What’s ‘sleepmaxxing’? Experts weigh in on the social media trend

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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.

Some sleepmaxxing tips are evidence-based

Many of the practices included in sleepmaxxing focus on basic habits that experts have long touted as the holy grail for sleep health. Those tried-and-true tactics include sleeping in a cool, dark and quiet room; limiting screen time and exposure to bright lights before bed; not drinking alcohol or caffeine in the several hours before bed; and having a regular bedtime and wake time, experts said.

The cool temperature — which should be anywhere between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit (between 15.6 and 19.4 degrees Celsius) — is conducive to the natural cooldown your body does to prepare you for sleep, experts said.

Blue light from screens and other sources can keep your brain awake and interfere with the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. And alcohol can cause restless sleep throughout the night.

Having a regular bedtime helps your body know when it’s time for shut-eye, making falling asleep easier, experts said.

Other hacks may or may not work

Many sleepmaxxers turn to sleep tracking apps, which can be helpful for monitoring the various factors that support or harm your rest, experts said. But users should be careful to not get obsessed with constantly checking the app and letting its feedback negatively influence your perspective on your upcoming sleep before it happens, said Dr. Rafael Pelayo, a clinical professor in the sleep medicine division at Stanford University.

Whether some apps are accurate enough in reflecting what’s truly happening during your sleep is also questionable, Sunderram said.

Some people are also fans of weighted blankets, and there is some evidence supporting their use for improved sleep and feeling more rested while awake, experts said.

Weighted blankets can be reassuring for people who like feeling cocooned while sleeping, Pelayo said. That pressure may even lead the body to secrete a little extra oxytocin, the love hormone humans produce when cuddling. Feeling relaxed reduces the stress hormone cortisol, which can interrupt sleep.

Red light exposure is another staple in some sleepmaxxing routines, but only a few studies have found an association with improved sleep and serum melatonin levels. Others discovered red light still induced alertness during sleep, and the light’s lesser tendency to suppress melatonin when compared with blue light has likely been conflated with improving sleep, experts told CNN in a previous story.

Do you need supplements or snacks?

Taking supplements is also common in sleepmaxxing, particularly using melatonin and magnesium. But for most people it’s not necessary, and consistently taking these supplements to alleviate issues with falling asleep could be masking a sleep disorder in need of assessment by a professional, experts said.

Additionally, “some medical conditions can worsen with magnesium supplement use,” Shelgikar said.

Another thing some sleepmaxxers are consuming is one or two kiwi before bed. It turns out that “kiwis have antioxidants and serotonin precursors, which some studies suggest may support sleep,” Shelgikar said.

Some hacks can cover up serious sleep issues

Some sleepmaxxers have also turned to mouth taping to stop mouth breathing, which has been linked with snoring, thirst, dry mouth, bad breath and over time, gum disease and malocclusion, a condition in which the upper and lower teeth don’t align.

But experts have criticized the TikTok trend as dangerous, especially for those with obstructive sleep apnea, a complete or partial collapse of the airway. Mouth taping can also cause soft tissue damage.

Some sleepmaxxers are also using nostril expanders, which can be helpful for those experiencing chronic nasal congestion or snoring, Sunderram said.

But “if someone feels that difficulty with nasal breathing is impacting their sleep, they should talk with their healthcare professional,” Shelgikar said via email.

A complicated nighttime routine can be OK

Some of the sleepmaxxing fanfare has more to do with looking good rather than sleeping well — some TikTokers have filmed themselves applying multilayered beauty routines to their face and hair before bed, then doing a “morning shed” of all the products upon waking.

“Different people will find different winddown approaches to be beneficial,” Shelgikar said via email. “The key is having a consistent routine and consistent sleep-wake schedule, as these approaches can help with obtaining restful sleep.”

But sleep should not be a ‘high-pressure chore’

“Sleepmaxxing can backfire if it turns what should be a restorative process into a high-pressure chore,” Shelgikar said. “For some individuals, being overly attentive to sleep optimization and sleep patterns every night can increase stress and worsen sleep over time.”

Some people can even develop orthosomnia, an unhealthy obsession with achieving perfect sleep.

If you’ve been consistently practicing proper sleep health habits but are still having trouble getting an appropriate quantity or quality of sleep, talk with your doctor or a sleep specialist who can help treat your problem, experts said.

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