Yesterday I wrote about the WakeMate, a new and upcoming iPhone App + wristband that ‘uses Actigraphy to monitor your sleep cycles and pinpoints the precise moment when you should wake up’.
The WakeMate, including software, sells for $50 and you can pre-order it at the WakeMate store. Since then I found a similar solution that you can use now for just $0.99.
A few minutes after the post went online I received several tips about a similar App which is just, well, an app. At first I couldn’t imagine an App without a wristband or any other accessory doing the job. I mean, how can an iPhone track my sleep patterns without some kind of extra interface?
Turns out that Sleep Cycle uses the accelerometer in your iPhone to monitor your movement while you sleep. All you need to do is place your iPhone on the side of your bed, as pictured on the right here.
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I downloaded the app last night and set it up as explained. At first I thought it would be awkward to sleep with my iPhone under my bedsheets but then I figured it would be a lot less awkward than sleeping with a wristband.
The result was baffling. I woke up early but awake and the stats it generated are probably the most intimate piece of information I ever posted online. Check it out:
I will test the app this week and report back here after that. But after just one night I’m completely sold on the idea and am also wondering how this affects the WakeMate.
For 1/50 the price and no bracelet needed I also don’t see a bright future for WakeMate. The WakeMate probably has more detailed stats and might be more accurate, but 50 times more accurate?
Maybe the WakeMate will be precise enough to generate stats like the one below.
Now that would be cool:
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