Did you know that more than 50 million people in the US fall prey to sleeping disorders every year? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that, 1 in 3 US adults does not get enough sleep thus resulting in exhaustion, fatigue and poor functioning throughout the day. Sleeping less than eight hours can be detrimental to one’s health causing a number of health issues like high blood pressure, mental distress and even obesity. Luckily, smartphones now offer a range of apps that will help you sleep better at night.
So, what exactly are sleep apps?
Capitalizing on this health condition, today, the market is flooded with a plethora of smartphone apps that will help you sleep better at night. From sleep apps consisting of relaxing sounds like white noise, nature sounds, classical music and even guided meditations to others that act as alarm clocks with more features than a phone’s default alarm clock.
Sleep tracking apps, on the other hand, operate quite differently and collect data as you sleep. This may include recording sound, tracking movements during sleep, and even waking you at the right time. While many medical facilities continue to research the efficacy of these apps but until then, they provide an affordable and convenient option to help you sleep peacefully at night.
Better Sleep (formerly known as Relax Melodies)
The first sleep app on our list is the Better Sleep app (formerly known as Relax Melodies). Compatible with Android, iOS and Apple, Better Sleep offers a wide range of sleep-inducing sounds, white noise, and frequencies, along with predesigned sleeping programs to help you unwind before you hit the sack. The app has everything from white noise playback to sounds of the ocean, rain or waves to calm your nerves or even if you fancy binaural beats to reduce the day’s stress and anxiety.
The app also includes a series of guided meditations for adults who want to experience lucid dreaming or guided breathing to help you relax. Better Sleep stands out from the rest because it isn’t just limited to adults. It is a kid-friendly app too, consisting of various bedtime stories to help kids fall asleep.
Moreover, Better Sleep offers a 7-day trial period, after which you must pay an annual subscription fee of $60. Nonetheless, the seven-day trial is enough to convince you why this app should hold a permanent spot on your smartphone screen.
Sleep Cycle
Another great app that will help you sleep better at night is the Sleep Cycle. As the name suggests, this Android and iPhone-compatible app helps track and analyze your sleep patterns. Since our smartphones are built-in with a microphone that continuously tracks and keeps a record of all your movement as you sleep – the Sleep Cycle app uses this feature along with sound and vibration analysis to examine all your sleep data and determine whether you are in light sleep, deep sleep or random eye movement (REM) sleep.
Once it studies all the collected data, the Sleep Cycle app identifies the optimal time for you to wake up. Once established, the app gently wakes you from your slumber while you are in a state of light sleep to ensure that you feel rested and are ready for the day ahead.
This free-of-cost app also has a statistics dashboard to showcase a graphical analysis of all your sleep phases and trends, along with other relevant details like your sleep and wake-up timing, your snoring habits (if any), and even the quality of your sleep (measured in percentage).
Nonetheless, while the free version of the Sleep Cycle doesn’t offer melodies and tunes to transfer you to la-la land but it definitely assists in helping you learn more about your sleeping patterns and habits.
Calm – Sleep, Meditate and Relax
Calm is yet another great relaxation app that has successfully secured a spot on our list of apps that will help you sleep better. This relaxation app consists of various mindfulness features to help you reduce stress and relax. It does that by allowing you to choose and download from a library of guided meditations. The length of the meditations varies between 3 to 25 minutes. Thus, you can choose one which best meets your criteria. The app also includes daily breathing exercises, calming features and more than a hundred bedtime stories.
With so many features and more, the Calm relaxation app is Android and iPhone-friendly and can be availed at a monthly subscription of just $14.99.
Recolor – The Adult coloring book app
Did you know
that coloring is no longer just a child’s play? It has now been proven to have
many therapeutic properties. In fact, studies indicate that adult coloring aids in
reducing stress and promotes
relaxation, thus helping you sleep better at night.
Compatible
with Android and iPhone, the Recolor free app is an adult coloring book molded in an app-sized
package. The app is free of charge and includes over 1000 images for coloring so
you can unwind and relax while letting go of the day’s stressors and going into
a Zen-like state of mind.
As far as
the coloring images library is concerned, it is organized alphabetically with
plenty of themes like animals, sceneries and sea life for you to choose from.
Once you select an image that appeals to your liking, the Recolor app displays
a vibrant color palette on the side with different shades and hues.
The Recolor
app aims to help you process your anxiety and stress. It allows you to channel
your stress by coloring and creating artistic accomplishments, thus helping you
drift into a peaceful slumber and wake up fresh and energized the next morning.
While the concept of coloring yourself to sleep might not be everyone’s cup of
tea, users who have tested the app claim that the process actually works. So
why not give it a try and see if this app helps you sleep better at night?
In Conclusion
Getting eight hours of sleep every night is important for every individual. While smartphones may be notorious for the plethora of apps and games that lead to the destruction of sleeping patterns, the introduction of sleeping apps that will help you sleep better is undeniably one of the best things smartphones have done for us. So the next time you struggle with sleep, try one of the above-mentioned sleeping apps to help you sleep better at night.
Valerie Young
Valerie Young writes for Find Compare and is a writer and editor in London.
