Ripples of I – Blog 109: Not sleeping a bit with the Fitbit

Every Wednesday, I share one article made up of three little ripples: 

Have you ever gotten so curious about improving something that you accidentally made it worse?

One Inspiration 

Recently I finally joined the 2015 party and got myself a Fitbit. Yes, I know - most people have already tracked millions of steps, run a few marathons, and perfected their sleep cycles by now.  

Late or not, getting the Fitbit felt like a small commitment to paying more attention to myself. I was genuinely looking forward to noticing my steps, my movement, and those gentle (and occasionally judgmental) nudges to get up from my chair. And because I’m someone who loves data, I quickly found myself checking my stats throughout the day, spotting patterns, and seeing little opportunities to improve. 

What really intrigued me, though, was the sleep tracking. I learned all about deep sleep, REM cycles, and what a “good night” is supposed to look like.  

Normally I fall asleep easily and stay asleep without much trouble. But the moment I started wearing the Fitbit at night… something shifted. My sleep suddenly looked - and felt- worse. Much worse... take a look:

One Insight 

Curious about what was happening, I started reading more. And it turns out this is a known thing: tracking sleep can actually make sleep worse and there is even a name for it: orthosomnia - the obsession with achieving perfect sleep metrics. 

Turns out, one of the biggest contributors to insomnia is… worrying about sleep. And nothing fuels that anxiety quite like a glowing wristband whispering, “You only got 46 minutes of deep sleep. Try harder...” 

Wearables can unintentionally amplify that pressure. Instead of simply resting, we start evaluating. Instead of drifting off, we start wondering how our sleep score will look in the morning. And that quiet, subtle tension can make it harder to do the very thing we’re trying to improve. 

It made me pause and ask myself: When does self‑awareness cross the line into self‑surveillance?And what does it cost us when the things designed to help us begin to rewrite our rhythms?

One Invite 

So here’s my gentle invitation for this week: What if we softened our relationship with the data a little? What if we let our bodies be bodies - messy, rhythmic, intuitive - without constantly scoring them? What if we let the numbers support us without letting them define us? 

Maybe the real goal isn’t perfect sleep metrics at all, but a more trusting relationship with our own natural rhythms. A bit more ease. A bit less monitoring. A willingness to rest without turning it into a performance. 

If you’ve ever felt ruled by your own metrics, or found yourself bracing for your Fitbit’s verdict, you’re not alone. Maybe this is our clue to ease up a bit and let the night be the night, without expecting a performance review.