Best sleep tracking apps for a good night's sleep

On the surface, it might sound pretty fancy that some apps promise to give you a good night’s sleep and will bill you for it. However, certain free apps have done the same and have done so quite successfully from user experience. These are the apps that fall under the sleep tracker category. They track the pattern of your sleep, provide you with agencies to improve the quality of your sleep, guide you to a smooth wake up in the morning, and even teach you a thing or two on how to improve your sleep.

We tested some of the popular sleep tracking apps and selected the best one for you. These apps are not a substitute for a medical sleep study, but they will help you spot trends in your sleep patterns and decide whether to seek advice from an expert.

How did we choose the best sleep tracking apps?

Sleep Analysis Accuracy: The comparative accuracy in the analysis was the main criterion on the basis of which we shortlisted our top apps. Most of the other apps we tested did not deliver the promised quality when analyzing sleep.
Sleep tracking method: The apps we’ve selected give you more than one way to track your sleep, giving you more control over what aspects of your sleep are tracked.
Cross-platform compatibility: We made sure that the apps are available for both Android and iOS to make the experience easier for you in case you should switch.

How we tested the apps

Unlike a smart band or watch, where sleep tracking is convenient as the device is worn on the wrist, sleep tracking apps on smartphones can only be used by placing the phone near you. If the app uses an accelerometer to track your sleep, the phone needs to be placed under your pillow. Since the apps we tested also had the microphone option, we used this method in our experiments. If microphones are used to track sleep, the phone must be placed next to your bed with the microphone closer to your body so that your sleep patterns can be accurately tracked by analyzing the audio picked up by the microphone.

A word of warning: Most of the apps ask you to charge your phone while you sleep to avoid false positives due to the phone being discharged. You can switch to airplane mode if you are concerned about the health risks of having the phone next to your face all night.

Sleep cycle

Sleep cycle is our best choice. It’s a sleep analysis and smart alarm clock app. What we most surprised about at Sleep Cycle is that it actually encourages the user to read the privacy policy and terms and conditions, unlike many other apps these days.

Your sleep is recorded with either a microphone or an accelerometer, as you choose. The microphone recommended by the app requires the phone to be placed on your bedside table. The app analyzes your movement and tracks your snoring while you sleep. Once you have chosen the accelerometer option, the phone needs to be placed near your head on the mattress or under your pillow. We do not recommend this given the potential health risks.

You can choose whether or not to use the snore detection option, and you also have control over the time period during which the snore detection feature should be activated. Visual guides called Placement Reminders remind you to properly position your phone in order to use the app properly.

Instead of setting a specific time to wake up, Sleep Cycle recommends that you use the Wake Up Period feature to set a time to wake up. This function gives you a window of 10 minutes to a maximum of 45 minutes to prepare for waking up. The snooze option can also be customized to your liking. The app recommends the “Smart” option, which “gives you dynamic moments until your wake-up time”. The “Normal” option allows you to adjust the time interval between snoozing. You can also choose to set the ‘Vibration’ option with the alarm.

Sleep School is a free training program from Sleep Cycle for those who want to learn more about sleep. The ‘Journal’ function, which is sleep graphs and analysis, is available in the free version, while detailed statistics on your sleep data are available in the premium version.

Sleep Cycle also has sleep sounds to help you sleep well. The free sounds for Sleep Cycle are warm breeze, forest clearing, morning mist and sunrise. For more options or to add your own music, you need to upgrade to the premium version.

After a 7-day free trial, the premium version of Sleep Cycle costs Rs. 1,800 per year. Options such as “Online backup”, “Sleep notes”, “Wake up mood” and “Weather” are only available in the premium version. The sleep cycle can also be synced with Google Fit.

Get it for – Android, iOS

SleepScore

SleepScore is our second choice. After initial consent to the collection of your sleep-related data, SleepScore will request a few more basic details such as your name, date of birth and gender. You can choose from five different options in which area of your sleep you would like to see improvement, including “Fall Asleep Easy”, “Sleep Longer”, “Snore and Crunch” etc. If not when you are sure what you are looking for should you be particularly focused, you can just click on the “I’ll follow up to find out” option.

As the name suggests, SleepScore rates your sleep from 1 to 100 and tells you what the average ideal sleep score is for your age. SleepScore’s sleep tracker shows how long you’ve been in each phase of sleep. You will also learn what each section means. Light sleep is when it’s easiest to be disturbed, deep sleep is when your body is healing, and REM sleep is when your brain is processing your memories from the day. Each phase of your sleep is assessed individually.

SleepScore uses patented sonar technology that uses sound waves to track your sleep. As of now, the sonar technology is not supported on all versions of iOS and Android. It only works with iPhone 6 and above and the Android devices that do Support sonar technology are Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, S8, S8 +, S9, S9 +, Note 8, Note 9 and Google Pixel 2 XL. Sonar technology is designed to improve the quality with which your sleep is tracked. The advanced sonar technology is used at sound frequencies known to be above adult hearing levels, but may be audible to your pets. The makers of the app claim that Their “extensive testing has shown that this is not a constant problem for pets.”

With SleepScore you can also set the Smart Alarm with a snooze window of your choice. SleepScore stands out from the other apps in the App Store thanks to its intuitive design. For features like detailed data and analysis, as well as recommendations on how to sleep better, you need to subscribe to the premium version of the app. The premium version costs $ 5.99 (about Rs. 400) per month or $ 49.99 (about Rs. 3,600) per year.

Get it for – Android, iOS

We tested the apps, but didn’t cut them

We tested a few more sleep tracking apps, and while these haven’t been trimmed due to the accuracy of the sleep tracking and analysis they provide, we think they are worth checking out given the relatively simple features and user interface of both apps .

Sleep monitor

The sleep monitor tracks your sleep with a microphone. On the homepage itself you have various options to choose from the possible sleep disorders such as coffee, alcohol, smoking, etc.

Although Sleep Monitor’s sleep analysis is detailed, we have found that sleep tracking is not as accurate. During our attempt, we reported two sleep disorders, coffee and alcohol, before we started the persecution. We found that the sleep monitor was showing a certain amount of time as “awake” because we logged into the distractions and then displayed the data for sleep, starting with light sleep, even though we really hadn’t started sleeping. This happened even though the microphone function was activated.

Once you start tracking your sleep, you will no longer be able to navigate the app unless you finish your ongoing sleep session. We found this to be quite restrictive as we could only reset the wake-up alarm time once we had completely finished the sleep session.

If you are someone who is likely to indulge in some of the above sleep distracting factors, consider using the sleep monitor. The app is also a great choice for someone looking for a simplified user interface.

Get if for – Android

bedtime

Sleep Time is the app for those who just want to know when is the right time to wake up based on the time they sleep. It doesn’t track your sleep, nor is there any analysis of your sleep patterns. It divides your sleep into six cycles, each with an alarm attached. You can choose the number of sleep cycles you want. If you select the full 6 sleep cycles, the app will alarm after approximately 9 hours. However, you have the option to choose any number of cycles depending on how much sleep you want.

There is also a theme function from which you can choose the preferred color palette for your app. Other than that, Sleep Time doesn’t have much going for it. If you’re looking for an app that only tracks your sleep cycle and not your sleep pattern, this might be the app for you. The simplicity and lack of clutter might just be what some users are looking for.

Get it for – Android, iOS

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