Review: the Sleep Cycle App Completely Changed How I Sleep

The Sleep Cycle app optimizes your morning alarm for when you're the furthest out of your REM cycle. · The app finds the perfect moment within a ... 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Health TheSleepCycleappfindsthebestmomenttowakeyouupeverymorninganditcompletelychangedhowIsleep By JuliaPugachevsky Updated Mar21,2022 SaveArticleIcon Abookmark FacebookIcon TheletterF. Emailicon Anenvelope.Itindicatestheabilitytosendanemail. Shareicon Ancurvedarrowpointingright. FacebookIcon TheletterF. Facebook Emailicon Anenvelope.Itindicatestheabilitytosendanemail. Email Twittericon Astylizedbirdwithanopenmouth,tweeting. Twitter Snapchaticon Aghost. Snapchat Fliboardicon AstylizedletterF. Flipboard Pinteresticon Theletter"P"styledtolooklikeathumbtackpin. Pinterest Linkicon Animageofachainlink.Itsymobilizesawebsitelinkurl. CopyLink Downloadtheapp TheSleepCycleappwakesmeupattheoptimaltimeeverymorningandhelpsmetrackmyoverallsleeppatterns. JuliaPugachevsky/Insider;SleepCycle Redeemnow Whenyoubuythroughourlinks,Insidermayearnanaffiliatecommission.Learnmore. TheSleepCycleappoptimizesyourmorningalarmforwhenyou'rethefurthestoutofyourREMcycle. Theappfindstheperfectmomentwithinaspecifiedtimeframeforyouralarm. IusetheSleepCycleappeverydayandit'scompletelychangedhowgrumpyIaminthemorning. Gethonestreviewsontopproducts&services—deliveredweeklytoyourinbox. Loading Somethingisloading. Emailaddress Byclicking‘Signup’,youagreetoreceivemarketingemailsfromInsider aswellasotherpartneroffersandacceptour TermsofServiceand PrivacyPolicy. FreefromSleepCycle Whenitcomestomysleepinghabits,I'lladmitI'mlucky:OnceI'mout,IamOUT.Ican'tmakeitthroughaglassofwinewithoutnoddingoffat10:30p.m.Nametheplace—agamenightwithfriends,"SummerHouse"marathonsinfrontofthecouch—andIwillconkout.However,thisalsomeansthatwakingmeupwhenI'mnotreadyisakintonudgingahibernatingbear.Iwon'tjustwakeupgroggyandannoyed—I'lllookattheperson(orjustmyphone)whowokemeupliketheyjustruinedmyentiredaywithoutrepair,whichtheydid!Thankfully,afewyears,back,IcameuponSleepCycle,anappthatrecordsyouwhileyousleep(soundscreepy,I'llexplain!)towakeyouupatthebestpossiblemoment. WhatdoestheSleepCycleappdo?SleepCycle'spremiseissimple:Itwakesyouupwithina30-minutetimeframeofyourchoosing,basedonwhenyoursleepisthelightest.Forexample,ifIhavetogetupby7:30a.m.atthelatest,theappwillwakemeupsometimebetween7:00and7:30. Theappletsyoupickwhenyouwanttowakeup,withtimesavailableinincrementsof5. SleepCycle Sincesleepiscyclical,theappcanpredict,withgreataccuracy,whenI'mmostawakebasedonwhenI'mmovingaroundthemost. IfI'mtossingandturningat7:10,thealarmwillgooffthenratherthan7:30,eventhoughI'mtechnicallystillasleep.(R.E.M.,thedeepestsleepstage,iswhenyourbodybecomesimmobile,soyoudefinitelydon'twanttobewokenupthen—thatexplainsthegrogginesspeoplefeelwhentheirstandardalarmclocksgooffinthemiddleofthissleepphase). HowmuchistheSleepCycleapp?IusethefreeversionofSleepCycle,whichcomeswithallofthefeaturesabove.ButI'vealsotriedPremium($9.99permonth;$40fortheyear),whichisgreatifyoucouldusespecialfeaturestohelpyoufallasleeporfigureoutwhyyoustruggleto. OnePremiumfeatureIlikedwastrackingdifferentfactors,likealcoholorexercise,toseehowmuchofanimpacttheyhaveonmysleep.Theresultswerepredictable(joggingisgreat!Alcohol,notsomuch.)butitwasstillenlighteningtoseesuchadirectcorrelationbetweenmargaritasandmorninggrumpiness. Constoconsider