THE APP THAT STOPS YOU SNORING
Fitness trackers aren’t the only apps that are good for you. Mike Plant highlights the phone and tablet apps that will keep you fit, without bringing you out in a sweat
Do I Snore or Grind Android www.snipca.com/25013 IOS Do I Snore: www.snipca.com/25019 Do I Grind: www.snipca.com/25020
Some people snore or grind their teeth while sleeping, disrupting the sleep of partners and spouses. To settle sleepdeprived arguments over this you can use the free app Do I Snore or Grind (two separate apps on IOS), which records the noises you make while you sleep and offers solutions that can ease the problem.
Install and open the app, then tap Allow for each permission request (allowing the app to record audio, access media and detect your location) so it will work as intended. Click Next repeatedly to move through the tutorial until you reach the app’s main menu (with a red Start button).
It’s a good idea to record your normal snoring levels so you can compare it with the levels after trying some of the app’s suggested remedies. Tap the Start button, then place your phone (fully charged and switched on) face down, with its microphone pointed towards you, within a foot or so of your pillow and raised so it’s level with your nose. The app will start recording your sleep 30 minutes from that point.
Once you wake, tap ‘Show recordings’ to see a chart of your night’s sleep by hour (see screenshot below left). Tap any peaks to hear audio recordings (when we did this we actually heard thunder from that evening’s storm, as well as the sound of our teeth grinding).
The app offers solutions to reduce your snoring. Tap Add Remedies to see these – they include having a warm bath before you go to bed and avoiding caffeine – then tap whichever approach you want to try. To compare your night’s sleep with ones you’ve previously recorded, tap the three horizontal lines (top left), then Statistics.
Sleep Better Android www.snipca.com/25022 IOS www.snipca.com/25023
Getting your snoring under control might help you and your partner sleep better, but it won’t necessarily make you feel more refreshed when you wake. Free app Sleep Better tracks your sleep cycles – distinct periods of time which may involve deep sleep or light snoozing – to identify the ideal time to wake you.
It does this by monitoring your movement and breathing (via your device’s microphone). The aim is to avoid waking you when you’re in a deep sleep, which will make you feel much groggier. To achieve this, Sleep Better will wake you at any time in the 30-minute period prior to your alarm call when it deems you are sleeping lightly.
Install the app, click Next to go through the tutorial, then sign in with your Google or Facebook account, or tap ‘Join now’ to create a new account. Once you’ve logged in you’ll see a time at the top of the screen (which is the default time Sleep Better’s alarm is currently set to). Slide the number up and down to choose a wake-up time.
Once that’s done, a wake-up period of time will be displayed just below the time you set. By default, this is the 30 minutes before you’ve set your alarm to go off. You’ll need to buy the paid-for version of the app (£1.99) to increase or reduce this time period, but we found half an hour worked well for us.
Now, before you go to sleep, tap Start, follow the Calibration instructions if they appear, then place your phone next to your pillow. When the app wakes you, tap one of the faces (to indicate how awake you feel), then tap the tick (bottom right) and swipe down to dismiss the ‘Post a message’ screen.
You’ll now see an overview of your night’s sleep cycles (see screenshot on opposite page) divided into awake (red bars), light sleep (yellow), and deep sleep (green). Once you’ve recorded several nights, you can view your sleep patterns by clicking the three horizontal lines (at the top left of the app’s main menu), then Statistics. Tap Overall at the top of the screen to switch between Week, Month, Year and Overall.
Eye Exam Android only www.snipca. com/25025
Eye Exam won’t fix any serious eye defects you might have, but it will tell you whether a visit to your local opticians might be in order.
Open the app, then scroll down to see all the app’s available tests. Some tests – such as Dry Eye and Cataract – are questionnaires designed to help you self-diagnose a potential problem. Others – like Visual Acuity and Color Blindness – include actual tests you’d get at an opticians (see an example from the colour-blind test in our screenshot above).
To get accurate results, hold your phone fully at arm’s length with the top of the phone level with your forehead.
Hearing Test Android only www.snipca.com/25033
It’s not always easy to know whether our hearing has deteriorated over the years, especially if the decline has been gradual. Free Android app Hearing Test lets you check just how good (or bad) a job your ears are doing.
The idea is to connect the earphones that came with your phone, because the app will detect the type of phone you have and modify the volume of its tone to suit those specific earphones.
Connect your earphones, tap ‘New test’, then ‘Bundled headphones’ to start the test. Tap OK, then tap ‘I cannot hear’ or ‘I can hear’ depending on whether or not you can hear anything (see screenshot above). The aim is to reach a point where tapping ‘I can hear’ makes the tone shift to one you can no longer hear. At this point, tap ‘I cannot hear’, then ‘Barely audible’ to test a different frequency. Once you’ve done this for all seven frequencies, the test will switch to your other ear. When you’ve finished, you’ll see a chart that indicates any potential hearing defect.
If you can’t find your phone’s original headphones, you’ll need to enlist the help of someone with excellent hearing. Connect any headphones you have, then tap ‘Other headphones’ and have your friend follow the instructions to calibrate the app. Afterwards, take the test again using the new settings.
One Minute Voice Warmup Android www.snipca.com/25031 IOS www.snipca.com/25032
If your voice is often hoarse, or people have trouble hearing you, you may have a mild form of dysphonia (speaking difficulties caused by physical defects in your mouth, tongue, throat or vocal cords). One Minute Voice Warmup is an app that suggests a number of vocal exercises that will help you speak more clearly and with greater confidence. It’s the only app here that isn’t free (it’s
£2.99), but we think it’s worth it if you’re struggling to make yourself heard.
The app features a number of one-minute exercises to make sure you don’t run out of breath mid-sentence (ensuring your voice doesn’t fade away toward the end), and open up your throat if you tend to suffer from nerves when speaking.
There are also exercises designed to make your voice more engaging. For example, the Speaking Pace exercise lets you practise changing the pace of what you’re saying (see screenshot left). Just make sure you practise alone, as the app requires that you’re able to speak aloud (and sometimes very loudly).