How do your sleep stats impact you, really?

Have you ever looked at your health tracker in the morning and felt your mood instantly drop?

This happened to me recently.

My sleep had been pretty terrible since I had the flu. I thought I was well on my way back to full health, so the last thing I expected was to wake up and see 1% REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement sleep – the stage where cognitive repair, emotional processing, and memory consolidation occur).

A few years ago, I used to be obsessed with this kind of data. It was the first thing I checked every morning and the last thing I saw at night. There is even a name for it now: Orthosomnia.

I 100% had orthosomnia back then - waking up to a result like this would have messed up my day, leaving me worried about how I would show up at work, at the gym, and even in my relationships.

It got worse. The added stress of seeing 'bad' data just exacerbated my sleep issues. I was stuck in a vicious cycle of poor sleep > stress > more poor sleep.

And the crazy thing is that studies now show that the placebo affect of receiving so-called “bad data” can negatively affect us too.

Nowadays, thankfully, my reaction to the data is different. It’s all due to my learned ability to reframe what data like this means, preventing it from feeling like a big deal and ultimately ensuring that one bad night doesn't turn into many.

Here’s how I do it.

First, I think about what I know to be true about the situation:

​✅ Sleep quality data from these devices is not always accurate.

✅ I was sick and not yet fully recovered.

✅ My alarm was set for 4:30 am, so I likely lost an entire sleep cycle when REM is highest.

✅ I had an important early morning seminar to run, which probably impacted my ability to fully relax and get optimal sleep.

Then, I resolve not to succumb to so-called 'fixes' for feeling like crap:

🚫 Extra/late caffeine to get through work.

🚫 Unhealthy food, especially salty carbs and sugar.

🚫 Napping.

🚫 Going to bed early to 'catch up'.

And finally, I double down on the things I know work for me!

✅ A relaxing evening with minimal lighting.

✅ Putting my phone away by 7:40 pm.

✅ An evening shower (in the dark because my red light ran out of charge).

✅ Reading for 10 minutes.

✅ Meditating for 10 minutes.

Saying goodbye to the stress and anxiety around sleep and instead welcoming confidence that I can get my sleep back on track easily was a game changer for me – just like it is for all my clients.

Every client improves their sleep in the first few weeks, but the real magic is that they walk away feeling confident and in control of their sleep. They have the knowledge and the tools to stop an occasional bad night from regressing into a long-term issue again.

And if you have ever struggled with sleep and the stress and anxiety that comes with it, you’ll know that this is the real win 😏

If you are currently trapped in the sleep/stress cycle and are ready to escape it, let’s connect for a zero-obligation chat.

Carla is a Sleep Expert who is passionate about helping sleep deprived 40+ year old women improve their health and happiness by fixing their sleep.

She works 1:1 with clients as well as running workshops and seminars.