No matter what challenges your day presents, you will be better prepared to deal with them if you have had a restful night. According to the NIH, sleep experts recommend getting at least seven hours of sleep each night, but some techniques, like scrolling through social media or obsessively checking email, can actually interfere with downtime, so take advantage of your iPhone and its Bedtime Mode . android. But other techniques can actually help you maximize the shut-eye you get. Sleep apps and devices, such as fitness trackers, sleep machines, blue light glasses, and smart light bulbs, can help you fall asleep and stay asleep. We’ve tried several tools that have worked for us, and put them together here so you can see if they work for you too.
headspace
Personally, the best thing I do when I sleep is keep my phone out of the bedroom, so it might seem ironic to add smartphone apps to that list. But Headspace shows the opposite effect social media has on sleep. Like Hatch Restore, this iOS and Android app has an extensive library of meditations and exercises to help you relax and fall asleep.
I prefer shorter, relaxing segments that last a few minutes and help me do a full body scan to relax. The longer “Sleepcast” runs about 45 minutes and tells the story in a calm voice. There are even a few Star Wars themed stories that made me want to get up and see more. mandalorian. Sleep music and soundscapes combine ambient sounds, tones and melodies and can last up to 500 minutes. And most importantly, we have a “Night SOS” page with guided exercises to help you get back to sleep if you wake up from a bad dream, work stress, etc.
An annual subscription costs $70, or you can pay $13 per month. In addition to sleep content, we also offer weekly meditations and sessions to help with breathing, stress management, and focus, which can also help you sleep. If you decide to bring Headspace into your bedroom, make sure your phone’s Focused Sleep mode or Bedtime mode is turned on before doing so. Otherwise, nightly spam emails and IM notifications will undo all the good work your sleep app has just done.
$13 at Headspace
Photo: Amy Skorheim / Engadget
Like the previous generation, Hatch Restore 2 is part sunrise alarm clock, part sleep sound speaker, and is programmed through an app filled with constantly refreshing sleep content.
This new model adds a fabric overlay over the sunrise lights and comes in more muted colors. It also has a new shape with large, tactile buttons for easy feel even in the dark. The concave button starts the sleep music/sounds and the convex button controls the morning routine.
Everything else is controlled through the Hatch app. The app includes a vast library of sleep stories, meditations, music, and white noise to help you fall asleep and stay asleep, as well as a variety of wake-up pep talks and stretches. I felt energized in the morning. The problem is that the free version includes only a small portion of the library. Full access costs $5 per month. When I was reviewing the device, I thought I would pay for the testing period and cancel. But after a few months, I’m hooked enough with the nighttime “Ambient Overlook” tune and Dane’s morning “Jump Start” that I’m happy to keep paying.
$200 on Amazon
Oh my
Oura’s smart ring tracks your activity during the day and your sleep at night (or whenever you go to bed), giving you an overall score from 1 to 100 each morning. Using temperature, movement, blood oxygen, and pulse sensors, Oura gains insight into how long you spend in different sleep stages and uses that sleep data to give you suggestions on how you can get better sleep. When we tested it, we admired the data it provided while fitting seamlessly into our daily lives, calling it “the perfect wearable for people who don’t like wearables.” After wearing them for a few days, reviewers quickly began to ignore their presence. This means you’re probably much more likely to wear one to bed than a fitness band.
Because there is no screen, all of Oura’s information is provided through a companion app. The lack of a screen can also shorten battery life by up to 7 days. This is an important feature because a sleep tracker won’t help you if you need to use the charger at night.
$399 at Oura
xiaomi
In our guide to budget fitness trackers, the Xiaomi Mi Band 8 beat all the others as it has an easy-to-navigate interface and is one of the most comfortable bands to wear while sleeping. Unlike the Apple Watch and most other smartwatches that need to be charged every night, the fitness tracker can be used for a week or two before needing to be recharged. And in the case of Mi Band 8, I was able to use it for about 2 weeks with just 30 minutes of charging.
