What We Know About Sleep
A really interesting study was released a few weeks ago based on sleep information obtained from FitBits. They discovered women sleep 25 minutes longer than men, but they are also 40% more likely to have insomnia. Northerners go to bed 5 minutes earlier than Southerners, on average. East Coasters go to bed 7 minutes later than West Coasters. The average American goes to bed at 11:21 pm.
Super interesting, especially because the data was collected by so many people over such a long period of time. It wasn’t one night in a sleep lab. It was hundreds of nights at home, just going about your regular life. Sleeping as you normally sleep. This is very valuable information.
But, of course, the people were participants in a study without knowing they were participants in a study, unless they read the TOS of the FitBit. On one hand, no harm no foul because giving up anonymous data about sleep isn’t exactly earth shattering. On the other hand…
We are having information collected about us every single day. Every device, every place we go, everything we purchase: it is all being monitored and that data collected and analyzed. It’s interesting when it gives us anonymous studies like the one above. It’s unnerving when we think about the fact that there’s a guy named Conor Heneghan who also knows how you sleep if you wear a FitBit. You’ve invited him into your bedroom without really thinking about how you’ve invited him into your bedroom.
Anyone else a little creeped out?
9 comments
Yes. Hence my aversion to smart homes etc.
I read this study and actually found it pretty interesting. Having recently bought a FitBit myself, I realized that this data was being collected anonymously and am not really bothered by it.
I have contemplated how my habits are going to skew these results, as I generally am in bed by 10 and asleep within a few minutes and regularly get 7-8 hours of sleep a night. HA! 🙂
Honestly, I expect it – this is one of the means to profit for any of these companies. I try to be careful with who has my data and how. Or I make sure it’s data I don’t care about (like sleep patterns 🙂 )
Speaking as a data person, I find this study kinda cool and wish they’d go a bit deeper — is there a geographic difference? does family structure matter? what about distribution of sleep/waking up times?
It does bother me! I just don’t know where the line will be. If they are collecting information, could it be accessed under a warrant for criminal investigations? i.e. Were you actually sleeping when the crime was committed? I am hesitant to adopt the smart home concepts, but I guess they are probably gathering a lot of information from my cell phone already.
Not a fan of all of this data collection…but not scared enough to become a complete Luddite either. I don’t have a Fitbit because I don’t need some program to tell me when I’m being a slug or when I’m tired from legitimate activity. But it is interesting data, isn’t it?
I have owned a FitBit for several years, and the consistent data collection for me was really something I appreciated. I can see that I have different weekend and weekday exercise patterns, but I also had an overall weekly pattern where certain days were more active. The sleep thing is also interesting. Yes, it is creepy to have my data onsold, I have resisted the DNA tests for that reason, and held out (until recently) against a smart home device. I think it is the world we live in, and we need to start talking about how we protect it.
I am creeped out. I used to be very vigilant about what I would give up in privacy for the benefits technology can bring me. But the tracking has become so pervasive; feels like I cannot keep up with those decisions.
I do unplug our Alexa much of the time. But that’s just one small drop in a vast ocean of data being collected about me.
I am creeped out, but I feel like feeling creeped out by the infiltration of technology into our once-private lives is just the new norm. I have a FitBit, and I don’t really care if they collect my data about sleeping on a surface level, but then it starts feeling weird even though I knew that was a possibility. Although I like looking through my data, and it IS interesting to see those trends. It’s like google knowing stuff without you having typed things and just feeling like eyes are on you all the time. It reminds me of The Circle by Dave Eggers.
I don’t have a Fitbit, but that IS creepy. But also kind of cool re: what the data reveals, both personally and collectively.
I do not want an Alexa-type thing in my house. Of course I once said that about smartphones too….