Sleep apps – do they work?

Sleep apps for smartphones are supposed to help us sleep better and give us more energy during the day. But do they work? We took a closer look:

Lots of people today suffer from sleep problems. The reasons for this are varied: stress, worry, shift work, artificial light, poor diet, nicotine, alcohol, caffeine, noise. But sleep is essential to our health – this has been proven. Sleep apps are designed to help with this. These include alarm apps, sleep analysis apps, sleep monitoring apps and all-rounders that combine all these functions. As well as smartphones, a number of fitness watches and smartwatches can be used to record sleep too.

Some apps work with sounds from nature and musical instruments to help people who struggle to fall asleep. For those who want a calming influence, there are sleeping apps with monotonous background noises designed for relaxation. Other apps guide users through meditation to help them fall asleep using a mix of breathing techniques and muscle relaxation. We say, try it out.

There are apps aimed at promoting better sleeping behaviour. To do this, the sleeping app collects data: about sleep in the various sleep phases, sleep duration and sleeping efficiency. Intelligent sleep phase alarms help you wake up. Smart apps analyse sleep using movement and noise sensors, but this requires taking your mobile phone into bed with you – luckily, there’s plenty space for this in RUF | Betten upholstered or box-spring beds. There are also smartphone apps that record users talking in their sleep or snoring – something that might interest some.

In what is referred to as the light sleep phase, people find waking up and getting up much easier. Sleep apps use this and wake the user during this time. But for those who like to ignore their alarm in the morning, there are apps that persist with a high volume or very prominent optical signals to wake the user. Another handy is option is apps that only switch off if you shake your phone very hard.

Medical advice should always be sought for longer persisting sleep problems. Nowadays, sleep apps have technological analysis functions that are getting better and better. They are capable of providing initial information and can therefore contribute to research into causes. After all, sleep is something which is very individual and something we should not overlook.