We were impressed with the level of detail provided by Sleep Insights. Also, unlike Fitbit devices, Mi Band 8 does not require a subscription to access all data and offers its features for free. The sub-$50 price makes it even more attractive, and it could be a contender for a sleep-only device, especially if you already have another smartwatch you like for daytime use.
$44 on Amazon
Photo: Sam Rutherford / Engadget
If you don’t want a wearable at all, Eight Sleep’s Sleep Pod 3 tracks your metrics and provides a sleep score. It also warms or cools the sides of your bed and wakes you up with subtle vibrations under your chest. A mattress and cover combo costs between $3,000 and $4,400, depending on the size and thickness of the mattress, making it significantly more cost-effective than traditional wearables. Most of the cost is in the cover, which regulates temperature by hiding the tube through which warm or cold water flows from the outer base, while sensors in the cover monitor sleep.
Buying just the cover will save you $900 to $1,900 off the sticker price, but it’s still not cheap. Additionally, access to all sleep tracking features requires a $19 monthly subscription. But reviewer and new dad Sam Rutherford, who scored an 81 in our review, said the Pod 3 gave him the best sleep he’s ever had.
$3,395 at Eight Sleep
Photo: Amy Skorheim / Engadget
The Wiim Wake-up Light is also a sunrise alarm and silencer, but it’s cheaper than Restore 2 and doesn’t require a subscription. The round design has a high-gloss finish in place of the Restoration’s muted aesthetic. As a sleep machine, the Wiim offers about 40 sounds, including nature scenes, music, and white/pink/brown noises.
It’s also a smart speaker, so you can take advantage of music services like Spotify, Deezer, Tidal, and more. It has Alexa built-in, and although I prefer having a listening device in my bedroom, it’s pretty cool to ask for that PJ Harvey song stuck in your head or the weather forecast when you’re getting dressed. The buttons built into the device can be a bit confusing, and I wish there was a way to set podcasts or individual tracks as alarms, but the sound that comes with the slowly brightening lights is a fun way to start the day. .
$129 on Amazon
philips hugh
We think the Philips Hue White + Color is the best smart light bulb you can buy, and certain features can even help you sleep, such as programming them to change to warmer colors closer to bedtime. Not only will you get a subtle hint that it’s time to wind down, but warm tones can help prepare your brain for sleep by lowering levels of blue light, which is similar to sunlight. You can even control your lights with your voice, so instead of getting out of bed and turning them off, you can just ask Alexa or Google Assistant.
$50 on Amazon
felix gray
Speaking of blue light, it is not good for sleep. But the habit of staring at the screen doesn’t go away. This is why blue light blocking glasses exist. I admit that at first I thought it was a gimmick, but I’ve since come to rely on the pair I bought from Felix Gray. It seems the science has been proven to see a difference in your sleep quality and patterns when you wear it and when you don’t. At first, I only wore it in the evenings, that is, when I was working past 5pm or still on the computer. Now I basically wear them all day because I feel like they help my eyes strain a lot less. Prescription or not, there are enough styles to make it your own.
$148 at Felix Gray
bear lover
You’ve probably met someone who swears by weighted blankets. Our colleague Nicole Lee is one of them. Struggling with her insomnia, she found that using the Bearaby weighted blanket “helped me fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer,” and recommends the blanket as one of her best self-care gifts. Unlike other heavy blankets filled with glass or plastic beads, the Bearaby blanket is hand-woven from thick cotton, tencel, or eco-velvet, making it look more like a giant scarf than your average sleep aid.
$200 from Berarabee
manta sleep
While blue light isn’t good for you before bed, any type of light that hits your eyelids can prevent you from reaching deeper levels of REM sleep. We recommend Manta’s sleep mask along with blackout curtains and night light blocking features. There are a ton of sleep masks on the market, but Engadget’s Igor Bonifacic thinks this one is better than the rest and recommends it to travelers in his guide. It has removable and repositionable eyecups for a custom fit and backs up its claim to block 100% ambient light. You can purchase additional eyecups that can be warmed in the microwave, or you can purchase eyecups wrapped in silk, which are gentler on your skin and others.
$35 on Amazon