TikTok’s Latest Wellness Trend Promises to Get You Better Sleep. Can It?

If you find yourself counting sheep at night or struggle to stay asleep, know that you are not alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 3 adults do not get enough sleep every day. Nowadays, people are taking extra measures to ensure a good night’s sleep. TikTok has been coming up with several sleep trends, such as sleepy girl mocktail.
Sleepmaxxing is one trend that has gained popularity recently. It aims to maximize your sleep quality and quantity, ensuring you are energized for the day. However, you must keep in mind that these trends are often not backed by enough research and can sometimes also hinder your sleep.
What is sleepmaxxing?
Sleepmaxxing is a recent wellness trend on TikTok, which focuses on optimizing the amount and quality of sleep that you get each night by using a variety of techniques or products. It often includes a wide range of methods including taking supplements, using sleep gadgets, staying in bed for extended periods of time and even taping your mouth while you sleep.
This current trend focuses on the importance of sleep for one’s health. Good sleep improves your brain performance, mood and overall health. How you feel when you’re awake largely depends on your sleep health. Over half of the Gen Z and half of the millennial population have tried at least one of the social media sleep trends. However, research on such trends is still inconclusive.
Like many other TikTok trends, sleepmaxxing is also a term coined by influencers and not medical professionals. Some of them also film and livestream their sleep to show how these methods benefit their overall sleep quality.
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Popular sleepmaxxing trends on TikTok
Some of the common sleepmaxxing trends on Tiktok are mentioned below.
ASMR sleep routines
The autonomous sensory meridian response is a sensory trigger that may involve physical sensations, sound, images or a combination of all. ASMR can trigger feelings of relaxation and pleasure, thereby improving sleep quality. It can also improve mood and reduce anxiety, preventing stressful thoughts during bedtime.
Sleep tracking apps and devices
Sleep trackers can provide information on your sleep quality and quantity as well as identify if you have any sleep problems. Many of them also include built-in coaching that helps to improve your sleep habits and track progress to understand how different approaches work for you. One of the best sleep trackers of 2024 is the Oura ring, which you can wear on your finger. It measures your heart rate, temperature, and movement. It then uses these measures to identify your stages of sleep. It comprises an integrated Oura app with an easy-to-read chart of your sleep stages each night.
Other common sleepmaxxing trends
These are some of the most common sleepmaxxing trends on Tiktok:
Drinking sleepy girl mocktail: This non-alcoholic drink comprises tart cherry juice, magnesium powder and a prebiotic soda. Magnesium may help you relax by regulating your nervous system and chart cherry juice can help your body produce more melatonin, also known as the sleepy hormone. Together, these two ingredients are the perfect blend to help your body prepare for sleep.
This non-alcoholic drink comprises tart cherry juice, magnesium powder and a prebiotic soda. Magnesium may help you relax by regulating your nervous system and chart cherry juice can help your body produce more melatonin, also known as the sleepy hormone. Together, these two ingredients are the perfect blend to help your body prepare for sleep. Mouth taping: This is where you place a medical-grade tape over your mouth to prevent breathing through it while sleeping. Influencers claim it can help ease snoring and prevent dry mouth. No scientific studies have confirmed this and all evidence is purely anecdotal. Some medical experts also have spoken out on social media against it as it can be detrimental to some people, for example, those with sleep apnea.
This is where you place a medical-grade tape over your mouth to prevent breathing through it while sleeping. Influencers claim it can help ease snoring and prevent dry mouth. No scientific studies have confirmed this and all evidence is purely anecdotal. Some medical experts also have spoken out on social media against it as it can be detrimental to some people, for example, those with sleep apnea. Bed rotting: This is when you stay in bed for a prolonged duration. The idea here is to give your body enough time to recover. However, sleeping too much can also be a sign of something more serious, like depression. It’s totally normal to sleep in a day or two after not getting sufficient sleep, but if you find yourself struggling to get up from bed, it’s best to talk to your healthcare provider.
This is when you stay in bed for a prolonged duration. The idea here is to give your body enough time to recover. However, sleeping too much can also be a sign of something more serious, like depression. It’s totally normal to sleep in a day or two after not getting sufficient sleep, but if you find yourself struggling to get up from bed, it’s best to talk to your healthcare provider. Live streaming your sleep : Some people find it fascinating to watch others sleep. However, this trend is pure entertainment. There are no health benefits to live streaming your sleep or watching others sleep online.
: Some people find it fascinating to watch others sleep. However, this trend is pure entertainment. There are no health benefits to live streaming your sleep or watching others sleep online. Using weighted blankets: Weighted blankets may help some people sleep better, but there is also limited research around this. Some studies have linked weighted blankets to decreased insomnia severity in adults.
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Health benefits of good sleep
Getting good quality and quantity of sleep every night can have several health benefits. It can also prevent the onset of serious diseases and affect how you react, learn, work or interact with others. A few benefits of getting adequate sleep include:
Improved immune system
Strengthening of your heart
Ability to maintain a healthy weight
Reduced stress and improved mood
Improved productivity and concentration
Reduced risk of developing diabetes and insulin resistance
Potential risks of sleepmaxxing trends
Sleepmaxxing, like most other trends, is not yet backed by research and thus can also lead to several risks. Common risks of sleepmaxxing include:
Information about sleep obtained from sleep trackers and apps may not always be accurate
Increase in frustration since everyone does not experience the same results from sleepmaxxing
Becoming too obsessed with tracking sleep, which in turn can lead to anxiety and disrupt sleep
Fixation over getting 8 hours of sleep can lead to oversleeping and disruption of your daily activities
Getting too dependent on sleep devices or aids and not being able to get proper sleep in their absence
Getting too fixated with such trends can thus negatively impact your mental health, which in turn adversely affects your sleep quality.
How to get better sleep
Several factors may interfere with a good night’s sleep, many of which you may be unable to control. You can adopt specific approaches that ensure you get better sleep. These include:
Creating a perfect sleep environment : You can create a perfect sleep environment by making your room cool, dark, and quiet before sleeping. You must avoid using mobiles, tablets, or other devices that emit blue light since it can make falling asleep difficult. You can use earplugs, room-darkening shades or other devices to create a perfect environment that induces sleep.
Establishing a sleep schedule : Sticking to a sleep schedule by going to bed and waking up at the same time everyday can improve your sleep quality. Being consistent with your schedule reinforces the body’s sleep-wake cycle. Additionally, coming up with a bedtime ritual can be useful since it signals your body that it is time to sleep. These rituals can be as simple as taking a bath or listening to soothing music just before sleeping.
Integrating relaxation techniques: You may often experience difficulty in sleeping following a stressful day. In such cases, you can incorporate several relaxation techniques such as breathing exercises, meditation, or non-sleep deep rest, which can help you relax and drift to sleep.
Read more: Deep Breathing for Sleep Is Easy With This Funky Little Gadget
Takeaway
Sleepmaxxing is a growing TikTok trend that’s gained significant popularity, especially among the Gen Z and millennial populations. Although prioritizing sleep is beneficial, following these trends blindly can sometimes backfire. If you’re having sleep difficulties, it is best to consult your doctor first before jumping on such trends since they can sometimes negatively affect your mental health and well-being, which can cause more harm than benefit to your sleep health.