You are exhausted after a long day of work. Changing into one of your most comfortable night suits, you look at the bed. Even the sight of attracts you. The sheets are warm and cozy. The pillows so soft. The mattress all firm. All you are looking forward to is a good night’s sleep and as soon as you lie in your bed you drift off to sleep. Hours go by as you regain your energy. In the morning you wake up, stretch your limbs and you feel so refreshed, ready for another long day ahead. SNAP! It is just 3 am in the morning!
If you have been having problems sleeping, this might just be the dream you have every other night. Yes, we all sleep, but hardly anyone of us gets to sleep peacefully. We do not know the problems- is it stress? Depression? Are you turning into an insomniac? Is that all the time you needed to sleep? Or is it all because of the over-thinking? We rarely know the problems but what we do know is that the consequences of not having a sound sleep are not good at all. You wake up feeling all groggy, un-refreshed, body and mind, and getting out of bed seems one of the most difficult tasks.
Not getting enough sleep has a lot of bad effects. Apart from the daily grogginess, it has long-term adverse effects on your physical and mental health. Sleeping on time, sleeping for enough time and waking up on time, are those significant times of the day that can make your life very easy. Keeping this in mind, some of the geniuses have invented apps that can help you maintain your sleep cycle and quality. Check these out and see which one works best for you.
1. Sleepbot:
Tired of being unable to have a good night’s sleep? Sleepbot will help you get one in no time. It is based totally on scientific studies regarding that ideal sleep cycle we all hope to have. With its numerous features like, setting a reminder for you to go to sleep, quick solutions to sleep and wake up on time and checking on your sleep quality too based on you REM, it is amazing for those who have trouble maintaining a healthy sleep pattern. It automatically puts your cell phone on airplane mode so that you are not disturbed by any call, texts or emails. Available on iOS and Android
2. Pzizz:
On average, an adult takes approximately fourteen minutes to fall asleep. But with our minds running through most of the events of the day and other things, falling asleep is sometimes a laborious task. This app is for all those who can’t fall asleep easily and then wake up to the alarm ringing -however loud or disturbing the noise maybe. Just fix your time of falling asleep and waking up and this alarm will do the best it can to make you fall asleep within minutes by playing all those slow, melodious tunes and wake you up with the loud, banging noises. iOS and Android
3. Motion X 24/7:
Available on iOS for a dollar, this app has more to it than just making you fall asleep. Yes, it plays a soft song that makes you doze off gradually but apart from that it has multiple functions. It is not only going to calculate your movements during the night but also in the morning. If you have been sitting idle for a while now and need to move your muscles, it will notify you to do so. Also, it keeps a track of your heart beat as you work out, through the pulse in your fingertips (you just need to place it on the camera).
4. Sleep Time:
This app works almost on the same pattern as other apps for sleep. Before sleeping, place it on your bed. It will make a graph of your sleeping cycle (light sleep, deep sleep and then REM) according to your movements. It will wake you up when your sleep is the lightest, hence ensuring that you wake up feeling refreshed. Also, the graph can help you know more about your sleeping cycle. With this app, you don’t need to get expensive fitness bands and other stuff. But it is best for those who sleep alone. With a partner in bed, it may confuse your movements with the other person. Download on iOS or Google Play
5. Sleep Better:
This app, like all other apps, uses your movements to keep a track of your sleeping cycle and the quality of it too. However, it has some distinctive features which no other app for better sleep has. It can tell you whether you had a dream or nightmare, according to your movements. Moreover, it will let you know the problem behind you not getting a good night’s sleep. for example, during a hangover you are most likely to have a headache which may not let you sleep peacefully. This app is (fortunately) available for a large number of people, as both iOS and android users can install it for free.
6. Sleepyti.me:
If you wake up feeling groggy and you don’t know why, then this app is for you. Most of us do not know when to fall asleep and how much sleep to get. We sleep according to our own time set. This is generally wrong. We all do need a certain amount of sleep and sometimes we do not have enough time for that. Even if we do, we usually wake up feeling like it just wasn’t enough. Often, our naps do not help us either. This is where Sleepyti.me helps you. It guides you as to what time will be the best to sleep and wake up. You can select from the range of times and set which one is best for you, in order to avoid grogginess in the morning. It has a few more helpful advises to make sure everything goes according to your sleeping-and-waking-up plan. Sleepyti.me is a web app that is free for all.
7. Sleep Cycle:
Another app like the Sleepbot, this calculates your sleep timing and quality for your own benefit. As we sleep we go through a phase, where we have a light sleep, then a deep sleep and then a state that is often referred to as the REM- sleep (the state in which you are more likely to have dreams). This phase is repeated innumerable times during the night. If you wake up during the time you are supposed to be having a sound sleep, you will wake up feeling all groggy. Sleep Cycle wakes you up during the time your sleep is the lightest, in order to prevent such a situation. Available at iOS and Android
8. Pillow:
Pillow is another sleep-tracking app. You can place it under your pillow as you get into bed for sleep at night. It will keep a track of your movements and sounds at night and will wake you up when you are in the lightest of your sleep. This way you will get a proper sleep. Moreover, it has tips, recommendation and features so that you can sleep in a better way. You can also know if you snore, wheeze, talks or even walk at night with eyes closed and heavy with sleep. It is available for iOS for 5 dollars.
9. White Noise:
As per its name, white noise has a feature that makes you put on some soothing noise that can help you drift to sleep in a matter of minutes. There is a variety of noises you can select from- everything from the humming of an engine to the noise generated by a working dishwasher. You can also make your own list using different sounds, which makes you sleep better and earlier in your opinion. Although it cost almost 5 dollars, it is available on almost every other operating system like iOS, Android, Nook, Mac OSX and Amazon apps.
10. Smart Alarm:
Apps like these never fail to amaze you. This app not only uses your movements but also, your sounds, to know what is your sleeping pattern and habits may be like. It will also record the sounds that are most probably responsible for keeping you up at night. If, by any chance, you seem to be losing your precious sleep because of some sort of disturbance, it will instantly play soft music that will make you fall asleep in no time. You can also create a personal library of music for this. Unfortunately, this app is only available on iOS and that too for a dollar.