When you're having trouble falling asleep, you'll do anything to get some shut-eye. Insomnia can cause significant problems in your life, including fatigue, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. But there's no need to suffer from sleepless nights any longer!
Did you know that your iPhone can significantly help? There are tons of great sleep apps for iPhone available that can track your sleep, help you relax, and even wake you up at the perfect time. And the best part is that many of these apps are free!
In this article, we'll examine why you might want to use iPhone apps for sleep and what you should look for when choosing one. Then, we'll share some of the best sleep apps for iPhone. Let's get started!
There are several reasons why you might want to use a sleep app. Maybe you have trouble falling asleep and want to track your sleep patterns. Or perhaps you're a light sleeper who wants to be woken up at the perfect time.
Whatever your reason, an app can help you get a better night's sleep. Here are some of the most common reasons people use sleep apps:
To track their sleep patterns: If you want to know how well you're sleeping, a sleep tracking app can be a major help. These apps use your iPhone's sensors to track your movement and breathing at night. They then give you a detailed sleep report to see how well you slept and make changes accordingly.
To relax before bed: Many iPhone apps for sleep include features to help you relax. This might consist of guided meditation, relaxation techniques, or bedtime stories. Having a calm mind before you sleep can make it much easier to fall asleep.
To wake up at the perfect time: Waking up feeling groggy is the worst. But with a sleep app, you can set an alarm for the ideal time-based on your sleep cycle-so you wake up feeling refreshed and ready to start your day.
There are many other reasons you might want to use a sleep app. But these are some of the most common.
Now that you know some of the reasons why you might want to use a sleep app, let's talk about what you should look for when choosing one. Here are some of the most important factors to consider when you're searching for the best sleep apps for iPhone:
Ease of use: You don't want an app so complicated that you can't figure out how to use it. Look for an app with a clean and straightforward interface that's easy to navigate.
Backed by science: The best sleep apps are based on genuine science. This means they are more likely to be effective in promoting sleep. There are several principles that have been proven to help people sleep better, such as psychoacoustics. Look for apps that have been tested by researchers.
Detailed sleep reports: If you're using an app to track your sleep, you'll want one that provides detailed sleep reports. This way, you can see how well you slept and make any necessary changes.
Relaxation features: If you're looking for an app to help you relax before bed, look for one that includes features like guided meditation, relaxation techniques, and white noise.
Intelligent alarm: If you want an app to wake you up at the perfect time, look for one with a smart alarm. This feature will wake you up during a light sleep cycle, so you won't feel groggy when you get out of bed.
Free trial: While finding a free sleep app for iPhone is rare, many sleep apps offer a free trial. This means you can try out the features before you commit to buying the app. It's a great way to see if an app is right for you before you spend any money.
Make sure to read the reviews before you download any iPhone apps for sleep. This will give you a good idea of what other people think of the app and whether or not it's right for you.
Now that you know what to look for in a sleep app let's look at some of the best iPhone apps for sleep.
Our own Pzizz app uses science-generated soundscapes designed to help you sleep. Through years of research using psychoacoustic principles, we believe we have created the best sleep app for iPhone. You don't have to take our word for it; independent researchers agree!
Pzizz offers a free version with the option to upgrade to the pro version for $7.99 per month or $49.99 a year. Upgrading gives you access to all our Dreamscapes, Focuscapes, and Narrations.
This app tracks your sleep and provides detailed reports on your sleep patterns. It also includes an intelligent alarm to wake you up at the perfect time. Other features include detailed sleep statistics, alarm melodies, and a sound library.
Sleep Cycle offers a one-week free trial, with the option to upgrade to the premium version for $9.99 per month or $29.99 per year.
Pillow tracks your sleep and provides detailed reports on your sleep patterns. It also includes audio recordings, sleep trends, and personalized insights. Its reports include info on REM, light, and deep sleep, as well as showing your awake time in color-coded graphs.
Pillow offers a free trial with subscriptions costing $4.99 a month, $12.99 for three months, or $39.99 for a year. The app is an iOS exclusive.
Mesmerize is the perfect way to relax with beautiful visuals, calming music, and guided meditation. The app's visuals are there to hypnotize and mesmerize. At the same time, the music is based on clinically validated principles to help your body relax. Guided meditations and nature sounds will help you on your journey, with rain, ocean, thunder, trains, and fans perfect for helping you doze off quickly.
Mesmerize-Visual Meditation offers a 3-day free trial with the option to upgrade to the premium version for $4.99 a week, $12.99 per month, or $59.99 a year.
This app includes a library of over 100 different sounds, including ocean sounds, nature sounds, and soothing music. You can combine and adjust each sound to make the perfect bedtime atmosphere.
Relax Melodies: Sleep Sounds offers a free selection, with the app's premium version costing a one-time $4.99.
