Again, a different type of post to what I usually do and, don't worry, I will get back to reviewing beauty products! There are two main reasons why I've taken a break from beauty reviews and they are: 1) since starting to write my dissertation my skincare routine has taken a bit of a back seat (tragic I know!) and 2) my dwindling student budget hasn't allowed me to buy anything new in a long time. That being said I have my eye on a few Origins products so keep your eyes peeled for those reviews!
Anyway onto this post! I was going to do just one post of my favourite apps I've been discovering over the last few months but I just had too much to say about each one (shocker!) so thought each deserved their own individual time to shine.
Starting with Sleepbot:
I've been using this app for about two weeks now and I actually really like it. Now don't get me wrong it's not life-changing but from a nosey point of view it is quite interesting information to know. I initially sought out a sleep tracker because, for a while now, it seems like no matter how much sleep I get I am always, always tired. I started to wonder why that was and thought maybe seeing what goes on in my sleep will give me some answers and it pretty much did.
Sleepbot works by keeping your phone or tablet on your bed with you while you sleep. There are three things it is designed to track and you can choose which settings to turn on depending on what you want to know. These settings are "motion tracker" which measures your movements during the night, "sound tracker" which record the audio in your room and "smart alarm" which uses your movements within a 30 minute period of your set alarm time to determine when you're at your lightest stage of sleep, making waking up easier.
Just set an alarm, choose what you'd like to track and tell Sleepbot that you're going to sleep, simple!
Both tracking results are recorded and displayed on a graph, which spikes when you move or when there is noise. I always have the motion tracker on because I thought that might be where my sleeping issues come from. I was right. Most nights the graph shows just how restless I am, showing increased movement every 15-20 minutes; no wonder I wake up shattered! I haven't tried the sound tracker yet purely for wimpy reasons; I'm honestly half expecting it to playback some form of ghost activity which may be silly but I'm convinced my house is haunted and I'd rather not confirm that!
Bad nights' sleep (top) compared to a good night's sleep (bottom)
The app also give you a chance to rate your sleep out of 5 stars and write a short comment on it, whether that's a note about a dream/nightmare you had or just to sum up how you think you slept.
Rating system
All your sleep data is recorded, making it easy for you to go back and check previous nights'/weeks' sleep. Other information it gives you includes how much sleep you owe yourself in terms of getting 8 hours of sleep a night, how long you're asleep for (also shown in graph form) and what your average sleep time is.
All of your recorded nights' sleep archived
The number of hours sleep you have during the week plotted on one easy to read graph
This app is only available on android but I know my housemate has a pretty good one on her iPhone (don't we sound like a fun house!) that also tells you at what stages you were in light, deep and REM sleep so that could be interesting too!
All in all it's a great app that can show you some really interesting things about your sleep pattern. It's free so you really have nothing to lose and it's sort of addictive! I've become quite excited about checking my sleep in the morning (it's not like I experienced the real thing or anything...). Sad I know but I'd definitely recommend it!
Anyone else tried a sleep tracker app? I'd love to know your thoughts!
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