The Best Sleep Apps of 2020

Maintaining good sleep hygiene involves relaxing before bed with a hot shower, reading a paperback, listening to gentle music, or doing light stretches or yoga. It is inadvisable to sleep with your cell phone by your bed or under your pillow. Taking a break from cell phone radiation while you sleep and removing the distraction of alerts can help you sleep better and for longer.

There are instances when sleeping in the same room as your cell phone is unavoidable, such as travelling, using your cell as an alarm clock, and using sleep apps. A sleep app can track your sleep, play calming music or meditations, and give you an insight into your nocturnal habits. This knowledge could help you create a nighttime routine for better quality sleep. Let’s check out the best relax and sleep apps.   

Sleep aid apps can be beneficial in helping you evaluate your sleep habits

Types of Sleep Apps 

• Calm - for Meditation
• Headspace - for Mindfulness Exercises and Meditations
• Sleep Cycle - for Sleep Tracking
• Relax Melodies - for Sleep Sounds
• White Noise - for White Noise Machine
• SleepScore - for Sleep Accountability
• Slumber - for Sleep Hypnosis and ASMR
• Noisli - for Creating Sleep Sounds 
• Recolor - for Adult Coloring Book
• Relax and Sleep Well -  for Easing Anxiety 

List of Best Sleep Apps 

Best Meditation App - Calm

Calm is a sleep meditation app that has a clean interface, easy to use, and offers bedtime stories (read by Kate Winslet, Matthew McConaughey, Stephen Fry, and many others) has calming music, and guided meditations to induce glorious restful sleep. You can try Calm for free and a yearly subscription costs around $70.   

Best Mindfulness Exercises and Meditations App - Headspace 

Headspace is another sleep meditation app similar to Calm. With bedtime stories to lull you off to sleep. Try a breathing meditation to bring your focus into the present moment if struggling to sleep. Full of ambient sounds and music, Headspace is easy and fun to navigate. Try for free or subscribe for around $68 per year. 

Best Sleep Tracking App - Sleep Cycle  

One of the best sleep tracker app for visual analysis is Sleep Cycle. It monitors your sleep and wakes you up in a gentle way during your lightest sleep phase. You can also set an alarm for a specific time but waking gently every morning is better for dream recall, so this app could be great for those who are keeping a dream journal for personal or medical reasons. Check out the apps weekly reports for an analysis of what may be disturbing your slumber. Free and premium versions available for around $30.

Best App for Sleep Sounds - Relax Melodies 

A soothing sleep sounds app for endless relaxation, Relax Melodies allows you to create your own sleep sounds with additional music from your own library for a tailored sleep set. With additional sleep meditations, and bedtime stories, this app has a lot to offer those who are struggling with insomnia. Try for free or upgrade to premium for around $25 per year. 

Best App for White Noise Machine - White Noise 

White noise (the sound of an air conditioner, ceiling fan, refrigerator motor, etc) are some long standing sleep aids, especially for tinnitus sufferers. White Noise is one of those apps to help you sleep if you don’t fancy sleeping beside the fridge every night! White noise includes the sound of gentle waves lapping, light rain, summer sounds, and nature to help bring you back from distraction and into the present moment. Free and paid versions available for $0.99.  

Best App for Sleep Accountability - SleepScore 

SleepScore can help you find your sleep weaknesses and strengths by analysing the phases of your sleep patterns. The app uses your microphone to record your nocturnal movements and sounds, displaying the information in a chart. Get advice from experts within the app and compare your results against an ideal night’s rest for someone your gender and age. Free and premium versions available for $50 per year.  

Best App for Sleep Hypnosis and ASMR - Slumber 

Slumber is a sleep sounds app full of guided meditations and soothing sounds. Hear bedtime stories read by therapeutic hypnotist Dan Jones who uses his professional techniques to gently guide you to sleep. Get 10 episodes for free, upgrade to premium for ASMR (Autonomous sensory meridian response) and breath control guided meditations. Free and paid version available for around $50 per year.   

Best App for Creating Your own Sleep Sounds - Noisli 

A sleep sounds app that is customizable for a personal mix of sleep and work sounds, Noisli can be used as a backing track to your busy work days to boost productivity. Use their plain text editor for distraction free writing. At night, the app can take on another form, switching focus to relaxation and sleep. Free, Pro, and business plans available. Free, Pro, and Business plans available between $10 and $25 per month. 

Best App for Adult Coloring Book for Relaxation - Recolor 

Relax and sleep apps generally come in the form of guided meditations, sleep sounds, and bedtime stories. But, Recolor is different and helps you relax before bed by coloring your stress away in their adult coloring book. There are thousands of themes and scenes to choose from, let your inner child run free and color yourself happy with Recolor. Free and paid version available for around $32 per year.    

Best App for Easing Anxiety - Breathwrk

Sleep music apps can help you relax before bed but if you want to learn how to get nighttime anxiety under control, Breathwrk can get you there. With breathing exercises to calm, sooth, balance a stressed mind, or relax you for a good night’s sleep, and it’s free.  

Best android sleep app: Sleep Cycle 

Best iphone sleep app: Calm 

Can I use a Sleep App Without having Cell Phone in my Bedroom?    

• When using a sleep aid app, especially those that record your every movement, use the app for a set time only to gather your results charts. Use it for a month or two rather than sleeping with it every night
• Use a bluetooth speaker If using sleep music apps so you don’t need to sleep with your phone in your bedroom
• Use the app in Airplane mode if possible 
• Be mindful of apps that record sound/video, your privacy is valuable 

Conclusion  

Sleep aid apps can be beneficial in helping you evaluate your sleep habits. If you are suffering with insomnia or have a hard time easily falling asleep at night, a sleep app could be worth a try. The best sleep app for you could be a bedtime story app read by celebrities or a soothing hypnotist. The best sleep cycle app will tell you how many times you enter REM sleep and wake you gently during your lightest sleep phase. 

Use a bluetooth speaker in your bedroom and keep your cell phone in the hallway if you can. This will keep distractions out of your bedroom and unnecessary cell phone radiation away from you as you enjoy restorative sleep. The best sleep apps for wearables include Fitbit Versa 2, Beautyrest, and Oura Ring. These offer additional data such as blood oxygen levels, heart rate, and body temperature.