Sleepio uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) techniques to help you sleep better. It includes a Sleep Diary, relaxation exercises, and sleep education. However, with sessions only lasting 20-minutes per week, some may find there isn't enough here.
Sleepio is a free sleep app for iphone, but users must create an account on the Sleepio website. You can only do this if your insurance or employer covers Sleepio.
With a library of "functional audio" content, Sound Machine-White Noise is scientifically validated to help you sleep. You can mix and match your favorite sounds alongside stories, meditations, and music, enabling you to create the ideal soundscape for relaxation.
Sound Machine-White Noise offers a 7-day free trial and costs $4.99 a week, $9.99 a month, or $59.99 a year.
Doze encourages you to "upgrade your sleep experience with ultra-relaxing sounds and stories." The app allows you to create your sleep soundtrack and customize it, including music, sounds, and relaxing stories, to make your personalized soundscape. The makers promote the app as a solution for anxiety, stress, and poor sleep.
Doze: Sleep Sounds-White Noise offers a free trial, and upgrades cost $2.99 a week, $7.99 a month, or $39.99 a year.
This app includes "digital pills" that you can take to help you sleep, relax, or focus. The pills are audio programs that use subliminal messaging and binaural beats to change your mood.
Digipill is initially free but comes with a range of in-app purchases. A "monthly prescription" costs $4.99.
This free app includes a library of 20 different sounds, including white noise, rain noise, binaural beats, temple bells, and other chants. The relaxing sounds are controlled by ten color-coded sliders, with myNoise focusing on blocking particular frequencies.
myNoise offers a free selection with their "all you can hear" bundle costing $17.99 as an in-app purchase.
Woah is a unique audio-visual experience that gives a "visual bath" of videos designed to relax and mesmerize. You can control the trippy visuals by touching the screen, with music and nature sounds adding to the built-in library of psychoacoustic soundscapes. You can favorite videos, and the library is available offline. While the aim of the app is to offer a trippy experience rather than being a sleep app, many users will find the visuals and music relaxing.
Woah-Trippy Visuals & Music offers a free trial with the option to upgrade to the premium version for $4.99 per week, $9.99 monthly, or $19.99 a year.
Simply Noise says that its "signature color noises are utilized in clinics, schools, and workplaces around the world to help people of all age groups and professions focus, relax, and sleep better." The app employs sound engineers from the film and video game industry to collate a library of white, pink, and brown noise to help you sleep and relax.
Simply Noise is free, with three additional sound packages costing between $0.99 and £1.99.
Primarily aimed at babies and children, Sound Sleeper included soothing sounds to help young children sleep at night. These include the sounds of a womb, a vacuum, or a room fan. There's also music included, with popular classical music and lullabies helping ensure a calm and relaxed night. There's even a sleep-tracking option!
Sound Sleeper is initially free, with the monthly version costing $6.99 or $45.99 a year.
Bliss guides you through breathing at your "Resonant Frequency." The app combines beautiful visuals and relaxing audio to create a "Visual Breathing" experience to aid relaxation. Research has shown that doing 12 minutes of resonant frequency breathing daily can transform your nervous system and let your body fall asleep faster.
Bliss-Visual Breathing offers a 7-day free trial and costs $4.99 a week, $12.99 a month, or $49.99 a year.
Endel creates personalized, algorithm-generated soundscapes based on your sleep schedule, the time of day, and desired mood. The app is "backed by neuroscience" and claims to help you calm your mind, boost productivity, soothe you to a night of deep sleep and power your movement.
Endel is free to try with the option to upgrade to the premium version for $15 per month.
Resonate focuses on breathing to encourage relaxation. The app guides you through breathing at your resonant frequency using visuals and calming audio, creating the effect of visual breathing. The creators have designed the app to improve symptoms of depression and anxiety as well as let you fall asleep quicker and sounder.
Resonate has a free trial and costs $4.99 a week, $12.99 a month, or $49.99 a year after that.
There are several great sleep apps available for iPhone users. Which one is best for you depends on your circumstances, but if you choose a sleep app that is based on scientific principles, offers a range of options, and is easy to use, then you can't go wrong! Plus, with most of the best sleep apps for iPhone coming with a free trial, you can test a few out before committing to one.
While several great iPhone apps for sleep are available, the best one for you will depend on your individual needs. While we recommend Pzizz above all others, some other great sleep apps include Sleep Cycle, and Pillow.
Yes! Sleep apps can help you get a better night's sleep by providing relaxing sounds and stories and tracking your sleep patterns. However, how well they work will depend on the individual app and your sleep habits.
While some apps listed above require a subscription to access all features, most offer free trials. Others, meanwhile, give you an acceptable level of functionality without needing to upgrade at all! So, yes-there are plenty of great free sleep apps for iPhone users.