Daylight Savings Time Sleep Havoc?

(There’s an app for that.)

O’Brien Gunn

Some people treat sleeping like a competitive Olympic sport while others can’t remember the last time they had a full night’s rest. Add to that the weirdness of changing our natural circadian rhythms by an hour (oh, hello 6pm darkness!) and honey, we’re all types of messed up. What’s worse is disaster and danger can result from not getting enough sleep, from motor vehicle crashes and industrial disasters, to medical errors. Not only that, but the CDC reports that individuals who don’t spend enough time in SlumberLand are more likely to suffer from depression, diabetes, increased mortality, hypertension, and an overall reduced quality of life.

How much sleep you actually need varies from person to person, and it depends a lot on age. According to the National Institutes of Health, school-age children should get at least 10 solid hours of sleep a day, teens need anywhere from nine to 10 hours, and adults should get seven to eight hours.

So how do you fare in the Department Zzz? Monitor your patterns with an app. Sleep apps not only track your sleep, they’ll let you know if you’re sleeping as good as you think you are, and offer tips for improving your sleep if you’re not doing so well.

Sleep as Android

Available only for Android, this app creates graphs of your sleep habits and will warn you if you’re not getting enough. What’s more, it can monitor sounds in your bedroom, record you talking in your sleep, and inform you of potential sleep illnesses. You can also program Sleep the app to gently wake you at the best time in the morning according to your sleep patterns and how deeply you go under. The first two weeks of use are free, but after that it’s three bucks for an unlock code.

Sleep Cycle

Exclusive for the iPhone, Sleep Cycle monitors your sleeping habits and can also wake you at the best time. It’s recommended that you place your phone next to your pillow so you can get the most use out of the accelerometer. For a dollar, you’ll be able to find out how much you toss and turn and when you wake up in the middle of the night and have the information graphed.

In addition to these apps, try going to sleep and waking at the same time (as much as possible), increasing your light exposure throughout the day, and relaxing before bedtime. By improving your sleeping habits, you can wake the next morning feeling ready to take over the waking world. Or I-25N.