With so many high-tech devices and Amazon-available tools out there targeting post-workout recovery, it can be easy to forget that one of the easiest ways to let your body get back to normal after training is through an activity you do routinely, without even thinking about — and have done for as long as you’ve been alive.
I’m talking, of course, about sleep.
Getting a good night’s rest can be one of the simplest ways to let your body recover properly, whether from an intense gym session or a lengthy run around the neighborhood. Still, if you’re looking to invest more in your sleep habits, you’re probably aware that catching your daily limit of Zzzs is easier said than done (just ask the scientists). And nowadays, there are tools to help you get the most out of that pillow time each evening, with sleep apps being a great accessory to aide in PRing your slumber.
These digital bedtime companions can be excellent tools for creating ideal scenarios that lull you into dreamland, each with their own approach and tactics. Some can even monitor your sleep cycles and mid-dream activity giving you a better picture of how your actions while awake affect your performance while prone. As such, finding the right sleep app for your specific needs can mean more than simply scrolling through the App Store. That’s where I come in.
How We Tested
As someone that’s suffered from insomnia in the past, I’ve had my fair share of experience with sleep apps, including a number of top picks included in this roundup. Across my months and years of used, I’ve constantly made note of each platform’s usability and features, as well as how influential they became in terms of my sleep patterns and performance.
Additionally, I’ve also looked at each app’s premium membership costs to see if they’re a worthwhile investment over time. Because let’s face it, any health-related platform, or any platform worth keeping on your home screen, is bound to come with a few extra fees down the road.
Editor’s note: A lot of these apps offer a limited free version (or brief free trials), which can be great for test runs with each respective service. For the best results, however, you almost invariably need to upgrade to some sort of paid membership, so that’s what we focused on with the pricing info. The prices shown indicate yearly subscription rates for better clarity, where appropriate.
Sleep Cycle
For a total package in terms of getting to sleep, monitoring sleep and offering advice on improved sleep, this app does all these tasks quite efficiently. Sleep cycle works through your phone or smartwatch’s accelerometer to track movements when asleep, turning all that data into a slew of graphs and charts to give you a clear and concise breakdown of your nightly activity. Plus, the modules that help get you toward that slumbering status are great and convenient across the sleek interface.
Sleep cycle can even track your audible habits when in slumber mode through its sound detection software. This technology can identify snoring, coughing and talking throughout the night, enabling you to see and listen to what is affecting your sleep. All this promise and performance does come at a detriment to your phone’s battery, though, which could leave your device drained by the time you wake up. I recommend taking advantage of Sleep Cycle’s watchOS platform, so your phone stays ready to tackle your mornings with a more full charge.
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Calm
If you’ve searched for meditation apps or platforms to help your mental fitness, odds are you’ve stumbled across Calm before. Well, the app’s staying power isn’t without reason, as its library of modules targeting not just sleep, but meditation, breath work and others is quite impressive. I’ve used Calm for plenty of endeavors outside of just falling asleep in an efficient manner, which is why it routinely holds a place on my home screen.
I also appreciate how Calm’s modules are time-convenient, meaning there are different programs across a range of times that allow me to choose which is right for my nightly routine. Admittedly, some of the available stories do drag on, leading to a little tossing and turning before my eyes shut. Also, the platform has a constant flow of nature sounds that activate immediately once you open the app. While this may promote the calming aesthetic Calm is going for, the constant noise can grow old rather quickly, especially when you know exactly what you’re looking for in the platform’s library.
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Insight Timer
While I did list this app at the price tag of $59.99 per year, trust me when I say you can mine out plenty of sleep-inducing modules without dropping a dime with Insight Timer. The free library of soundscapes, stories and meditation sessions numbers in the thousands, giving you plenty of access to audio bits that can gently carry you into your REM cycle.
I really like this sleep app for it’s user-friendly interface, which makes getting through the vast library more approachable. Still, however, I can see where athletes that aren’t as versed in listening to audio before bed can be a little overwhelmed in terms of where to start. The best advice I can give is to try a few sessions at first to get a feel for their pacing and structure, then take note of what you prefer most and fine-tune your selections from there. As stated before, there’s no buyer’s remorse with this helpful app, provided you don’t sign up for the premium membership prematurely.
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Oura
To effectively track your sleep throughout the night, you need to have some sort of sensor present on your body to chart your actions and heart rate. Rather than use your smartphone or smartwatch, which can easily get in the way of your normal sleep setup, the Oura app works through the brand’s companion ring sensor to pull vital data from the time your eyes close and open. I appreciate this unobtrusive design, as there’s less chances of you opening an app or toggling an improper button throughout the night.
Of course, in order to reap all the data-mining benefits of the Oura app, you need to invest in the ring itself, which can be an added $300–$350 dollars. Plus, some athletes have noted that while Oura offers a free ring sizing kit, it can be a bit of a hassle to order the correct size — don’t expect your normal ring size to match up perfectly with Oura’s chart.
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Headspace
Sometimes, a quick meditation session is all that’s needed to put your mind at ease before a night’s rest. For these needs, I’ve found Headspace to be the perfect vessel. The 45–55 minute “sleepcasts” are a favorite of mine, helping me visualize calming environments that put me in the perfect state to drift off. Additionally, these spaces are uploaded and refreshed daily, which can keep your nightly regimen fresh full of guiding, soothing experiences.
Of course, though, to unlock the true potential of Headspace, you will need to pay the premium subscription. This fee unlocks over 40 themed meditation courses, including ones specifically designed for improved sleep, as well as other sleepcast files. For less than $6 monthly, though, it’s a wise investment if you’re interested in meditation both from a nighttime standpoint as well as one from general wellness.
