Morning "Ask" about Health | Are Wearable Devices' Sleep Monitoring Methods Scientific? Expert Explanation

Ask AI · How to Avoid Digital Anxiety Caused by Sleep Data?

Today is World Sleep Day. This year’s theme in China is “Quality Sleep, Better Life.” With the popularity of some smart wearable devices, many people actively monitor their sleep patterns but feel anxious when the results are not ideal.

Are the monitoring results from these wearable devices scientifically accurate? How long should normal deep sleep last?

Han Fang, Director of Sleep Medicine at Peking University People’s Hospital: Many of these wearable devices still do not meet this requirement. Scientifically speaking, very few can accurately distinguish between deep sleep and light sleep. Therefore, we should not overly rely on these numbers, as they can cause digital anxiety.

According to sleep stage standards, the normal proportion of deep sleep in adults is 13% to 23% of total sleep. That means if you sleep for 6 to 7 hours at night, about 50 minutes of deep sleep is normal.

Han Fang, Director of Sleep Medicine at Peking University People’s Hospital: Good sleep duration varies from person to person. Some sleep longer, some shorter, and everyone is different. But self-perception is very important. If you wake up feeling refreshed, energetic, and alert, ready to work, then it’s fine. So, we must follow our feelings.