According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly a third of US adults report that they get less than the recommended amount of sleep. Not only is this detrimental to psychological health and mental wellbeing, but a lack of sleep can have extremely debilitating physical effects and is strongly linked with an increase in obesity, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Not getting enough sleep also leaves you feeling fatigued and unfocused, increasing the likelihood of getting into a car accident and making potentially costly mistakes at work.
A lack of sleep used to be glorified and was equated with harder workers and higher productivity. The veil of that stigma has been lifted and we now know the truth: getting an adequate amount of sleep isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. This isn’t always easy, however. Between hectic work schedules and managing family time as well as a social life, getting the recommended eight hours a night is often a chore in and of itself.
It’s therefore important that your sleep environment is tailored to promote the best possible sleep. This means ensuring that your room is the right temperature, that you’re sleeping on a firm and supportive mattress – such as a memory foam one like this – and that your room is quiet and undisturbed. On top of that, there are also a number of wearable gadgets and sleep apps which you can use to augment your sleeping habits and help to you nurture the best possible sleep. We’ll look at some of the best apps below:
Sleep Genius
Sleep Genius is an app developed after research was undertaken on how to help NASA astronauts get better sleep in space. It has a number of functions that work to help you fall into a natural and soothing sleep, as well as wake up gradually rather than suddenly. It was developed by leading neuroscientists and experts in sleep, sound, and music. It revive cycle alarm gradually awakens you gently over the course of five minutes – using soothing sounds, it progressively wakes you from any stage of sleep. This ensures that you don’t come tearing out of deep sleep to a jarring and abrasive alarm tone, but are rather guided serenely to start a new day, eliminating the elevated stress levels caused by sudden waking.
Sleep Cycle
One of the more well-known sleep apps available currently, Sleep Cycle tracks your sleep patterns throughout the night to help you wake up during the lightest point of your sleeping phase. The app works by using your phone’s microphone and accelerometer to analyze your movements as you sleep. It also provides you with detailed statistics and sleep graphs, allowing you to use this data to see which nights you sleep best and how you can improve upon it.
Sleepmaker Rain
What’s more comforting than falling asleep to the sound of rain pattering down outside while you lay in bed – safe, warm and dry? Sleepmaker Rain would argue that the answer is nothing, which is why they’ve developed their app to emulate real rain noises. It allows you to simulate the sound of rain falling at different intensities and against various different surfaces for distinct sounds and environments. For example, you might be in the mood for hearing rain against windows, or you might want to hear rain trickling into puddles, or if you really want to feel protected and sheltered you may wish to hear what a torrential downpour sounds like. Whichever you choose, Sleepmaker Rain ensures that you fall asleep to the most comforting of sounds for the deepest night’s sleep possible.
