is therefore as much a socio-economic issue as it is a biological one. However, much of the advice given to people on how to improve their sleep focuses on personal responsibility for making changes. It assumes that everyone can buy the latest technology or change their environment or lifestyle to find better “sleep health.”
Until the āsleep health gapā is addressed, digital devices and apps are unlikely to be able to solve sleep problems at a population level. Good sleep shouldn’t be for the privileged.
Read more: Counting the wrong sheep: Why sleep disorders are not just about individual lifestyle and habits