Been up at night with insomnia lately and fallen down the so-called "sleepmaxxing" rabbit hole on TikTok? The uninitiated may be wondering what this wellness trend being touted by social media influencers is all about.
"You can sort of think of it as a modified or upgraded version of sleep hygiene," Dr. Sam Kashani, a sleep medicine specialist and assistant clinical professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, told Time earlier this month.
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All the fuss about sleepmaxxing by social media influencers is part of a broader interest in wellness and self-care that took hold during the COVID-19 pandemic. Essentially, sleepmaxxing is trying to get the maximum benefit from sleep – and improving overall well-being – by using a bunch of hacks at once including: turning on a white noise machine, taping the mouth shut, using a weighted blanket, lowering the room temperature, inserting nostril expanders, wearing an eye mask, taking magnesium as a supplement and eating kiwi before bed.
Nearly a decade ago, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society published a joint statement that adults 18 to 60 should get at least seven hours of sleep a night for optimal health. Getting less than seven hours of Z's on a regular basis has been associated with higher risk for diabetes, obesity, depression, hypertension, stroke and other serious health conditions.
"Sleep is very fundamental for your overall health and well-being," Dr. Suhaib Haq, a sleep medicine specialist, recently told Good Housekeeping. "And if there's anything you want to invest in, that is your sleep."
But while some of the techniques touted by sleepmaxxers are considered sound sleep hygiene, others are not backed by science – and may even be counterproductive, experts say.
"Some of these things actually do help, but may lead to a false sense of security and may lead to delaying the diagnosis of some underlying sleep conditions and costing a lot of money for stuff that is not proven to be effective," Haq said. "And when a person is investing so much time and money and effort in maximizing their sleep, and they don't get good results, that may lead to anxiety that may make their sleep issues worse."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends these practices – also promoted by sleepmaxxers – as contributing to restful, restorative sleep:
• Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day
• Keeping the bedroom cool, quiet and uncluttered
• Turning off smartphones and other devices at least 30 minutes before going to bed
• Avoiding caffeine in the afternoon
• Avoiding alcohol and large meals in the evening
• Exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy diet
But people should be wary about some of the other sleepmaxxing methods being hyped on social media, experts say.
For instance, people only should take melatonin if prescribed by a health care provider for certain sleep disorders. Healthy people should not use it on a regular basis or for the treatment of insomnia, according to Harvard Health.
Weighted blankets show some effectiveness for people with depression, anxiety and other behavioral health disorders, but there is no research supporting their use in healthy people.
Some sleepmaxxers say mouth-taping at night increases energy and immunity, and fights bad breath, but a recent review of research on the subject found these claims to be unsupported by science. The effectiveness of mouth-taping to reduce snoring and help with obstructive sleep apnea is inconclusive, the paper found. Consult with a doctor before trying mouth-taping, Harvard Health said.
Nostril expanders may help reduce snoring a bit, but "most of the snoring does happen in the back part of the throat so it is a false remedy for an underlying condition that may need different interventions," Haq told Good Housekeeping.
Downing a kiwi or two before bed is another sleepmaxxing favorite. But does it work?
"Eating more fruits and veggies is wonderful,” Dr. Emerson Wickwire, section head of sleep medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center, told Time. "But in terms of sleep-specific benefits, we lack data to answer these questions conclusively."
One small study involving 24 people found that eating two kiwi fruits, one hour before bed for four weeks, improved sleep. Another study found that eating kiwis improved sleep in elite athletes.
Similarly, a review of studies on magnesium found that people who took 320 to 729 milligrams of magnesium a day fell asleep about 17 minutes faster but was inconclusive about the effect of the supplement on sleep quality.
These studies were small and established an association – not causation – between kiwis, magnesium and sleep.
Using sleep-tracking apps on smart watches or phones may seem like a good idea. But Haq advised caution.
"People who use these sleep gadgets may end up waiting to try to see their progress, and that can induce more anxiety and more push them more towards insomnia, or sometimes what we call paradoxical insomnia — a person who is sleeping well, but they think they're not," Haq said.
In general, people who become hyper-focused on sleepmaxxing may develop orthosomnia, an unhealthy obsession with achieving perfect sleep, according to Harvard Health.