{"id":90917,"date":"2017-10-01T10:13:04","date_gmt":"2017-10-01T10:13:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sftarticles.wpenginepowered.com\/en\/?p=90917"},"modified":"2025-07-01T23:46:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T06:46:09","slug":"tricks-tips-for-sleeping-apps-eng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/tricks-tips-for-sleeping-apps-eng\/","title":{"rendered":"Tricks, Tips and Super Effective Apps for Getting a Good Night&#8217;s Sleep"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">We spend a third of our lives sleeping&#8230; or at least that\u2019s what should happen in an ideal world. In reality, we sleep less than we should, because we<\/span>\u00a0undervalue the act of sleeping. We believe it\u2019s enough to get under the covers\u00a0and close our eyes. But there&#8217;s much more to sleeping than that.\u00a0<b>It\u2019s important to sleep with a clear mind<\/b>, with the brain prepared for the task of resting and a clear idea about\u00a0the best time to wake up the next day.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lucky for you, <\/span><b>there are niche apps<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> for each one of the processes above for getting to\u00a0sleep (relaxation, mental preparation, and so on). Try these apps and some tips on how to use them, and wake up refreshed and rested. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>First up: relax<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The sleeping process starts long before you go to bed. Above all, it\u2019s important to feel calm and quiet. Otherwise, when you close your eyes, your mind will recall all the problems awaiting you tomorrow, <\/span><b>all the mistakes you made today&#8230;<\/b><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-135986 aligncenter\" src=\"\" alt=\"sleep-deprivation-598x336\" width=\"598\" height=\"336\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">To avoid bad vibes that make it difficult to rest, I recommend that an hour or two before bed, you <\/span><b>dedicate 5 or 10 minutes to guided meditation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">that relaxation apps suggest. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.calm.com\/\"><b>Calm \u2013 Meditate, Sleep, Relax<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0(<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/app\/calm-meditation-to-relax-focus-sleep-better\/id571800810?mt=8\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">also for iOS<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.calm.android&amp;hl=es\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Android<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">) offers guided meditations of all kinds (not only for sleeping; also for managing stress and calming anxiety) of varying lengths (3, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 minutes).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-135988 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2019\/04\/fortnites8.jpg\" alt=\"Calm\" width=\"490\" height=\"882\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This app, and others that you can easily find in your mobile store will help you meditate, but won\u2019t become an overbearing virtual hand that emerges from your cell phone screen to take you by the neck and force you to stop doing whatever you were doing to relax already. The decision to invest 5, 10, or even one minute in your mental health <\/span><b>depends on you.<\/b><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\">&#8211;<\/p>\n<p>Our Softonic Solutions users are talking about <a href=\"https:\/\/solutions.softonic.com\/best-apps\/resources-for-falling-asleep\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the best apps for falling asleep<\/a>. <strong>Join the conversation now!<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3><b>Stay away from light<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Do you usually use your cell phone right before going to bed? Smartphones, TV, tablets and other devices emit what is known as blue light. When your eyes see this type of light, they send the following message to your brain: <\/span><b>\u201cLet\u2019s not sleep yet, it\u2019s still daytime!\u201d <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The brain takes note and eliminates the production of melatonin, a hormone that prepares the body to go to sleep and regulates sleep. The result: If you mess around with your cell phone, you\u2019ll later go to bed feeling restless. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-135994 aligncenter\" src=\"\" alt=\"luz-azul-smartphone-610x305\" width=\"610\" height=\"305\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I\u2019m not going to forbid you from peeking at your cell phone close to bedtime. But I do recommend that you <strong>activate <\/strong><\/span><b>Night Mode on your smartphone.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0Night Mode is a special filter that neutralizes the blue light starting at a certain hour, so it doesn&#8217;t\u00a0affect the production of melatonin. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you use an <\/span><b>iPhone 5s or later<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, you can tinker with Night Mode from the Settings on your cell phone. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the case of <\/span><b>an Android<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, its equivalent feature, called \u201cNocturnal light,\u201d can also be found in the \u201cSettings\u201d section. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-135995 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/05\/fortnitekeyart_ysbqex.jpg\" alt=\"androidpit-night-mode-android-nougat-w782\" width=\"782\" height=\"455\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Don\u2019t have access to Night Mode or don\u2019t like the results? No problem: Myriad apps can add similar filters. On Android, one of my favorites is <\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.urbandroid.lux&amp;hl=es\">Twilight.<\/a><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0It\u2019s named after a special filter that activates after sunset.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-135993 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/06\/Jon_Snow_bbga38.jpg\" alt=\"Twilight\" width=\"427\" height=\"759\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For iOS,<\/span>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/justgetflux.com\/ios.html\"><b>F.lux<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0is a similar app that\u2019s 100% free but requires you to jailbreak your smartphone to install it. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-135996 aligncenter\" src=\"\" alt=\"flux-ab\" width=\"280\" height=\"126\" \/><\/p>\n<h3><b>Myths and facts about niche apps for sleep cycles<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The moment of rest has arrived. The goal is not simply to sleep but<\/span><b> to achieve profound and restful sleep. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It would be easy to recommend niche apps for sleep cycles and that\u2019s it, but before I start naming applications, I feel obligated to clarify a few myths about these types of apps.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-90924\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/03\/sleepcycle_disturbed_sleep.png\" alt=\"sleepcycle_disturbed_sleep\" width=\"630\" height=\"389\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/03\/sleepcycle_disturbed_sleep.png 630w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/03\/sleepcycle_disturbed_sleep-300x185.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A sleep cycle lasts about <\/span><b>90 minutes. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If sleep is interrupted before that respective hour and a half has passed, you\u2019ll wake up tired and fatigued as if you had slept very little.