By Rayne Hayes
Imagine waking up everyday feeling well-rested and energized, entering through the school doors after eight hours of sleep. According to The National Sleep Foundation research shows only 15% of teens get the needed eight to 10 hours of sleep, but a new app, “Sleep Cycle,” promises to give everyone a chance to feel this attentive in the morning.
“Sleep Cycle” is an intelligent alarm clock that analyzes sleep patterns to wake a person in their lightest sleep phase. This leads to a natural and relaxed way to start the day leaving you less groggy in the morning. The app sets a wake up phase that tells it the best time to sound the alarm. This clock can apply weather, activities, and mood to sleeping patterns and report to the user the most beneficial activities to do before bed. It can also connect with the world’s sleeping data to allow the users’ the compare their data.
“I started using “Sleep Cycle” about a month ago. Since then I have been extremely relaxed in the morning and now know what is best for me before I go to sleep,” Kiana Azucenas, sophomore, said.
Every morning “Sleep Cycle” creates a detailed line graph showing the user’s movements throughout the night. By turning the phone sideways, it also show various graphs telling how everyday activities affect sleep patterns and show sleep statistics. This app is free however it is $1.99 for premium a year, and is available for both iPhone and Android.
“I get on an average seven hours of sleep a night; between violin practice and school work it gets hard to balance sometimes,” Thomas Kyong, freshman,said.
Studies have proven that teens need eight to 10 hours of sleep a night. Sleep is beneficial for the appropriate functioning of the body; it is food for the brain. Not getting enough can become extremely harmful to the growth and development of the body. During sleep, important brain activity and functions occur. Without rest, it can lead to serious future issues such as weight gain and skin problems. Sleep is a vital aspect to life, and teens need to get more of it.
