Did you remember to wear your red-light glasses, eat two kiwi fruit, take your supplements, insert your nostril expanders and make sure your room is completely dark before heading to bed?
Forget the simple bedtime routine of brushing your teeth, washing your face and putting on pajamas.
Now people in search of the perfect sleep routine are adding steps that can include supplements, specific foods, certain apps and other devices, and a layered beauty routine.
For some, these practices are part of a regimen called “sleepmaxxing,” a collection of activities, products or “hacks” used simultaneously to optimize sleep quality and quantity, said Dr. Anita Shelgikar, director of the sleep medicine fellowship and clinical professor of neurology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, via email.
While sleepmaxxing’s origin hasn’t been attributed to a single source, it has become popular among TikTok users trying to improve their sleep. Videos tagged “#sleepmaxxing” have amassed hundreds of thousands of views.
“In the past, it was thought that sleep wasn’t important,” said Dr. Jag Sunderram, professor of medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. People would say, “‘Oh, I get very little sleep, and I get away with that because I need to be able to function and do a lot.’”
“I think the trend towards understanding that sleep is actually really important, the reason sleep is important and actually focusing on sleep is a good thing,” Sunderram added.
But some of the tips and tricks involved in sleepmaxxing may be questionable at best and harmful at worst. Here’s what experts say you should be wary of and what actually works.
