Getting enough sleep is essential to a healthy mind and body. During sleep, the body undergoes a series of repairs that get you ready for the next day’s activities. Good sleep is not just an issue of the length of time but also one of quality. You’re not sleeping well if you don’t wake up feeling well-rested and refreshed after a night’s sleep. Poor quality sleep could be the result of an underlying disorder or an inconducive sleep environment. An app like Noisli, for instance, can help you set the right environment for better sleep. The app helps you feel relaxed through the use of ambient sounds and colors that make you feel at peace. Noisli lets you select a mix of personalized sleep sounds while eliminating unwanted background noise to help you create the perfect sleep environment.

Another factor needed for quality sleep is a healthy sleep cycle. Sleep occurs in a series of phases (cycles) with several implications for sleep quality. The sleep cycle regulates sleep and wake times by giving signals to the brain when it’s time to sleep or awaken. A disrupted or irregular sleep cycle will cause you to fall asleep and awaken at less than optimal times, and this can negatively impact your sleep quality. The light sleep stage is the best time to wake up. Waking up at the deep sleep stage will leave you feeling groggy and needing more time to rouse yourself. Apps like Sleep Cycle, for example, helps you get better sleep and achieve great results by analyzing and tracking your sleep patterns. The app uses your phone’s mic to detect your sleep movements by analyzing sounds and vibrations. The app then uses the data obtained to determine the sleep stage you’re in and decides the best time to wake you up within 30 minutes of the time you’ve chosen.

Now for some people, getting up from bed, especially when they’ve not had enough sleep, can be unpleasant. If you’ve ever experienced such, you’ll agree that the temptation to hit the snooze button on your alarm clock can be hard to resist. However, a smart alarm can help waking become a more pleasant experience. An appropriate example is the Good Morning Alarm Clock. It’s built with relaxing sounds that make it easy for you to wake up or even fall asleep. You can also personalize the app to wake you up to your favorite songs. Like the Sleep Cycle app, this app can monitor your sleep cycle to wake you up at the most optimal stage of sleep. Also, the Good Morning Alarm Clock app features a graphical presentation of essential statistics to help you monitor sleep quality and track sleep debt so you can stay healthy.