APPS THAT CLAIM TO SEND YOU TO SLEEP

Patients with insomnia can now be prescribed a sleep app, sleepio, developed by an Oxford University professor, on the nHs. i asked sleep expert Dr Maja schaedel for her verdict on sleepio and four other sleep apps — which i tested.

SLEEPIO

Free with a GP’s referral, or register at sleepio.com/ waitinglist CLAIM: ‘A science-based

approach.’ This app givesyou a six-week course of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-i), a clinically proven strategy to tackle the disorder.

The app works on breaking negative thoughts about sleep, reorganising your sleep schedule, and ensuring your lifestyle and bedroom are sleep-friendly. It includes a weekly 90-minute ‘community chat’ with a sleep psychologist.

In studies against a placebo, Sleepio users fell asleep 54 per cent faster and spent 62 per cent less time awake after eight weeks. EXPERT VERDICT: ‘I recommend Sleepio to many patients,’ says Dr Schaedel, a clinical psychologist and co-founder of The Good Sleep Clinic.

‘CBT-i works well because it helps unpick unhelpful patterns of behaviour that perpetuate sleeplessness.’ USER VERDICT: Easy to use. I like the community aspect (discussion and messaging

with other insomniacs). BEST FOR: Treating longterm issues.

CALM

£28.99 a year, app store or Google Play CLAIM: ‘The number-one app for sleep, meditation and relaxation, with more than 1.5million five-star reviews.’ This is best known for sleep stories read by celebrities. EXPERT VERDICT: ‘Calm helpsyou to relax, rather than cure sleep issues, reducing physiological arousal and slowing heart and breathing rates,’ says Dr Schaedel. USER VERDICT: Listening to Cillian Murphy reading about crossing Ireland by train made me drift off within 20 minutes. And the app iseasy to navigate. BEST FOR: Getting your mind

sleep-ready.

SLEEP SCHOOL

£29.99 a year, app store or Google Play CLAIM: ‘Fall asleep faster. Stay asleep longer. Wake up feeling refreshed.’ This is based on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), an approach endorsed by the NHS. It encourages-accepting negative about sleep. EXPERT VERDICT: ‘ACT is a respected approach and useful for those suffering chronic anxiety alongside insomnia,’ says Dr Schaedel. USER VERDICT: Informative,

but requires commitment. BEST FOR: Helping insomnia and anxiety issues.

PZIZZ

Full access £48.99 a year or £7.99 a month, app store or Google Play CLAIM: ‘The world’s most advanced sleep and power nap system.’ This is a library of calming audio (music, narratives and sound-effects) to play in bed. Research shows that music, heart rate variability, breathing, hypnosisand muscle relaxation improve sleep quality. EXPERT VERDICT: ‘Less useful for chronic insomniacs as the

app has a focus on naps — one of the first things I recommend patients stop doing,’ says Dr Schaedel. USER VERDICT: Relaxing, but it didn’t work for me. BEST FOR: Napping, perhapswhile travelling.

HEADSPACE

£49.99 a year or £9.99 a month, app store or Google Play CLAIM: ‘It can help you relax your mind in minutes and get the best sleep.’ This app offers everything from guided meditation and ‘night-time SOS’ — for when you wake in the night — to breathing exercises. EXPERT VERDICT: ‘Headspace teaches methods of reducing physiological arousal through muscle relaxation, breathing exercises and visualisation,’ says Dr Schaedel.

‘It’s good for reducing anxiety surrounding sleep.’ USER VERDICT: This has so

much. A 20-minute visualisation exercise has me asleep before it finishes. BEST FOR: Relaxing meditationsand audio courses.