Matthew McConaughey reading a bedtime story and more apps to help with a better night's sleep
Your smartphone may actually be able to help you sleep.
The often-repeated tip for good night’s sleep is to leave your smartphone out of your bedroom.
While that helps you not mindlessly scroll through Instagram, there are also things on your phone that promise to actually help you sleep better.
Apps are out there that do everything from having Matthew McConaughey read you a bedtime story, to monitor your snoring.
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Here are five apps to try for a better night's sleep.
1. Calm
This is the app that lets you fall asleep to Matthew McConaughey reading a bedtime story. The app's "Sleep Stories" are not just read by well-known voices but are designed using cognitive behavorial therapy (CBT) to lull you to sleep.
The app also offers guided meditations, music designed to help you relax and sleep and 10-minute guided stretching and mindful movement videos to help release tension in your body.
2. Sleep Cycle
This app is like the ultimate alarm clock. It analyzes your sleep and wakes you up when you're feeling the most rested, instead of pulling you out of a deep, REM sleep.
Sleep Cycle analyzes your sleep movements through your phone's microphone. It begins to wake you up softly during a "wake-up phase" that ends at the time you entered to be woken up.
3. SnoreLab
The free version works by accessing your phone’s microphone. With the app running, you place your phone face down on your bedside table. In the morning, it graphically shows your most significant snoring events and lets you listen to them.
The premium version of the app offers some other tools that let you note corresponding events like drinking or being overtired. It also records multiple nights of sleep, offers coaching tips, ranks your snoring compared to other users and qualifies the volume of your snoring with adjectives like "loud" and "epic."
4. Pillow
Pillow describes itself as your "smart sleep assistant."
Like Sleep Cycle, the app analyzes your sleep cycles to wake you up in the lightest sleep possible. It can be used on an Apple Watch or just by laying your smartphone on your mattress.
The app also allows you to record sleep events like snoring and sleep talking and has "sleep aid sounds" to help you fall asleep.
5. Pzizz
Pzizz is a sound-based app that uses sound sequences to help you sleep.
The app calls its sounds "dreamscapes" that include music, voiceovers and sound effects. The sounds change each night and are designed to help with both nighttime sleep and naps too.
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