Top Fitness Apps for a Happy and Healthy 2015

11 Top Fitness Apps

8. Sleep Better. I like to joke that I could be a professional sleeper — I fall asleep easily, rarely wake up in the middle of the night, and could nap every day if my schedule permitted such a luxury. So what’s the problem? I’m a night owl who has to pretend to be an early bird. I’d love to stay up until 1 or 2 a.m., sleep until 9 or 10, and do most of my work in the evening. But I’m on a 9-to-5 work schedule, and usually have evening plans, which means I need to get my exercise before I go to the office. I often have trouble getting out of bed. With my sleep habits in total disarray, it’s like Sleep Better was made just for me.

This app is a diary that not only keeps track of your sleep duration, but also lets you log your caffeine and alcohol intake, workouts, stress level and even if you slept in an unfamiliar bed. To start, activate the app and place your phone next to your pillow. Your phone’s sensors detect how much you toss and turn in the night. You set a window for your wake-up time, and Sleep Better uses a smart alarm that activates when you’re not in a period of deep sleep. As soon as you’re awake, the app prompts you to log how you feel and if you had any dreams (good or bad). One thing I found slightly inconvenient: you have to actually access the app to turn off the alarm, rather than being able to turn it off without unlocking your phone.

There are other features (such as moon phase analysis) that are only available with the full version of the app. And if you use RunKeeper or Runtastic, you can connect and sync Sleep Better to pool your data.

Seeing all my data and habits laid out over a month helped me pinpoint what was contributing to a good night’s sleep and what was getting in the way of some solid zs. It didn’t exactly make me eager to spring out of my warm, comfy bed at 6 a.m., but it did help me get the rest I needed so I didn’t keep hitting snooze.