orthosomnia
noun

- an unhealthy obsession with getting perfect sleep

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WORD ORIGIN

The word "orthosomnia" is composed from the Greek word ortho- ὀρθός (orthós), meaning "straight”, "correct”, or "right”.  Somnia derives from the Latin word somnu meaning "sleep”. Combined, "orthosomnia" literally means "correct sleep" or "right sleep”.

The term was coined in 2017 by researchers from Rush University Medical College and Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. They used it in a case study titled Orthosomnia: Are Some Patients Taking the Quantified Self Too Far? published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.

The term was chosen to describe a newly observed behaviour: an unhealthy obsession with achieving perfect sleep, often driven by data from sleep-tracking devices.

Interestingly, the word formation reflects the nature of the condition: the pursuit of "perfect" sleep, which paradoxically, can lead to sleep problems!

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COMBATTING ORTHOSOMNIA

A good antidote to sleep-trackers is old-school lullabies,… no tech and completely free!

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Lay down now, the moon is high,
Let your weary body sigh.
In the quiet, peace will grow,
Sleep will come and time will slow.
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Let the darkness wrap you tight,
Like a blanket in the night.
Close your eyes and feel the peace,
In quiet dreams, you find release.
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The stars above, they light the way,
To carry you from stress today.
Breathe out the rush, breathe in the night,
Sleep will come, your heart feels light.
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In the dark, the world unwinds,
Let go of worries, clear your mind.
Float on dreams, so soft, so sweet,
Till morning light, your rest complete.

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SYNONYMS

For the noun “sleep”

a few z’s, beauty sleep, beddy-bye, bedtime, bit of shut-eye, bye-byes, catnap, cave of sleep, coma, dark cloak, deep sleep, dormancy, doze, dream, dreaminess, drowse, drowsing, fast asleep, forty winks, hibernation, hit the hay (the sack), kip, Land of Nod (of oz), lie-down, microsleep, nana nap, nap, napping, nod, off to slumberland, power nap, resting in the arms of Morpheus, sack time, shut-eye, siesta, SLEEP, sleep like a baby (like a log), slumber, slumbering, snooze, snoozing, some zs, somnolence, torpidity, tranquil blanket, turn in, twenty winks, warm cocoon, wink, winking out, z's

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THANKS to Brunhilde for suggesting today’s OWAD!

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SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation today, say something like:

“Paradoxically, ORTHOSOMNIA is the modern condition where you lose sleep trying to perfect your sleep!”

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