A good night’s sleep is key to preserving vitality, but it can often feel out of reach. Or is it? Enter the trend of “sleepmaxxing,” which offers tips to help you achieve the restful sleep of your dreams.
The viral TikTok trend shares a range of tips and tricks for getting quality and hopefully, more restorative shut-eye. Why is sleep so important, anyway? Aesthetics aside, getting enough sleep can help improve your health quality as you get older. A 2023 Yale-led study found there’s a strong association between brain health and poor sleeping habits in middle-aged adults. Sleep deficiency is also linked to diabetes, stroke, and mental health conditions like depression.
So, could sleepmaxxing be the answer to getting better quality sleep and more satisfactory health in the long term? Funke Afolabi-Brown, MD, FAASM, a sleep medicine physician and owner of Restful Sleep, provides some insight on the trend and how to actually get your best rest yet.
What Is Sleepmaxxing?
Sleepmaxxing is a viral trend among Gen Z and millennials that comprises gadgets, tips and tricks for achieving top-tier sleep. The interesting thing about the sleepmaxxing trend is that while the term is new, the actual tips shared by social media users aren’t for the most part. Many of the suggestions to maximize sleep have been shared by experts for years. That said, some are DIY tips you likely want to try at your own risk.
For instance, some suggestions shared in the trend include sleeping in a dark and quiet room, ditching bright lights before bed, not consuming liquids a couple of hours before you call it a night, cutting caffeine, investing in weighted blankets, meditation, having a specific sleep and wake-up time, and more. These are general tips that could be helpful and have been shared by experts many times.
On the more extreme side, we are seeing some sleepmaxxers tape their mouths shut before bed to avoid mouth breathing. This is said to potentially minimize snoring and tiredness for people who struggle with sleep apnea. However, there are risks that come with taping your mouth shut before bed.
“I would never say just go grab a mouth tape online from the store and put it on. You’ve got to make sure you’re evaluated,” says Afolabi-Brown. Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that comprises interrupted breathing during sleep. In this instance, taping your mouth shut to deal with it could put you at risk of suffocating.
“If you have sleep apnea, the treatment is not mouth taping. The treatment is either a CPAP machine, surgery, or other treatments,” she explains.
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Following Sleep Trends: Harmful or Helpful?
Social media trends aren’t all bad, but they’re also not all good. It’s important to understand what your personal sleep needs are before following suggestions from people on the internet. “What might work for one person, including the person that’s showing or displaying the trends on social media, may not work for you,” says Afolabi-Brown. “Sleep is a very personal experience.”
Following social media trends can also do more harm than good in the event that you have an undiagnosed sleep disorder as mentioned earlier.
“You’ve got to deal with the underlying root cause. I think that’s very important. That’s the issue with trends, you don’t know where they’re coming from,” she says.
One way to understand your sleep needs is to consult with a specialist. They can help diagnose and treat sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, insomnia, or restless leg syndrome. Talking to your primary care doctor can also be a way to get more personalized sleep recommendations.
On the sunnier side, some tips shared in the sleepmaxxing topic on TikTok may end up being transformative for your sleep quality after all; just be sure to vet them first. If the advice isn’t coming from an expert, do some research before applying it to your routine. Additionally, it doesn’t hurt to run it past your healthcare provider, especially if you have preexisting health conditions.
The True Key to Great Sleep
So what is the key to better sleep? The answer may not be as exciting as the TikTok reels you’re watching. Afolabi-Brown says consistency is one of the most important factors. In simple terms, that looks like sticking to a set bedtime and wakeup time.
“That will improve your sleep quality in many ways. It will help anchor your circadian rhythm or your internal. So your body starts to anticipate at a certain time, and your body starts to expect to wake up at a certain time. And that improves everything,” she explains. “It improves your mood, blood pressure, daytime alertness and helps you set the right boundaries.”
Developing and sticking to a bedtime routine can feel laughable when you have endless phone notifications, inflexible deadlines, mounting chores to attend to, or are just anxiety about daily responsibilities. However, keeping it simple, as Afolabi-Brown recommends, could make it a more tangible goal. She says that if you must focus on anything, let it be a consistent bedtime and wake-up time.
“It’s better to make it super simple, practical, and easy to do than super convoluted, which creates more distress and feels like work for you,” she says. Keeping it simple can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed because your bedtime has become a nightly production that’s difficult to stick with.
That said, if you have the time element locked down and are still having trouble sleeping, create a bedtime routine that helps you feel relaxed. That may include two or three calming activities, such as journaling, stretches, or prayer. The goal here is to choose an activity that helps regulate your nervous system versus something that the Internet may be doing, but is ineffective for your needs.
“A routine is supposed to calm you down,” says Afolabi-Brown. “It should be something that you think of and you’re looking forward to.”
