TikTok’s sleepmaxxing trend explained – including how it can help you get eight hours a night
Date: 2024-10-21TIKTOKERS are going to painstaking lengths to achieve a better nights sleep with a new trend called sleepmaxxing.
In the US, more than a third of adults sleep less than seven hours each night, but sleepmaxxing offers some interesting solutions and trending sleep aids to help combat this.
What is Sleep Maxxing?
Sleepmaxxing is also known as sleep optimization.
The golden rule of the ‘eight hour sleep’ has long been the recommendation from sleep experts all over the globe.
But this growing trend on TikTok shifts the emphasis on to the quality of sleep itself, aiming to squeeze the maximum amount of health benefits from those eight hours of sleep without interruption.
Methods of sleepmaxxing are gaining in popularity as people experiment with different techniques that include using sleep aids, sleep enhancing supplements, and even mouth tape to achieve a better nights sleep.
Videos associated with the trend are racking up hundreds of thousands of views, sleepmaxxing could quite well be one of the hottest wellness trends of 2024.
Sleep maxxing techniques
Many influencers have recommended various sleeping aids with claims they will provide 34% more sleep each night.
Sleepmaxxing methods make traditional sleeping advice like counting sheep or adding a few lavender drops to your pillow seem archaic.
The new viral trend proposed methods that include taking sleepy mocktails and tapping their mouths closed.
But does this trend offer genuine solutions, or is it just a marketing tool to boost sales?
Here are some examples of sleepmaxxing:
- Mouth tapping
This method involves putting a piece of tape over your lips before bed to force you to breathe through your nose.Â
The goal is to encourage nasal breathing, which claims to reduce snoring, dry mouth and lower blood pressure.
However, there is little scientific evidence to support mouth taping as a way to treat common sleep conditions such as insomnia or sleep apnea.Â
In fact, mouth taping can have side effects, including:Â difficulty breathing and anxiety.
- Sleepy girl mocktail recipe
The recipe was first popularized by Gracie Norton in 2023 after she posted the potential sleep enhancer on TikTok.
Gracie’s sleepy girl recipe includes half a cup of tart cherry juice, one tablespoon of magnesium powder and a splash of prebiotic soda or sparkling water.
The theory behind the trending nightcap is that the cherry juice should increase melatonin production, and magnesium because it is known to decrease cortisol levels, therefore promoting relaxation and sleep.
However, there is no concrete scientific evidence that the trending mocktail helps with sleep.Â
In fact some nutritionists have warned the mocktail could have warned against using magnesium, particularly in high doses.
Magnesium can relax the muscles in the gut and stomach, but this could also increase the feeling of urgency, which would only interrupt your sleep with trips to the toilet.
Similarly, others have warned of the counter-intuitive effect of the sugar in the cherry ingredient of the drink, because it is likely to spike bloody sugar levels, making falling asleep even harder.Â
- Oura ring
More extreme techniques involve using an Oura ring – which costs between $299 and $549, plus a subscription fee – to track and monitor sleep patterns.
Other pricey sleeping aids include using a sunrise alarm clock, which is intended to wake you up according to your circadian rhythms.
- Chin straps
Wearing a chin strap overnight will force your mouth to remain closed, which can help with reduce snoring in some people.
Chin straps are commonly used to treat patients with sleep apnea, however it doesn’t work for everybody.
- Weighted face mask
Weighted face masks have an adjustable band that blocks light, muffles sound and provides gentle weight to help you relax at bedtime.
These soft masks are said to impart all the benefits of weighted blankets, but target the eyes to reduce headaches, stress and anxiety levels.
What the experts say
According to Personal trainer, Natay Komova an “overemphasis on sleep can lead to unintended consequences”.
She said: “The TikTok trend of “sleep maxxing” emphasizes optimizing sleep for better health, but it requires a balanced, informed approach.
“While quality sleep is foundational for physical and mental well-being, overemphasis on sleep can lead to unintended consequences.
“Prioritizing sleep without aligning it with natural light cycles can disrupt your body’s internal clock, impairing energy and metabolic function.
While some prescribed sleeping aids are essential for those with medical sleep conditions such as sleep apnea, Natay warns the average troubled sleeper to stay well clear of the sleeping aid trends.
She advised: “Stay clear of using sleep aids.
“Over-reliance on supplements can impair natural sleep regulation.”
Natay recommends healthy techniques including, cooler room temperatures and avoiding day-time naps at all costs.
