The Only Sleep Score Worth Your Attention Is Sleep Debt

Instead, the average sleep score is based on generalized recommendations for how much sleep you need. For instance, the SleepScore app says it “ ... AboutUsSleepGuideBlogPodcastFAQCareersSalesTeamsGetRiseHomeAboutUsSleepGuideSales TeamsBlogPodcastFAQCareersGetRISEBlogTheOnlySleepScoreWorthYourAttentionIsSleepDebtAreapporsmartwatchsleepscoresstressingyououtandmakingithardertosleep?Useascientificmetricthathelpsyoutakeactionablestepsinstead.WrittenbyRiseScienceEditorialTeamReviewedbyJeffKahn,M.S.,RiseScienceCo-FounderPublished2021-11-10Updated23MINSApplePodcastsSpotifyGoogleStitcherSoyou'vefinallyboughtthatnewsleeptrackingappfromtheAppStoreonyouriPhone.Forthefirstfewdaysyou'reawedbytheapp'sdetailedsleepanalysis,showingyoueverythingfromhowmuchtimeyouwerewideawakeinbedtoyourexactdeepsleepduration.Itevencomeswithasmartalarmtohelpyouwakeupinthemorning!Asconsumerwearablesinthesleepindustrygetmoreadvanced(cuethesonarsmartphonetechnologythatcandetectdisorderslikesleepapnea),wenowhavemoresleepdatathanweeverhavebefore.Yetthesleepscoreinyourappmaynotbehelpingyoureachyourultimatesleepgoalofbetterenergyduringtheday.Thinkaboutit:Whatexactlymakesupagoodsleepscore?Also,doesyourappshowyouhowyoucanimproveyourdailyscore?Ifthesequestionshavebeenpuzzlingyou,you'vecometotherightplace.Here,webringtolightwhycommonlyusedsleep-trackingmetrics,likeso-calledsleepqualityandsleepstaging,aren'taccuratedeterminantsofyourindividualsleep“score”(ifthereissuchathing).Instead,sleepdebtistheonlymetricyoueverneedtocareabout.Readontofindoutmore.SleepDebtIstheSleepScoreThatMatters AtRISE,it'snosecretwedothingsdifferentlyfromothersleepapps.Foronething,wearen'tinterestedinhowmuchrapid-eye-movement(REM)sleepyou'vegotten.Nordowedevisea"sleepquality"definitionwhenthere’snoconsensusontheterm’sdefinitioninthefieldofsleepscience.Instead,wezeroinontheonlymeasurementthatmatters—sleepdebt.It'sone-halfoftheTwoLawsofSleep(theotherhalfisyourcircadianrhythm,alsoknownasyourinternalbodyclock).Beforeyoumistakethesetwolawsassomefancyalgorithmwecameupwith,theyareactuallyderivedfromthetwo-processmodelofsleepregulation,ascientifictheoryfirstproposedbysleepscientistAlexanderBorbélyinthe1980s.ThisiswhatsetsourRISEappapartfromthecountlessothersleepappsandgadgetsyou'veheardabout.RISEisbasedondecadesofwell-established,publiclyavailablescientificevidence.Contrastthatwithacompany'sproprietaryalgorithm.Nooneknowshowit'screated,muchlesshowtouseitsdatatoimproveyoursleepatnight.Soifyourtrackerorappisgivingyouasleepscorefocusedonmovement,depth,oranythingelse,chancesareitsdatametricsoralgorithmisbasedonsomethingotherthanthescienceofhowtofeelalertandatyourbestthenextday.SleepDebtOffersaLong-TermViewTheRISEappshowstheonesleepscorethatmattersmost:sleepdebt.Sleepdebtistheamountofsleepyou'vemissedoutoninthepast14daysrelativetoyoursleepneed(thegeneticallydeterminedamountofsleepyourbodyneeds).It’sthenumberthatbestpredictshowyoufeelandfunctiononanygivenday(alongwithhowwellyou’realignedwithyourcircadianrhythm,ofcourse).The14-daytimespanmattersasithelpsyoutakealongertermviewofsleephealth.Consistentlymeetingyoursleepneedshouldbesomethingyouprioritizeforthelonghaul,giventhatitdirectlyimpactsyourenergylevelsaswellasyouroverallhealth,wellness,andperformanceinboththeshortandlongrun.That'swhytheRISEappusessleepdebtasitssleepmetric.Insteadoflookingtoocloselyatlastnight'ssleeptomakeupyoursleepscoretoday,RISEusesanear-termanalysisofyoursleeppatternsbasedonthepast14nightstomeasureyourcurrentsleepdebt.WhereMostSleepScoresFallShort—andHowRISEClosestheGapWepittedtheRISEappagainstothersleep-trackingappstoshowyouwhythelatterfallshortofhelpingyoureachyourultimatesleepgoal:feelingandfunctioningatyourbesteveryday.OtherScoresDon’tRevealYourSleepNeedForalltheirbellsandwhistles,mostsleepscoresfailtoaccountforthemostimportantmetric:yourindividualsleepneed(recallthatthisisthegeneticallydeterminedamountofsleepyourbodyneeds).Instead,theaveragesleepscoreisbasedongeneralizedrecommendationsforhowmuchsleepyouneed.Forinstance,theSleepScoreappsaysit“comparesyournightlysleeptoanidealnightforpeopleyourageandgender.”Buthere'sthething—yoursleepneedisasgeneticallyuniqueasyoureyecolorandheight.Youmaythinkyoucandowellon8hoursofsleep,butyourbodymayactuallyneedmore.Infact,theaveragesleepneedstandsat8hoursand10minutespernight(plusorminus44minutesorso).Anotinsignificantpercentageofthepopulation (13.5%)mayevenneedalongersleepscheduleof9hoursormore.Ifanappdoesn’tknowyourpersonalsleepneed,howcanitdecideifyou'vegottenenoughsleep,muchlessdisplayanaccuratesleepscore?HowRISEHelpsOnceyoudownloadtheRISEapp,itusesthepast365daysofsleepdatastoredinyourphonetocalculateyouruniquesleepneed.Thisextensivedataestablishesthefoundationforanaccuratesleepscore.Onadailybasis,RISEemploysphonemotion-basedsleepdetectiontodetermineyourbedtimeandwaketime.Measuringyournighttimesleepdurationagainstyouruniquesleepneedmeansthattheappaccuratelycalculatesyoursleepdebttoarriveataprecisesleepmetric.OtherScoresAren’tActionableAfullbreakdownofyourtotalsleeptime,sleepefficiency,sleeplatency,andsoonmaymakeitseemlikeyourappisprovidingavaluablesleepanalysis.Butdoanyofthesemetricsactuallyallowyoutoaffectyoursleepscoreforbetterenergyduringtheday?That'sthefrustrationmanyusersface.Theywanttheirsleepappstotellthemsomethingtheydon'talreadyknow,likehowtheycan“optimize”theirsleepcycle(spoileralert:youcan't—butmoreonthatlater).Orwhichsleephabitstheycanadoptforbettersleepatnight(includinghowtogetmoreefficientsleepandlesslatency).Unfortunately,alotofobscuritysurroundsthesleep-scoringalgorithmsusedbysleep-trackingappsandgadgets.Becausethatinformationisn’tpublic,enduserslikeyouandmesimplydon'thavetheknowledgeortoolstoimprovetheirsleepscoresforbetterdaytimefunctioning.HowRISEHelpsTheRISEappavoidsallofthesefrustrationsbyusingsleepdebt,afullytransparentsleepscorethat'simmediatelyactionableuponwaking.TheSleepscreenshowsyourrunningsleepdebttoletyouknowwhetheryou'resleep-deprivedornot(thegoalistokeepyoursleepdebtbelowfivehours).Ifyoursleepdebtismorethanfivehours,workonpayingitdownbyout-sleepingyoursleepneedforthenextonetoseveralnights.Thisway,youcanuseRISEtoachieveyourrealsleepgoal:beingatyourbestduringtheday.OtherScoresFocusOnControversial“SleepQuality”Mostsleeptrackerstypicallyusesomeformof"sleepquality"metricintheirsleepscore.Ironicallyenough,theterm"sleepquality"isfairlymeaninglessbecausesleepscientistshaveyettoagreeonanobjectivemeasurementforit.Anydefinitionofsleepqualityislargelysubjective,asevidentfromthegoldstandardPittsburghSleepQualityIndexthatcomprisessevenself-ratedcomponents.Sowheredoesthesleepqualitydefinitionusedinmostsleepappscomefrom?Turnsoutamajorityofappsbasetheirownsleep-qualitymetriconsleepstaging.However,sleepstagesaren'tclearlydefinedeither.Theyaremerelytermsthatsleepscientiststhoughtupinthe1940sand1950s.Diggingdeepintothescientificliterature,weevenfoundthatsleepstagingissubjecttochangewitheverynewdiscovery.Caseinpoint:WhensleepexpertsrecognizedREMsleepasanindividualsleepstagein1953,theentiresleep-stagesystemunderwentaface-liftin1957.Asyoucansee,asleepscorebasedonnonexistent"sleepquality"isanonsequitur.Still,manypeoplebelieve"qualitysleep"issomehowachievedbyspendingan"appropriate"amountoftimeindifferentstagesofsleep.Thisbeliefisfueledbymostsleeptrackers,whichrelyonsleep-stagedataintheirowninterpretationof"sleepquality."(Bearinmindthatthismisconceptiondoesn'thavesleepscientists'stampofapproval.)Researchevenshowsthatifyou'retoldyouhadbetter"sleepquality"evenwhenyoudidn't,you'remorelikelytoperformwell.Theoppositeholdstruetoo.You'remoreapttoperformbadlyifyou'retoldyousleptpoorly—evenwhenyouhadactuallysleptwell.Thesleepandmachine-learningexpertsatStanfordUniversityagree,too—extractingallthebestdataon"sleepquality"fromlab-basedsleepstudiesstillleavesthemnoclueabouthowyou'llactuallyfeelthenextmorning.Clearly,thestage-baseddefinitionsofsleepqualitydon’thavebiologicalunderpinningstoyournext-dayperformance.HowRISEHelpsInsteadoftellingyousomethingassubjectiveas“sleepquality,”theRISEappletsyoubethejudgeofthat.Tobreaktheconditioningthatweshouldfeelrefreshed,orevenamazing,themomentwewakeup,theRISE"SleepQuality"habitonlypromptsyoutorateyoursleepafteryourGrogginessZonehaspassed(about90minutesafterwaking).Thisistheperiodduringwhichyouexperiencesleepinertia,acompletelynaturalpartofyoursleep-wakecycle.TakenotethatRISEdoesn’tincludehowyoufeelinyoursleepscore.Aswe’vementionedbefore,adding“sleepquality”tothemixwillonlydiluteanotherwiseimpartial—andwhollyprecise—measurementthat’sbasedentirelyonsleepdebt.OtherScoresAren’tVeryAccurateMostsleepappsmonitorhowmuchtimeyouspendineachstageofthesleepcycletodrawupyoursleepscore.However,contrarytopopularbelief,anysleep-stagetrackingdoneoutsideasleeplabislikelyinaccurate.Eventhebestsleeptrackersonthemarketaren’taspreciseasthepolysomnography(PSG),whichisthebenchmarkfortrackingsleepstages.Forthosenewtotheterm,PSGisalab-basedsleepstudyconductedbyprofessionalsleeptechnologists.ThePSGmeasuresseveralmetrics,likeyourbrainactivityandheartrate,togaugeyoursleeppatternseachnight.Beforeyouassumeasleepstudyisanexactscience,youshouldknowthatautomatedsleepscoringisstillnotpossible.Currently,sleep-stagescoringinaprofessionalsleeplabisdonemanually,andsleepexpertsagreewitheachotheronthefinalscoreonlyabout80%ofthetime!Arecentstudyevenstated,“Itisunusualfor2humanscorerstoachieve100%agreementonanysleeprecord.”ItwentontoacknowledgethatPSG“isanindirectandimperfectmeasureofsleep.”Soifasleepappproclaimsitcansomehowdeliverlab-qualityresultsforyoursleepscore,particularlyrelatingtoyour"sleepquality,"youmaywanttotakeitwithagrainofsalt.That'sbecause,inlab-basedPSG,thetoolsusedtotrackyoursleeppatternshavetobeinphysicalcontactwithyourfaceandnecktogetanaccuratereading.Needlesstosay,thisisentirelyimpossiblewithyourFitbitdeviceorAppleWatch.Morerecentscientificevidenceindicates"thereisaremarkablyhighdegreeofvariabilityintheaccuracyofcommercialsleeptechnologies."Forexample,PrimeNap(asleeptracker)cautionedthatit"willstillshowsleepcyclesifthephoneisplacedonadesk"becauseit"assumesthattheuserisactuallysleeping.”Andifyou'readedicatedFitbituser,thisnextpartwillprobablydisappointyou.Accordingtoa2019study,theFitbitgadgetscannotreplicatetheaccuracyofPSG.Thestudy'sfindingsshowedthatthebrand’ssleep-trackingmodelsactuallyunderestimatedhowmuchtimeyoutaketofallasleep.Thiscouldpotentiallyaffectothersleepmetrics,likeyourtotalsleeptimeandsleepefficiency(howmuchtimeyouspentasleepinbed).Inotherwords,yoursleepscoreontheFitbitappmaynotaccuratelyreflecteachnight'ssleepperformance.HowRISEHelpsToavoidcontributingtotheever-expandingmountainsofsleepmisinformationoutthere,theRISEapppurposelydoesn'ttracksleepstages.Instead,wezeroinonsleepdebt,themuchmorecrediblemeasurement.OtherScoresFocusOnSuperfluousSleep-StageTrackingYearsfromnow,consumerwearabletechnologyforsleepmaybecomesoadvancedthatasleepappcouldtrackyoursleepcycleaspreciselyasPSGdoes.Butevenifthatdayarrives,there'sstillnotmuchyoucandowithallthatinformation.Thereasonisthatyoudon'tneedsleep-stagingdatatooptimizeyoursleep.Yourbrainisalreadydoingitforyoubecauseitknowsexactlyhowmuchtimetospendineverystageofthesleepcyclethroughoutthenight.Yourjob,then,istohavefaithinyourbrain'sbuilt-inmechanismsanddoyourbestnottointerferewiththenaturalsleepprocess.Oneofthebestwaystodothisisbymakingitapointtoconsistentlymeetyoursleepneed.Whileyoucan'toptimizesleepbeyondthehealthy,naturalisticversionthatyourbodyisalreadyprimedfor,youcanavoidsleep-corrodingactivities.Commonexamplesincludelate-nightlightexposure(especiallybluelightfromelectronicdevices),caffeineandalcoholconsumptiontooclosetoyourbedtime,andlargeeveningmeals.HowRISEHelpsRISEisasleep-trackingappthathelpsyoumeetyoursleepneedsoyoucankeepyoursleepdebtlow.Ituses16science-basedhabitspeggedtoyouruniquechronobiologythatyoucanaddtoyourEnergySchedule.Doingsohelpsyoustructureyourdaywithsleep-promotingactivitiesalignedtoyourcircadianrhythm(yourdailyenergypeaksanddips)topromotegoodsleephygiene.Forexample,youcanaddthe"BlockAllBlueLight"habittoremindyourselftoblockoutbluelightexposureatnightsothatitdoesn'tinterferewithyourbody'smelatoninproduction(asleep-promotinghormone).Ortrythe"LimitCaffeine"habitsoyouknowwhentostopconsumingcaffeineatthecut-offtimethatisuniquetoyou,asthisstimulantcanstayinyoursystemforupto10hours.Whenyoureliablypracticesleep-promotinghabitsattherighttimesthroughouttheday,yourbrainhasthebestchanceofachievingnaturalistic,healthysleepatnight.OtherScoresMayTurnYouIntoa“SleepPerfectionist”Assleep-trackingappshavemultipliedinrecentyears,there’sbeenagrowingtrendoforthosomnia.Ifyouhaven'theard,it’sasleepdisorderthatcausesyoutodevelopanunhealthy,almostobsessiverelationshipwithyoursleepscoreinthequestfor"perfectsleep."Basedona2017studyinthe“JournalofClinicalSleepMedicine,”moreandmorepeople"areseekingtreatmentforself-diagnosedsleepdisturbancessuchasinsufficientsleepdurationandinsomniaduetoperiodsoflightorrestlesssleepobservedontheirsleeptrackerdata."Inotherwords,thesleepscoreonyourappmaystressyououtmorethanithelpsyou.Perhapsyourrecentsleepreportshowsyouspenttoomuchtimeinlightsleepthantheaverageuser.Ormaybeyoursleepscorehasn’timproveddespiteincorporatingtheadviceyou’vereadaboutonline.Whicheverthecase,you'relettingyoursleepmetricgettoyou.Toworsentheissue,notmanypeoplerealizetheirsleepscoreisn'tasaccurateasit'smadeouttobe,aswementionedearlier.Youmaybeself-diagnosingasleepproblemwherethereisnone.Infact,thesame2017studydescribedawomanwhothoughtshehadsleepproblems(eventhoughshehadbeensuccessfullytreatedforrestlesslegssyndrome)becauseherFitbitdevicereportedhersleepingbadly.WhensheunderwentPSG,thesleepexpertsfoundthatsheactuallysleptprettywell.HowRISEHelpsInsteadofencouragingyoutofixateonanimpossibleorill-definedgoallike"perfectsleep,"RISEfocusesontheonemeasurementthatmatters—meetingyouruniquesleepneedtobringdownsleepdebt.Thissleepscoreisimminentlyactionableandhasnothingtodowithmanipulatingyoursleepstages(which,ifyou’llremember,istotallyoutofyourcontrol).Plus,weknowhowunrealisticitisforyoursleepdebttohitzero,whichiswhywenevermakethatahardandfastrule.Becauselifecansometimesthrowyoucurveballs,tryyourbesttokeepyoursleepdebtbelowfivehours,whichwillhaveyouatornearyourbest.RISEIstheSleepScoreThatCanGiveYouBetterDaysRISEuses"feel-good"ratingstomotivateyoutokeepyoursleepdebtlow.Still,thebestencouragementcomesfromhowyoufeelasyoursleepdebtdropsandyourenergylevelsriseonthedaily.Agoodsleepscoreshouldprovideinformationyoucanworkwithtoimprovehowyoufeelandfunctiononaday-to-daybasis.Itcertainlyshouldn’tleaveyouobsessingoversomedubiousmeasureof"sleepquality"orinaccurate(andsomewhatunhelpful)sleep-stagingdata.Theonlymetricyoursleepscoreshouldbebasedonisyouruniquesleepdebt.Inwhichcase,RISEistheonlysleeptoolyouneedforbetterdaysahead.Needmoreproof?Eightypercentofourusersfeelrealbenefits(intermsofproductivity,performance,andwell-being)inaslittleasfivedays.Readytoexperiencebetterdays?GettheRISEapptoday.SummaryFAQsSleepbetter.Sellmore.LearnmoreaboutRiseforsalesteams.Name*WorkEmail*Company*PhoneThanks!Wereceivedyourinformation.You'llhearfromusshortly.Oops!Somethingwentwrongwhilesubmittingtheform.AboutRiseRiseistheonlyappthatunlocksthereal-worldbenefitsofbettersleep.‍Insteadofjustpromisingabetternight,weuse100yearsofsleepsciencetohelpyoupaydownsleepdebtandtakeadvantageofyourcircadianrhythmtobeyourbest.‍Overthepastdecade,we'vehelpedprofessionalathletes,startups,andFortune500simprovetheirsleeptomeasurablywinmoreinthereal-worldscenariosthatmattermost.‍RiseScienceisbackedbyTrueVentures,FreestyleCapital,andHighAlpha;investorsbehindcategorywinnersFitbit,Peloton,andSalesforceMarketingCloud.Try7daysfreeThepowerbehindyournextbestdayRISEmakesiteasytoimproveyoursleepanddailyenergytoreachyourpotentialSleepDebtViewallBlogSleepDebtIs7HoursofSleepEnough?17MINSBlogSleepDebtWhyDoWeYawn?5ReasonsandWhyIt’sContagious14MINSBlogSleepDebtWhatIstheBestWaytoLoseWeight?2Science-BackedSteps11MINSTryRISE,freefor7days:AppStoreGooglePlay