After a hard day's work filled to the brim with trouble and stress, we're all expected to head home, jump into bed, and fall asleep for a recommended seven to eight hours of uninterrupted rest. The body can repair itself, the mind can unwind - and by the time you wake up the next morning all of yesterday's troubles will be gone, and you'll be thoroughly ready to cope with today's new issues.
But what if falling asleep isn't so easy for you? What if you find this part of the day the hardest, and often spend hours staring at your bedroom ceiling, or counting imaginary sheep as they bounce around inside your head?
Well fret no more, because
Mashable has just posted a great list of apps for a better night's sleep - and if one of them doesn't fix insomnia for you, then nothing will. Let's take a took at the apps now.
Deep Sleep with Andrew Johnson
Deep Sleep with Andrew Johnson is a $2.99 meditation-style app, in which the user is guided towards sleep by the soothing Scottish voice of self-help guru, Andrew Johnson. The app aims to slow your breathing down and push your body towards a more relaxed state, it works very well indeed.
aSleep 3
aSleep 3 provides a load of great tools for you to combat insomnia with. The app includes an alarm clock, timer, nature sounds, chromotherapy, weather and a snore detector. For $0.99 you get a lot for the price with this brilliant application.
pzizz sleep
pzizz sleep is a fantastic sleep aid app that works through the night to put you into,
and keep you within, a state of deep sleep. It's one that I use all the time, and it works like a charm - for me, at least. A soothing voice accompanied by a range of calculated sounds slows your breathing and pushes you gently towards sleep.
pzizz says that a lot of scientific research has gone into this application, which is why some of the sounds pzizz plays don't quite sound normal; they're designed to work with your mind, not your ears. At $9.99 the app is rather pricey, but it's one of the best sleep aid apps I've come across.
Long Deep Breathing
Long Deep Breathing aids the user in practicing the art of
long deep breathing. The app tells us that the average person breathes 12-16 times per minute, and that by working to bring this number down, the user can calm the mind. For $0.99, this simple-but-good app does exactly what it claims to.
Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock
Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock is a $0.99 app that analyzes your sleep pattern, and aims to wake you up at the most suitable point possible. By placing the iPhone in your bed, the app uses the accelerometer to recognize the movements of your body and plots a graph showing at which points in the night you were
awake,
dreaming, or in a
deep sleep.
eSleep
eSleep allows users to mix and match the sounds they wish to fall asleep to, allowing up to three soothing loops to be played simultaneously. Aside from the standard $0.99 version, eSleep also comes in a free Lite version and a $2.99 Deluxe version.
Proactive Sleep
Proactive Sleep is another multifunction sleep aid app. Apart from being an alarm clock and an ambient music player, the app also acts as a comprehensive "sleep diary" that lets users track aspects of their sleep such as a
mount of sleep, d
ifficulty falling asleep,
exercise, and
caffeine consumption. The data can then be viewed in seven day cycles, thirty day cycles, or in its entirety. Proactive Sleep is another $0.99 app that's definitely worth a try!
Relax & Rest Guided Meditations
Relax & Rest is another guided meditation app much like pzizz and Deep Sleep. It offers a variety of different modes for the user to try, such as Breath, Deep Sleep, or Whole Body. The meditations vary depending on which mode you select. In addition, the app also has helpful tips which explain how to enhance the benefits of these meditations.
Alarm Tunes
Alarm Tunes is a simple $0.99 app that allows users to wake up to any song from their iTunes library. The app also comes with a variety of features, such as screen dimming, alarm fade-in, and shake to snooze. Additionally, you can also use the app to fall asleep to music at night.
Relaxing Ambience
Relaxing Ambience allows the user to fall asleep to a wide variety of relaxing sounds. A total of 56 are available to choose from, including classics such as fire, crickets, and waves. You can adjust the volume and mix sounds together to create your own personal ambience. Additionally, an alarm feature allows the user to wake up to one of these peaceful sounds - far more soothing than Marimba! The app costs $0.99, but is also available in a free lite version.
Let us know what you think of these top sleep aid apps in the comments box below. And if you feel like we've missed anything out, be sure to let us know!
