9 Relaxing Apps That Will Help You Sleep Better

Sleeping is much more difficult than before.

There are countless distractions in this world. Lots of TV shows to watch. So much meme content. So much pandemic underway to monitor.

There are too many things in the world right now, so much so that sleeping can seem virtually impossible at times. The pandemic is not going away, there are seemingly endless natural disasters and depressing news inexorably filling our feeds. Fortunately, the technology that surrounds and distracts us also provides us with numerous tools to help us enter the land of the z.

Here are some apps that will hopefully finally help you get a good night’s sleep.

App to improve sleep quality

Your daily night’s rest is broken down into several sleep cycles. Research shows that repeatedly losing sleep or maintaining an inconsistent sleep schedule can compromise your overall rest. These upcoming apps help you keep track of your sleep cycles to make sure you sleep well and wake up refreshed each morning.

1. Sleep Cycle

Sleep Cycle tracks your sleep and wakes you up when you are less groggy.

Sleep Cycle is a nice twist on the standard alarm clock. Using your microphone, it tracks your sleep patterns and wakes you up in the lightest phase of sleep so you don’t get groggy. Set a window during which to be awakened (for example, between 7 and 7:30), and calculate the best time to get yourself out of your slumber. It even lets you double tap the phone to snooze.

2. Sleeping apple

Apple has a way to track your sleep and hopefully improve your sleep. The Sleep feature within the Health app on your iPhone allows you to set goals, track progress, schedule alarms and bedtime, and schedule rest periods before bed. If you have an Apple Watch, you can also incorporate super-accurate sleep data into your rest schedule.

How to set up a schedule in Apple Sleep.

How to set up a schedule in Apple Sleep. Credit: screenshot: apple sleep

3. Pillow

Pillow works like Apple's Bedtime, but it also lets you set up a set of timed naps.

Pillow is the perfect app for anyone who wants to know everything they can about the way they sleep. Like Bedtime and Sleep Cycle, it tracks your sleep and wakes you up in a light rest phase. But you can also use its features to schedule different types of mid-day rest: energy naps (15 minutes), recovery naps (45 minutes) and full-cycle naps (120 minutes). It will give you information about your heart rate, REM cycles, and how long it took you to fall asleep.

Apps that help you fall asleep

Mindfulness and meditation have been shown to help people struggling with insomnia. The apps below focus on meditation through various techniques, such as music, nature sounds, and voice commands. All of them are meant to help you achieve the relaxed state you need for bed.

1. Pzizz

Pzizz will make you fall asleep with truly relaxing music that fades over time.

First: this app looks amazing; only its appearance is soothing! As for the music, think of an incredibly relaxing, movie-style soundtrack that you set to fade after about an hour to help you unwind before bed. It also offers narration with both male and female voices, but if you find that creepy thing (which you will), you can turn it off. It also lets you use its burst music as a “focus” setting.

2. Headspace

Headspace simplifies meditation by breaking it down into small and useful sessions.

The Headspace: Meditation app prepares you with different sessions depending on your goals. It will send you push notifications to remind you to meditate during the day. Each session takes only a few minutes. If you are the kind of person whose mind is racing before you go to bed, this app is for you.

3. Calm

Calm allows you to enjoy a wide variety of meditation tutorials, mixing the sounds of nature to add atmosphere.

Like Headspace: Meditation, Calm will calm your mind before bed. Sessions are longer and you can set schedules over time to get you closer to zen. The app offers ambient sounds of nature and transforms your phone into a giant portrait of a panoramic landscape.

The first one I tried lasted 12 minutes and did an amazing job of helping me calm down. I had never tried meditation before. Something in the mix of sounds of nature and music really put me in a place of peace. Just make sure you put the phone on silent mode; not long after i finished my session i got a breaking news alert that broke my zen.

4. Podcast

Jason Mantzoukas, June Diane Raphael and Paul Scheer lead the hilarious "How Did This Get Made?"

If all else fails, podcasts are always an option. Err on the comedy side to end the day with a few laughs before bed (I highly recommend “How Did This Get Made?”) Or something based on storytelling, like This American Life . Remember to use the sleep timer at the bottom of the app to make sure a long podcast doesn’t wake you up once you fall asleep.

5. White Noise Lite

White Noise Lite is a super simple, yet useful app.

White Noise Lite is a free and incredibly simple app. All it does is play soothing sounds that will help you sleep: things like the hum of the air conditioner, the chirping of crickets, or the low whirl of an oscillating fan. Sounds stifle distractions and, if you’re a light sleeper, help you sleep. I found that I wake up less with this app because my brain doesn’t give me life to every little sound outside.

6. Relax and sleep well

Relax and Sleep Well has a number of free offers to help you rest.

If you feel you need help sleeping a little more directly, perhaps Relax and Sleep Well might be for you. It has six free meditation and hypnosis recordings that are meant to help people sleep and feel relaxed.