The Potential Dangers of Sleep Trackers, According to Experts

I’m captivated by my new personal health tracker, a Christmas gift from my husband. It’s fascinating to know my heart rate, respiration, activity, readiness and stress levels at any moment. Yet it’s the sleep data that has me mesmerized — and a bit worried.

Why does it say I only slept five hours when I was in bed for more than six? Wait, what? I was in light sleep for most of the night and got only 30 minutes of deep and dream sleep? That can’t be good.

I spent days trying to understand what the charts and graphs were telling me about my slumber, then finally came to my senses. As a journalist who writes about sleep (a lot), I know it’s the overall quality that matters, not whether I had any dreams or got enough deep sleep last night. After all, everyone has to stay up late at times due to a sick child, travel or an unfinished work project.