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Sleep Reset
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, can be a great solution for sleep-related issues. The practice helps you find out which thoughts and behaviors cause sleep problems or make them worse, and aides in guiding you to solutions through monitored programs. While a traditional sleep program could be expensive and time-consuming, Sleep Reset puts the power of CBT in your smartphone. Users answer a handful of questions at sign-up to better understand the root cause of their insomnia, and then you’re paired with a personal sleep expert to help create a 12-week program full of guidance and insight.
This expert-led program could be an excellent solution for athletes wanting further guidance along their journey to improved slumber, but all that help is not without a cost. At $900 for a year’s worth of treatment, this easily comes in as the most expensive sleep app in this roundup. Still, the advice and insight could be worth that price tag, if you’re serious about changing bad habits for the betterment of your rest.
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Reflectly
Ever lie in bed with a bucket’s worth of thoughts just spinning radically? It can help to get all those anecdotes and epiphanies out into the open through journaling before sleep, and in my testing, I really found Reflectly’s platform to provide a great service for this need. The guided prompts make it easy to reflect on the day, even taking on thoughts that would have kept me tossing and turning without fail.
As is typical with most apps, Reflectly offers a free seven-day trial period before you need to sign up for a premium subscription. This is where the platform’s major flaw came to fruition. While the $60 yearly fee is reasonable for apps of this nature, it is a bit annoying to find the same services available for just $20 per year for Android users. From my research, there’s no difference in offerings, so if cost equality is a higher moral for you, you may want to look elsewhere for an effective journaling platform.
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Sleep++
For those that live and die by their Apple Watch, this is the app for you. I appreciate how Sleep++ seamlessly integrates with Apple Health to keep all your records and data points in one convenient location. Plus, the features like a bedtime reminder and Morning Sleep Summary allow you to remain diligent in your practice while also getting realtime feedback on performance. There’s absolutely zero fees or subscriptions to deal with, too, provided you’re okay with the occasional ad or two (Sleep++ does offer a service for $1.99 that removes these ads).
The only thing missing from this otherwise impressive Apple Watch platform is readouts of progress over weekly and monthly cadences. The app doesn’t support such charts, which does fail in comparison to other smartwatch platforms like Garmin or others. Still, the fact that this (virtually) free app is accurate enough for routine use and includes key features designed to help you understand your slumber, we’re willing to give it a go.
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Spotify
Yes, you read that right. The same app you rely on to create the backdrop to every hard-hitting training session can also be the perfect tool for heading off to sleep. Spotify’s wide library includes a plethora of soothing soundscapes and ambient tracks ideal for setting the mood for catching Zzzs. When journaling and meditation aren’t cutting it for me, I’ll often just search through the catalog, pop on a track and slowly bask into a sweet level of slumber. After all, most of us already have the app downloaded, so why not make the most of that premium subscription?
Naturally, however, there are some drawbacks to using Spotify as your sole sleep app. For one, there aren’t any other modalities like journaling or meditation to offer varying points of improvement. Plus, if you nod off before the track has ended, odds are the app will continue to run. I’d recommend knowing that Spotify is at your disposal for some nights, but instead relying on another platform more dedicated to the craft.
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What Does a Sleep App Do?
Like a trusty fitness app or other platform used in daily occurrences, sleep apps are designed to help you get the most out of your nighttime activity. These platforms can range from soothing media players offering ambient noise and bedtime stories, to more involved tools offering journaling prompts and guided practices. Some sleep apps also utilize your phone or watch’s accelerometer to mine helpful data throughout your slumber, deciphering every movement, twitch and cough to give you a defined look at how your body’s reacting to the eyes-closed downtime.
To boil it down, sleep apps are general tools to help you catch the most Zzzs as possible, night in and night out. How they go about that, however, is dependent on their design and your personal wants.
Types of Sleep Apps
Getting a good night’s sleep doesn’t have a clearcut answer for every individual. In response to this, there are a handful of sleep app categories to help you out when it comes time to hit the hay.
Sleep-Tracking Apps
Utilizing your device’s built-in sensors, this style of sleep app can monitor such metrics as your time awake, time spent in certain sleep cycles, resting heart rate and more. This data can then be used to help infer about outside sources that led to good or poor readings, helping you stay on-track for days on end. Think of this style as the “smart scale” of sleep apps.
Music- and Sound-Based Apps
This category takes an audible approach to improving your nighttime. Sleep apps predominantly using music or soundscapes can fill your bedroom with soothing notes and ambient noise prime for getting your mind in a solid state for rest. Some even take those bedtime stories of childhood and reimagine their effectiveness for a more grown-up approach. If you’re just looking for a light nudge in the right direction with your rest, this can be an excellent place to start.
Journaling Apps
Journaling before bed can be a worthwhile habit to develop as it allows you to get all of those thoughts and epiphanies that cloud your mind out into the stratosphere. Sleep apps targeting journaling as a practice often use pre-designed prompts to get you started, with some even offering a “free writing” module to let your typing fingers run themselves into exhaustion (in a good way).
Guided Insight Apps
For those that want a little more help in correcting their sleep patterns, some sleep apps employ the use of experts and doctors to hone in on root causes to your insomnia. These can be excellent options for athletes that have struggled to find solutions on their own, but due to the more involved treatment, these sleep apps often carry a higher price tag.
Meditation Apps
Like journaling, meditation can also be a pleasing practice to help clear your mind for better, less stressful sleep. These apps utilize sessions of varying length to help you hit the pillow without any baggage. Many of the popular meditation apps often include modules solely designed for pre-sleep practice, too, allowing you to reap the benefits of mindfulness throughout the entirety of your day.