Theappshowsyouapproximatelyhowlongyouwereactuallyasleepfor,aswellasyourweeklyoverview. SleepCycle TheonlyrealdownsideI'veexperiencedisthatIshareabedwithmypartner,andsometimeshe'llrustlearoundbeforeIdo,triggeringthealarm(andsubsequentglaresfromme).Butwiththeamountofhealthy,consistentsleepIgetfromthisapp,Icanmanagetheoccasionalrudeawakening. TheonlyotherthingisifIaccidentallycloseoutoftheappinsteadofhittingthebuttontostopthealarm,theappdoesn'tseemtorecordtheamountoftimeIslept,somydatafortheweekisincomplete.SinceIgenerallydon'tlookbackonthatdatatoomuch,Idon'tmind,butforanyonetryingtotracktheirhabits,thiscanbeanannoyingthingtohavetoremember! ThebottomlineItcansoundreallyfinicky,needingtobewokenupattheexactrighttime,butitmakessuchahugeimpactonmylife.Tome,itfeelsasdrasticasbeingwokenupbysomeonelightlydrawingthecurtainsinsteadofyellingthroughamegaphone.Beyondtheday-to-daybenefits,SleepCyclewillshowmemyfullweek'srecap,soIcannoticewhenI'vehadmultiplenightsinarowofonlygettingsixhoursofsleep(andhelpmeimmediatelyunderstandwhyI'msocranky). It'salsotaughtmethatgettingatleastsevenhoursofsleepdoesn'tmeanhoppingintobedat11p.m.andwakingupat6a.m.—Ihavetofactorinthetimeittakestoactuallyfallasleep,whichcantakeupto30minutesoranhour(especiallyif,likeme,you'reuptappingthroughTikToksuntil11:45fornoreason). FreefromSleepCycle JuliaPugachevsky JuliaistheeducationandpersonaldevelopmenteditorontheInsiderReviewsteam.SinceOctober2020,she'swrittenaboutapopularHarvardpersuasivewritingcourse,afreeUPenncoursethatexplainsthesciencebehindCOVID-19vaccines,andabestsellingself-helpbookseenalloverTwitter.She'salsoorganizedandeditedaseriesonhowtogetunstuckduringthepandemicaswellaswhattodowhenyougetrejectedfromgrad,medical,orlawschool. ThroughherworkasasexandrelationshipseditoratCosmopolitanandBuzzFeed,aswellasafreelancelifestylereporter,Julialearnedthatshelovesinterviewingexpertsandputtingtogetherstoriesthatinspirepeopletomakesmallyeteffectivechangesintheirlives.Juliaispassionateaboutaccessible,affordableeducationandislivingproofthate-learninghasthepotentialtomakecareertransitionsmoreattainable:Duringquarantine,shecompletedafive-monthCourseraMasterTrackcertificateprograminInstructionalDesignfromtheUniversityofIllinoiswhilestartingherroleatInsider. YoucansayhitoJuliaatjpugachevsky@insider.comorshootheraDMonTwitterorInstagram(sheis@jaypugzonboth). LearnmoreabouthowourteamofexpertstestsandreviewsproductsatInsiderhere. Learnmoreabouthowwerevieweducationalandpersonaldevelopmentproducts. Readmore Readless SignupforInsiderReviews'weeklynewsletterformorebuyingadviceandgreatdeals. Youcanpurchaselogoandaccoladelicensingtothisstoryhere. Disclosure:WrittenandresearchedbytheInsiderReviewsteam.Wehighlightproductsandservicesyoumightfindinteresting.Ifyoubuythem,wemaygetasmallshareoftherevenuefromthesalefromourpartners.Wemayreceiveproductsfreeofchargefrommanufacturerstotest.Thisdoesnotdriveourdecisionastowhetherornotaproductisfeaturedorrecommended.Weoperateindependentlyfromouradvertisingteam.Wewelcomeyourfeedback.Emailusatreviews@insider.com. 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