We all want to wake up feeling refreshed after a great night’s sleep. To achieve that, many people try various bedtime rituals, sleep gadgets, sleep supplements, and routines to create the “perfect” environment for sleep. However, when the pursuit of ideal rest turns into an obsession, it can do more harm than good. Enter sleepmaxxing, a growing trend where people go to extreme lengths to chase the perfect night of sleep. Unfortunately, this focus on perfection often results in increased sleep anxiety and even worsens insomnia.
In this post, I’ll explore what sleepmaxxing is, how it can make sleep worse, and how to shift the focus away from the obsessive pursuit of flawless sleep using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i) techniques.
Can Sleepmaxxing Cause Insomnia?
The more Sarah fixated on sleep, the harder it became for her to get it. This is a common trap with sleepmaxxing—when the focus on achieving perfect sleep becomes an obsession, it can create sleep anxiety. The pressure to get everything right makes it difficult to relax, which is essential for falling asleep.
The stress and anxiety that comes with sleepmaxxing can trigger orthosomnia, a term coined to describe the obsessive pursuit of perfect sleep through data from sleep trackers. People with orthosomnia tend to focus too much on the numbers their sleep tracker provides, letting their “sleep score” dictate how they feel about their sleep. This hyperawareness can lead to more insomnia reasons, such as overanalyzing small fluctuations in sleep patterns or feeling the need to constantly adjust their routine to “fix” the problem.
In Sarah’s case, the reliance on her sleep tracker was making her more anxious, as she constantly worried whether she was getting enough REM sleep or deep sleep. Rather than helping her sleep better, it heightened her stress levels, which led to poor sleep quality and a growing sense of frustration. Her brain had now associated bedtime with stress, making it even harder to fall asleep.
How to Break Free from Sleepmaxxing: CBT for Insomnia
Thankfully, there are ways to break the cycle of sleepmaxxing and reduce sleep anxiety. One of the most effective approaches is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-i), a scientifically proven method for treating insomnia that focuses on changing behaviors and negative thought patterns related to sleep.
Here are some practical steps to break free from the obsession with sleep:
1. Shift Your Focus Away from Sleep Perfection
Instead of focusing on achieving perfect sleep, reframe how you think about sleep. Stop seeing it as something to control or optimize, and start treating it as a natural process that your body knows how to handle. Relaxation should be the focus before bedtime, rather than stressing about how to get the best sleep score. Practices like meditation, deep breathing, or simply reading a book can help you wind down without creating pressure.
2. Limit the Use of Sleep Trackers
While sleep trackers can provide useful data, it’s important to avoid becoming obsessed with them. Sleep experts suggest checking the data less frequently and focusing more on how you feel upon waking rather than relying on numbers to validate your rest. Sleep trackers often don’t provide a full picture of your sleep health, and putting too much weight on them can lead to unnecessary anxiety.
3. Stick to a Consistent Sleep Schedule
One of the core principles of insomnia treatment is maintaining a consistent sleep schedule. Going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, including weekends, helps regulate your body’s internal clock. This consistency can reduce sleep anxiety because it establishes a predictable routine, making it easier for your body to transition into sleep.
4. Embrace Good Sleep Hygiene
Sleep hygiene involves creating a sleep-friendly environment and adopting habits that promote better sleep. This doesn’t mean obsessing over every detail but rather sticking to simple guidelines like keeping your bedroom dark, cool, and quiet, and making sure to use the bed only for sleep. These small changes can improve sleep without leading to the extreme measures seen in sleepmaxxing.
5. Work with a Sleep Therapist
If sleep anxiety and insomnia are becoming overwhelming, working with a sleep therapist can provide personalized guidance. Behavioral sleep therapists trained in CBT-i can help you identify unhelpful behaviors and thoughts related to sleep, reframe them, and establish healthier habits. By addressing the root causes of insomnia, a sleep therapist can help you develop a healthier relationship with sleep.
Let Go of Perfect Sleep
It’s easy to fall into the trap of sleepmaxxing, especially with the pressure to optimize every area of our lives. But when it comes to sleep, more isn’t always better. In fact, trying too hard can lead to sleep anxiety and even worsen insomnia. Instead of obsessing over the perfect sleep, focus on simple, healthy sleep habits that allow your body to rest naturally.
If you’re struggling with sleep due to anxiety or sleepmaxxing, consider seeking help from a sleep therapist who can guide you through CBT-i techniques. By shifting the focus away from perfection and embracing a more balanced approach to sleep, you can finally rest easy.
For more tips and advice, explore our other blog posts and resources on sleep health, or book a consultation with a behavioral sleep expert.
