I'm not a morning person; I have trouble waking up.
I would always wake up to the sound of my alarm clock, rubbing my sleepy eyes.
However, when I tried using the smartphone app "Sleep Cycle," I found it to be very user-friendly.
This time, I'll be introducing this app.
(Free and paid versions available)
What is "Sleep Cycle"?
"Sleep Cycle" is an alarm clock app that wakes you up when you are in a light sleep phase.
Sleep consists of light sleep and deep sleep.
Being woken up during deep sleep can be unpleasant because your consciousness is forcibly pulled up from a deep state.
However, if you are woken up during a light sleep, you can wake up easily and there is no temptation to go back to sleep.
Up until now, I've been trying various things to figure out how to adjust this light sleep to my wake-up time.
Humans go through cycles of light and deep sleep every hour and a half, so when I heard that it's better to go to sleep six or seven and a half hours before the time you want to wake up, I would try doing that.
However, it didn't work out very well, and I started just going to sleep whenever I could.
「Sleep Cycle」 は、マイクによって、おそらく寝返りの音やいびきなどを拾い、浅い眠り・深い眠りを区別しているのではないかと思います。
I was skeptical about whether it was possible to distinguish between them in that way, but now I can definitely feel its effectiveness.
If there are other people who snore loudly, you can also set it to detect snoring using an accelerometer.
Instructions on how to use it
First, you set the time you want to wake up on a screen like this.
Because the system is designed to wake you up during light sleep, it cannot be set to wake you up at a specific time.
Therefore, set a time range by which you would like to wake up.
Once you've set it up, simply place it by your bedside as shown in the picture.
The key points are to point the microphone towards yourself and to keep it charging.
Since the device uses sound to determine the depth of sleep, accuracy will decrease if the microphone is not pointed towards you.
Also, since you'll be using your smartphone all night, the battery will be consumed to a considerable extent.
Therefore, it's important to keep it connected to a charging cable.
That's about it for the basic usage, but you can customize various settings to your liking in the settings screen.
Alarm sounds come in several varieties, including nature sounds.
You can set a specific song, or you can have it played randomly every day.
You can also customize other settings such as holiday settings and snooze settings.
You should customize it to your liking.
My sleep data accumulation
What's interesting about "Sleep Cycle" is that it allows you to record your own sleep data.
Looking at this graph, I can see that my sleep cycle (the intervals between peaks and troughs on the graph) is indeed about 1 to 1.5 hours.
Also, it was fun because it automatically recorded my snoring.
Since you'll never have the opportunity to hear your own snoring, it might be interesting to listen to it at least once.
The more time you spend snoring, the worse your sleep quality is, so you should be careful.
さらにいびきの音によっては、睡眠時無呼吸症候群などの症状も確認できるため、そういった不安をお持ちの方は参考になるかもしれません。
In addition, you can manage your sleep in the following ways.
I'm not sure what data is used to determine "sleep quality," but I suspect it's probably based on the amount of deep sleep.
Since it also shows average figures for each country, I think it can be a good tool for reflecting on your own sleep.
summary
"Sleep Cycle" is an app worth trying for anyone who wants to wake up feeling refreshed in the morning.
I recommend trying the free version first, and if you like it, then try the paid version.
I bought the paid version when it was on sale for around 300 yen, but please note that the price fluctuates from time to time.
There are several other similar apps available, so if this one doesn't suit you, it might be worth trying a few others.
We spend about one-third to one-quarter of our lives sleeping.
Improving your sleep can have a significant impact on your sense of well-being.
If you're interested, please give it a try.