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-90925\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/03\/sleep-final.jpg\" alt=\"sleep-final\" width=\"740\" height=\"415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/03\/sleep-final.jpg 740w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/03\/sleep-final-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/03\/sleep-final-238x134.jpg 238w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/03\/sleep-final-436x246.jpg 436w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/03\/sleep-final-370x208.jpg 370w, https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2017\/03\/sleep-final-304x170.jpg 304w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gmb.io\/sleep\/\">Image original source<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Let\u2019s assume that I want to go to sleep every day at midnight. Five sleep cycles are recommended, so it\u2019s best for me to wake up at 7:30. If I wake up at 7, I\u2019ll cut off the 5th cycle and feel tired; and if I wake up at 8, I\u2019ll cut off the 6th additional cycle even before I\u2019m even halfway through. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In theory, it\u2019s easy to suggest sleeping every day from 12 to 7:30 for restful sleep. In practice, it\u2019s much more complicated. What always happens when we say \u201cAll right, I\u2019m going to sleep right now\u201d? <\/span><b>Our mind gets\u00a0stressed and we end up falling asleep at 3 in the morning! <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">We can\u2019t 100% control when we sleep, and this means our plans of taking control of our own sleep cycles might be futile. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Niche apps for this resting period use systems that analyze your movements or listen to your sounds at\u00a0night, to detect the exact moment you fall asleep. At that moment, <\/span><b>a smart alarm<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> is activated so you wake up at the best possible time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-135990 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/06\/fortnites8_f04w5f.jpg\" alt=\"http-mashable.comwp-contentuploads201006sleep-cycle\" width=\"630\" height=\"437\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Doctor W. Christopher Winter, a specialist in medicine and neurology, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/vitals.lifehacker.com\/what-sleep-tracking-apps-can-and-can-t-tell-you-1787753934\"><b>warns that these applications aren&#8217;t 100% reliable<\/b><\/a><b>.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> According to Winter, in order to know exactly when we fall asleep, other body functions need to be analyzed, such as breathing, ocular movement, and brain activity. Because these apps depend on only two variables (body movement + sounds), they lend themselves to misunderstandings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">These type of applications thus act as a guide. For example, they can <\/span><b>tell more or less how many hours you sleep a day. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">I thought I slept a little over seven hours but after using an app, I found out that I sleep only six hours, thank you very much. Just knowing this fact let me make better\u00a0decisions about my habits. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Additionally, they can help you detect activities that help or hurt your sleep. For example, <\/span><b>if you don\u2019t believe alcohol or coffee harms sleep<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, compare the analysis of days you drank these substances with days you drank nothing or less than usual. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Experiment with your body! You have my permission, and I\u2019m sure Doctor Winter would give his approval as well. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Now let&#8217;s turn our attention to sleep cycle apps. On Android, my favorite is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sleep-as-an-droid.en.softonic.com\/android\"><b>Sleep as Android<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0(you have a two-week trial period before you have to pay). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-136000 aligncenter\" src=\"\" alt=\"sleep as android\" width=\"433\" height=\"745\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On iOS, a great app is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/sleep-cycle-alarm-clock.en.softonic.com\/iphone\"><b>Sleep Cycle alarm clock<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0(you can also install this on Android). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-136002 aligncenter\" src=\"\" alt=\"mas cosas\" width=\"416\" height=\"617\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">These two apps also have a cool feature that lets you calculate<\/span><b>\u00a0the best time to go to sleep\u00a0<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">or what time you should wake up if you go to sleep at a particular time. This feature works great if you plan to figure out all the variables that affect your sleep. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">These apps will help us get restful sleep. But what about so-called <em>deep sleep<\/em>? Is there an app that helps you maintain that? The application <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/pzizz.com\/\"><b>Pzizz \u2013 Deep Sleep &amp; Power Snap<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201d (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/app\/pzizz-solve-sleep-problems\/id915664862?mt=8\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">available both for iOS<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=com.pzizz.android&amp;hl=en\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Android<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">) is at your\u00a0service.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-135998 aligncenter\" src=\"\" alt=\"woman-sleeping-zoom-out@2x\" width=\"840\" height=\"445\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While you sleep, this application helps you sleep peacefully and optimally by emitting a combination of music, voices and sound effects. This serene symphony will increase your chances of getting deep sleep. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Go to sleep!<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">My final recommendation is that you take it\u00a0<\/span><b>step by step. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For example, first, you could get used to dedicating ten minutes a night to meditation or be mindful by reading on your cell phone with a special filter. Later, look into those habits to avoid or find out how many hours you really sleep. With patience and dedication, soon you\u2019ll enjoy all the benefits of restful sleep. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Have a good night!<\/b><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-135997 aligncenter\" src=\"\" alt=\"no-molestar\" width=\"602\" height=\"402\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This article was originally published on March 9th 2017.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We spend a third of our lives sleeping&#8230; or at least that\u2019s what should happen in an ideal world. In reality, we sleep less than we should, because we\u00a0undervalue the act of sleeping. We believe it\u2019s enough to get under the covers\u00a0and close our eyes. But there&#8217;s much more to sleeping than that.\u00a0It\u2019s important to &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/tricks-tips-for-sleeping-apps-eng\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Tricks, Tips and Super Effective Apps for Getting a Good Night&#8217;s Sleep&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2057,"featured_media":90922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wpcf-pageviews":0},"categories":[2441],"tags":[],"usertag":[],"vertical":[],"content-category":[],"class_list":["post-90917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-how-to"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2057"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90917"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":328537,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90917\/revisions\/328537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90917"},{"taxonomy":"usertag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/usertag?post=90917"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=90917"},{"taxonomy":"content-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cms-articles.softonic.io\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content-category?post=90917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}