Eric is a sophomore at UC Davis, majoring in statistics. He is a member of the UC Davis rugby team, a reporter on Express Yourself!(tm) Teen Radio, and enjoys playing guitar and exercising.

App: SleepBot by SleepBot LLC
For: iPhones and Android phones
Price: Free
There seems to be a smartphone app for nearly everything. Therefore it should come as no surprise that there is an app that actually monitors your movement during sleeping. It uses this data to ensure that your alarm wakes you during the optimal time of your sleep cycle. The developers of this app recommend that you place your phone next to your pillow when you go to bed. SleepBot uses movement tracking to monitor your movements while you sleep, allowing it to distinguish between REM (deep sleep) and lighter sleep (non-REM). The science of sleep tells us that if you are awakened during a non-REM sleep cycle stage, you will feel much more rested then if you are awakened during REM sleep. You set your wake-up time, and SleepBot's alarm will wake you during a 30 minute window (no later than your set time) when it determines that you are in your lightest sleep phase. This app is not a gimmick, as both the United States National Institute of Health and the National Academy of Engineering awarded SleepBot the First Place Winner of the "Go Viral To Improve Health" competition. There are many more features that come with this app, but the optimal wake-up is the primary feature. Try SleepBot. You may get awakened a little earlier than your set time, but you will wake up feeling more refreshed and ready to meet the day.

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