Voice of London

Yes, it is Murphy’s law! You cannot fall asleep in moments when you need it the most. Your mind just can’t shut up. Your thoughts go into imaginary situations that will never happen, you are thinking about what could go wrong, or what you didn’t say in the last argument with your colleague. It’s been an hour since you turn off the lights and any electronics in order to fall asleep faster. And still, it doesn’t work, so you check your Instagram just for a minute, but the minute turned into an hour. Boom, now you have only 5 hours until the alarm’s sound drive you crazy again.

A research by NPR shows that chronic insomnia affects 10-15 percent of adults and 25-35 of people have issues with Zzz’s quite often. Obviously, you are not alone and instead of counting sheep you might want to try a sleep app.

The following sleep apps are the most effective insomnia-fighters, available for iPhone and Android, so take a look and see which one would work best for you.

1.Relax Melodies
This app slips you in a natural deep, rejuvenating sleep. You can create your perfect sound mix, combining melodies and dashes of nature. Choosing a song depending on what you need in that exact moment will make you forget about the sleepless nights.

2.Sleepio
Sleepio teaches different cognitive and behavioural techniques every week. It helps in reaching a pure sleep by addressing key areas – your negative thoughts, your sleep, your lifestyle and your bedroom. In the sixth week, you graduate with an improved sleep pattern. Everything is backed up by scientific evidence, as clinical trials have shown that it helped people to fall asleep over 50% faster, reduce nighttime awakenings by 60% and boosted energy and concentration.

3.Calm
This is Apple’s winning meditation app. It helps not only for better sleep but can also improve focus, develop gratitude, reduce anxiety, etc. The beginner session is called 7 Days of Calm. It includes moving background scenes and calming sounds. There is also a calendar that tracks your meditations and “mindfulness reminder” where you can set a timer for the next session. The next step, suggested by the app, is their Masterclass which is more like series of talks about pursuing mindfulness. Finally, in case you miss your childhood bed stories, there are many sleep ones in there as well.

5.Pzizz
It is a perfect decision when it comes to overnight sleep or daytime naps. With its relaxing soundscapes, Pzizz can significantly improve your peacefulness. Also, there is a variety of tracks and you can choose male or female voiceover, as well as the volume of the music.

6.Sleep Time
This application creates personalised tracker for your sleep cycle. It provides pleasant sounds of rain, waves, etc., but more importantly, you can get a detailed analysis of every sleep session and your sleep trends. Sleep Time has an option to wake you up with phase alarm to make you feel refreshed.

7.Headspace
Last, but not least, Headspace is one of the most popular sleep apps. It is designed to give you a “shooting bedtime experience”. You can find sleep sounds, guided meditations and different visualisations. The meditation course is available for free but to get access to the full version you need to subscribe for 12.99$ per month.

All of the apps are free with optional in-app purchases.

Words: Tsvetelina Petrova | Subbing: Debora Kirilova