Data and the Obsession with Optimization

Aug 28

Does tracking your sleep, steps, and nutrition actually make you healthier—or just more stressed?

In this episode of Your Diet Sucks, Kylee and Zoë explore the research on fitness trackers and self-quantification. From counting steps to monitoring REM cycles, activity trackers promise better health and performance—but the science shows it’s not always that simple.

We dig into when tracking can be helpful, and when it can backfire. From orthosomnia (the sleep problems caused by obsessing over sleep data) to runners jogging laps around the parking lot just to hit their step goals, we explore how chasing “perfect” data can actually undermine your health.

And yes, we even talk about how obsessive tracking might be linked to bad sex.

You’ll learn:

What the research actually says about wearables and health outcomes
The downsides of over-tracking for athletes and everyday folks
Why optimization culture can increase stress and reduce well-being
How to use trackers in a balanced, evidence-based way

Whether you love your Garmin, Whoop, or Oura ring—or you’ve ditched them all—this episode will help you rethink your relationship with health tech.

Zoë Rom

Zoë Rom is a science and environmental journalist with bylines in The New York Times, Outside, and High Country News. She co-hosts Your Diet Sucks, an evidence-based nutrition and wellness podcast, with registered dietitian Kylee Van Horn, RDN, where they investigate how wellness culture distorts science and how athletes can do better. A Colorado-based ultrarunner, she finished second at the Leadville Trail 100 and top five at Run Rabbit Run 100. Her reporting and commentary focus on the intersection of sport, science, and the wellness industry's long history of selling women their own anxieties.