The downside of excessively tracking every step and sleep cycle

Excessively tracking our steps can take away some of the intrinsic joy we feel from just moving our bodies. Does every walk need to be a certain distance?

Tracking data can serve an important purpose for someone new to exercise, an individual can track their steps over the course of a week for example, providing a baseline upon which to build. Likewise, athletes or those seeking to improve performance, like running times for specific events, PB’s etc. However, for many, recording each and every step can be a source of anxiety.

Recording and monitoring every sleep cycle can also be daunting often adding to stress levels. Orthosomnia is a new term for individuals that become overly focused on achieving the ideal sleep, based on data from wearable or other sleep tracking devices. Individuals may overestimate the accuracy and reliability of sleep tracker data, for example, some sleep trackers record sleep even if a person is actually awake lying very still.

Track and record data if you find it helps but don’t forget to live joyfully and instinctively. Excessively tracking everything can result in a loss of intrinsic motivation as your brain goes from enjoying an activity to chasing an extrinsic reward. Excessive tracking can also diminish feeling present in the moment.