These days it seems there is an app for just about everything you can imagine. It almost seems as if our smartphones are becoming cleverer than we are! Now you can download apps which monitor your sleep patterns and analyse them, so they can then offer you advice on how to get a better night’s sleep.

SleepCycle

The SleepCycle app records how long you spend in each stage of sleep by monitoring how much you move around when in bed. In lighter stages of sleep and while awake we tend to move quite frequently. In deep sleep our muscles relax and we barely move at all, and during REM sleep a sort of paralysis takes over and the only part of our bodies we can move are our eyeballs. It then times your alarm to wake you up not just in time but while you are in a lighter stage of sleep, which leaves you feeling more refreshed and alert.

Download ‘SleepCycle’ for iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/en/app/sleep-cycle-alarm-clock/id320606217?mt=8

Sleep101

This free app works along the same principles as SleepCycle in that it monitors movement to record how much time each night you spend asleep or awake. You then receive a ‘sleep score’ which you can share with friends on social networking sites and use to research the extensive library from makers Zeo on how to get the best night’s sleep possible.

Download ‘SleepCycle’ for iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sleep101/id524193798?mt=8

ProActive Sleep

This is a far different tool to the previous two apps. Rather than monitoring movement it allows you to enter a wealth of information about your usual sleeping habits and the amount of sleep you hope to achieve each night. You can also enter data on a daily basis such as a record of your caffeine intake and the amount and intensity of exercise performed. If you then set an alarm for the time you want to wake up the app will let you know exactly what time you should go to bed in order to achieve the desired amount of sleep.

Download ‘SleepCycle’ for iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/proactive-sleep-alarm-clock/id328349387?mt=8

Sleep As An Droid

Android’s version of SleepCycle has all the same technical features plus it lets you calculate your cumulative sleep debt over time. The only drawback to all the motion sensing apps is that, unless we are away on business and snoozing alone in hotel beds, most adults share a bed with someone else so the results are likely to prove somewhat inaccurate.

Download ‘Sleep As An Droid’ for Android – https://sites.google.com/site/sleepasandroid/

Dream:ON

Scientists claim that this futuristic app can actually influence what we dream about! Users program in their ideal waking time then go to sleep with the phone face down on the bed beside them. It monitors sleep patterns as before, but this time when the sleeper hits the last stage of REM sleep before it is time to wake up then the app plays the sleeper’s chosen soundscape which is said to influence what we dream about. Once this final period of REM sleep is over the app wakes the sleeper within one minute to increase their chances of remembering what they were dreaming about.

Download ‘Sleep As An Droid’ for Android – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dream-on/id504521920?mt=8

Featured images:

•  License: Creative Commons image source
•  License: Creative Commons image source

This post was written on behalf of Hotelcontractbeds.co.uk – helping you get the best nights sleep possible with their selection of folding beds & mattresses.