Dr Zoe health warning as some people taking social media bed trend 'too far'

Dr Zoe health warning as some people taking social media bed trend 'too far' People are being warned that they may be doing more harm than good and 'obsessing' too much A health warning has been issued by Dr Zoe about a social media trend she says people are taking "too far". The health expert appeared on Tuesday's (September 8) episode of ITV's This Morning to discuss with hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard about how following the trend could do more harm than good. Dr Zoe warned viewers of the risks of 'sleepmaxxing'. Sleepmaxxing is a popular wellness trend that involves people aggressively trying to improve their sleep quality and how much they sleep in bed. They do this by combining different routines, using tech gadgets, and trying out various hacks that may not be proven. Dr Zoe explained: "Sleepmaxxing is becoming obsessed about sleep, devices, gadgets, supplements, and all the rest of it." However, she warned: "Some people are taking it too far." What are the risks of sleepmaxxing? Highlighting the possible risks, she said: "There's this term orthosomnia, where that obsession can actually cause your sleep to be worse and make you feel more tired in the day. Getting negative feedback from your device can make you feel terrible the next day, even if you actually slept okay." Orthosomnia is when someone becomes overly fixated on achieving "perfect" sleep, often due to information from sleep trackers or smartwatches. While it isn't officially classified as a medical or mental health issue, sleep experts commonly use the term to talk about the stress related to health data. Popular sleepmaxxing techniques include 'mouth taping' and consuming high doses of magnesium and melatonin. As well as using wearable tech, tweaking your diet, such as eating kiwis before bed, and changing your bedroom's environment by buying blackout curtains and playing white noise. As mentioned by Dr Zoe, experts at Harvard Health also warn that getting too stressed or fixated on achieving a "perfect" sleep score can actually harm your sleep. They also warn that using mouth tape might be risky if you have a stuffy nose or undiagnosed sleep apnoea. Depending on costly devices and high-dose supplements instead of straightforward, effective habits may also cause issues, they add. What should people do instead? Urging people to think about the best steps to take, Dr Zoe suggested: "So I think the key thing is, I would say to people, if you're monitoring your sleep and it's helping and you're feeling better and you're improving things and making positive changes, fine. If it's making you more anxious and negatively impacting your sleep, just stop and go back to those basic things." Dr Zoe says beds should mostly be used for sleeping, and recommends sleeping in a room "that's like a cave" and "cold and dark". Emphasising the importance of only associating your bed with two things and nothing else, she added: "The bed should only be for sleep and sex." She continued: "Reduce things like caffeine and get out during the day. Phone away. Screens away. Expose yourself to early morning sunlight. All the boring basic things that work. It shouldn't be for scrolling, reading."