Exploring the Pros and Cons of Sleep Tracking Apps
Getting a good night’s sleep is important for our health, wellbeing, and productivity, but a majority of people struggle with consistently achieving it. To aid them, sleep tracking apps are becoming increasingly popular. Users can keep a log of their sleep patterns, track their sleeping habits, and even utilize soundscapes to lull themselves into the deep sleep so essential for avoiding fatigue.
Given the wide range of apps available claiming to enhance sound sleep, it is helpful to learn more about their pros and cons. Insomniacs and otherwise restless sleepers can benefit from a greater understanding of the benefits and downsides associated with sleep tracking apps.
Whether you find yourself struggling to drift off each night, or want to keep tabs on your sleep patterns, it may be useful to know the pros and cons of sleep tracking apps.
The Pros of Sleep Tracking Apps
The primary benefit of sleep tracking applications is the access users have to detailed records of their sleep cycles. Sleep tracking apps allow users to record and monitor their own sleep activities, including the amount of time spent in each stage of sleep and the times when they wake up. This data can be extremely helpful in detecting sleep disorders, developing an appropriate sleep schedule, and forming better sleeping habits.
Additionally, many of these sleep tracking apps feature soundscapes in addition to general sleep tracking. Such calming sounds can make it easier to drift off to sleep and even support staying asleep throughout the night.
The Cons of Sleep Tracking Apps
The main drawback of sleep tracking apps is that one’s movement, especially those caused by minor awakenings or tossing/turning, is not detected by all apps. Getting the app to accurately record the data may be difficult if a person moves regularly during sleep. Moreover, a sleep tracker app is only as accurate as the information entered: if users are irregular with their entries, it may lead to inaccuracy, and possibly even the wrong diagnosis if attempting to identify problems.
While it is unlikely that a sleeper’s data will be compromised, there is a risk of hardware and software malfunction, and apps can partially fail to capture data correctly. If there is an interruption in the network connection shortly after the user has had a good night’s sleep, the data would be lost, and the user would need to re-enter it to ensure the most accurate assessment.
Finally, sleep tracking apps can be quite intrusive as they continuously monitor the person’s movements, which may be disconcerting for some.
The Benefits and Risks in Sum
- Having access to detailed records of sleep cycles
- Potential to detect and address sleep disorders
- Utilization of soundscapes makes it easier to drift off to sleep
- Inability of some apps to detect minor movements during sleep
- Requirement of accurate data entry
- Potential for hardware/software malfunction
- Feeling of intrusion due to continuous monitoring
Conclusion
For those wishing to sleep better, monitoring sleep cycles is an excellent start. Sleep tracking apps offer an array of pros such as the access to detailed records and the ability to address sleep disorders, and adding soundscapes makes it easier to drift off to sleep. However, apps suffer from potential malfunctions and inaccuracy, while some users may feel intrusive with the monitoring. Regardless, for those wishing to improve their sleep, it may be worth exploring sleep tracking apps to their fullest.