Better Way to Wake Up With Sleep Cycle
Sleep Cycle app
If you’ve ever caught yourself browsing through the App Store looking for something nifty to buy, you have to check this app out.
I wasn’t exactly looking for an alarm clock app. I find that the iPhone’s Clock app is more than adequate enough for my uses. However, as I scanned through the multitudes of apps looking for something interesting, the sheer number of positive reviews ( 5,000+) made me take a closer look at an app called Sleep Cycle.
What It Is
Sleep Cycle is a new take on an old frenemy: the alarm clock. The developer claims that this alarm clock will help you wake in a light stage of sleep so you feel more rested and refreshed versus being awakened from a deep stage of sleep feeling groggy and tired. If something can help me feel more rested for a mere $0.99 USD, I’m in. How could I not try it?
How It Works
Fig. 1: Sample sleep graph from sleepcycle.com
Sleep Cycle essentially monitors any vibrations you make in your bed via the accelerometers in your iPhone. It takes a couple days to “calibrate” the app to its environment, but once it does, it tracks your movement the entire time. You set a few parameters like alarm style, snooze, etc., push START, tuck it under your sheet and off to dreamland you go. The entire time you sleep it records the activity which you can view later as a graph (see Fig. 1).
Another cool thing about the app is that it keeps track of the statistics which you can share or email (see Figs. 2 & 3).
Fig. 2: My own Sleep Cycle graph from Day 2.
Conclusions
At this point, I’ve had it for a almost a week and I am hesitant to say without a doubt the app has helped. But it does do what it says it will do. The last couple of days the app has worked like a charm. I must say, regardless if this is merely a placebo-type effect that I just make up in my head, I think it is starting to work after a brief adjustment period. It is much more pleasant to wake up to than my standard alarm clock and not quite as annoying as the Clock app either. For a mere 99 cents, I recommend checking it out and giving it a go yourself.
Let me know what you think and if there’s a similar app for other smartphones that you like.
Fig. 3: My own Sleep Cycle stats from Day 3 emailed to me.