Should You Use a Sleep App to Make Your Nights Restful?

Sleep issues are common in modern people. Stress, responsibilities, lack of free time and events that are happening in the world are hard to handle. While we all have experienced sleep issues due to various reasons, a chronic lack of sleep is usually considered to be a sleep disorder. Sleep is essential for our health, so we should get at least 7 hours of quality rest during the night. But for some, it may seem impossible since they either can’t fall asleep or experience disturbed sleep.

Therefore, many individuals are looking for the best ways to achieve good sleep. The market is moving fast, offering various solutions, from sleep supplements to sleeping applications. While sleep supplements and medications are usually prescribed by a healthcare professional, sleep apps are available for anyone looking for a night’s rest. As a result, sleep apps are highly popular, and developers use the latest technologies to give people control over their sleep issues conveniently and simply.

In this article, we will explore how sleep apps work, what their types are and whether you should use them for your quality night rest.

How Sleep Apps Work

Since sleep issues are common and causes are also different, users can find a vast list of applications that differ in their function. Some applications allow users to track their sleep and how quality it is, collecting information about snoring, sleep talking and phases of sleep.

Other applications, like the sound of rain app, are specially designed to better prepare people for sleep and help them enjoy a quality night’s rest. They may also share stories and soothing exercises, like breathing, that can help people to calm down and relax. And these mobile apps are most popular since one of the key reasons for lack of sleep is the inability to relax after a stressful day and racing thoughts.

Using these apps allows users to practice slow deep breathing, or a body scan meditation, allowing them to distract from racing thoughts and stresses of the day and giving their brain something more important to think about.

Sleep Stories

Sleep stories may sound funny, but they are really effective when you can’t fall asleep. Sleep stories are exactly what their names suggest. These are quiet, calm stories with little to no subject behind them. The key goal of these stories is to give your brain something to think about, allowing you to reduce racing thoughts, focus on a calming, pleasant story and eliminate stress. 

Relaxation Exercises

Relaxation exercises may be different, depending on the app and your situation. It could be calming meditation with soothing music, slow deep breathing, as well as other body scan-type meditations that have been scientifically shown to help people fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. The great thing about these exercises is that the ‘guide’ in the app tells you what exactly to do, so you can close your eyes and focus on what the guide says while also calming down your nervous system through breathing.

Pros & Cons of Sleep Apps

It is worth noting that a nap app works best for those experiencing short-term sleep issues. However, in case you have a chronic sleep disorder, you will likely need help from a healthcare professional. You should also be careful with using sleep apps since you don’t need to rely solely on them, ignoring other vital factors that affect your sleep. That is because constant use of these apps can actually start to become harmful to your healthy sleep in the future.

The benefits of using a fall asleep app are pretty obvious. They can work as a simple and convenient way to manage better sleep without using medications or supplements. In addition, most applications allow you to control how you sleep, giving you control over your overall wellness. Breathing exercises and meditations these applications contain can help users achieve inner balance, improve mood and achieve better mental health.

There are also several cons to using sleep apps. One and the key one is that it is the phone, so it may be a problem for you to choose whether you will use your phone for applications or for scrolling social media. If the app doesn’t block blue lights, then it will only worsen the situation since electronic devices produce this light, and it can disturb inner clocks.

What are Sleep App Alternatives?

There are many ways you can fight sleep issues and finally rest during the night. You can find many videos of how breathing practices can help you calm down, reduce racing thoughts and relax. Try slow deep breathing or other body scan-type meditations that will help you drift into sleep.

In addition, many other factors affect how you sleep, including your diet, lifestyle, stress, sleeping conditions and more. So you can first eliminate caffeine and alcohol before sleep, buy a convenient pillow, try aromatherapy and change a few things in your diet to help your body sleep better.

Falling Asleep Without an App

Sleep apps can be an excellent way to calm down and achieve better sleep since they share some practices and methods you can learn to calm your nervous system and relax after a stressful day. But once you learn them, we recommend you practice them on your own, as using an app doesn’t mean you can’t do it by yourself. It can turn into a habit, and you won’t be able to fall asleep without an app. However, if you use an app that tracks your sleep and want to get more information about its quality, these applications are suitable for long-term use.

Final Thoughts

If you are struggling with sleep issues, you may need a little help. You can start by changing some habits, like drinking cola before sleep or changing your sleep conditions; if that doesn’t work, you can use sleeping apps that contain lots of information on how you can help your body relax and fall asleep. But remember that these apps are only there to help, and you don’t need to rely solely on them.