World Sleep Day 2024: Doctors recommend tips, apps and devices for quality sleep

Schedule mattersDr Wilona Annunciation MD consultant psychiatrist and founder Catalysts ClinicOwing to our hectic schedules and limited attention spans maintaining and following a sleep routine feels like a Herculean task Thankfully with the progress in technology we have quite a few good apps that actually aid in our attempts to achieve sound sleep However it is important to remember that while these apps may help us try to get better sleep we still need to put in active efforts to truly enhance our sleep quality Maintaining a sleep schedule having a bedtime routine keeping your devices away around bedtime etc can be the little steps that we take along with these apps to ensure sound sleepMy recco I use my Apple watch with Health App and that helps me track my sleep routine I usually monitor it weekly and ensure I get at least six to eight hours of restful sleep When I notice discrepancies patterns I link that to diet and exercise habits and factor in any major changes in my routine Understanding and modifying these in the longer run helps me stay consistent with my sleep routineThe hungersleep linkDr Juhi Agarwal clinical nutritionistLess sleep makes you less productive hungrier and more lethargic the next day But why is this One of the main reasons is the imbalance of your hunger hormone ghrelin and stress hormone cortisol Lack of sleep increases both and this causes you to reach out for high carb processed and high sugar foods and increases your heart rateMy recco I use the Oura Ring to track my sleep It helps me prioritise my rest so that I can increase productivity and immunity It tracks the quality of your sleep through heart rate variability If the variability is high it means the recovery and rest was of good quality This helps me correlate the types of food that reduce the variability and therefore the quality of sleep Additionally it gives me insights into how my body is on low reserves and I reduce the intensity of my workout or take a rest day accordingly especially a week before my periodPlan your routineDr Joy Desai director of neurology at Jaslok Hospital amp Research CentreFor sleep benefits to be accrued it is vital to ensure sleep duration timing depthquality throughout life Sleeping late and waking up late in a rhythm out of sync with the circadian clocks is also deleterious for health Maintaining a regular sleep routine exercising in the morning meditation avoiding coffee after 3 pm curtailing alcohol consumption and restricting screen time within one hour of bedtime are simple sleep hygiene promoting lifestyle measures Sleep apps are essentially wired to track sleep timings and to some extent measured sleep depthMy Recco Sleep Cycle is a popular choice and most other sleep apps including the ones built into smart watches are similar However they do not provide cues to maintain sleep timing and circadian rhythms An app called My Circadian Clock above tries to bridge this gap but requires individual activity timings from your daily routine to be fed into the app algorithm for it to gauge optimacyAlso check outSleep Watch The app tracks sleep sounds of snoring tossing and turning When connected with the Apple watch it also provides details of heart rate throughout the night The next day it creates a report on the basis of a few questions like how well rested one feels and how many times one gets up in the middle of the night etc It provides information regarding BMI and what somebodyrsquos sleep quality should be like by comparing it with that of the others of the same age Note that only some of these features can be availed for freeLog on to AppStoreSleep Cycle This app has a collection of meditating music bedtime stories ASMR Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response and sleep coaching segments Its smart alarm clock wakes you up in your lightest sleep phase with soft and gentle alarm tones The app provides reminders before bedtime However several features are exclusively for paid users it also does not give sleep statistics daily For more detailed statistics it needs at least five successive days of sleep trackingLog on to AppStore PlayStorePrime Nap This free app uses the phonersquos microphone to detect any movement or disturbances in sleep It includes a dream journal to track dream patterns The smart alarm comes with a customisable sound library Cons for the app is that the interface is a tad difficult to navigate with not very sleek and uptodate graphicsLog on to AppStoreInputs by Dr Wilona Annunciation

World Sleep Day 2024: Doctors recommend tips, apps and devices for quality sleep

Schedule matters
Dr Wilona Annunciation, MD consultant psychiatrist and founder, Catalysts Clinic

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Home / Mumbai-guide / Things To Do / Article / World Sleep Day 2024: Doctors recommend tips, apps and devices for quality sleep

World Sleep Day 2024: Doctors recommend tips, apps and devices for quality sleep

Schedule mattersDr Wilona Annunciation, MD consultant psychiatrist and founder, Catalysts Clinic

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Schedule matters
Dr Wilona Annunciation, MD consultant psychiatrist and founder, Catalysts Clinic