Rise sleep: the application (iOS/Android) that will help you sleep better

Today, I wanted to talk in detail about an application that I have been testing for a few weeks and which has already had a huge impact on my life.

An application like no other because it will help you sleep better, have more energy and be more efficient in your different activities.

What is sleep tracking used for?

A few years ago I bought an activity tracker.
It had a function that seemed very practical to me because it allowed me to measure my sleep.
Basically telling me if I was sleeping well or not…

Except that after a few weeks I stopped using it completely and it ended up in a drawer.

The reason? Apart from telling me that I had slept 8 hours, that gave me no information.

So it’s been years since I measured my sleep and that suited me just fine.

Yet sleep plays an essential rolel in many more areas than we imagine:

• Mental performance (attention span, reactivity, analysis)
• Health (impact on the immune system, metabolism, etc.)
• Emotional (anxiety, empathy, etc.)

Aware of the importance of the latter, I just activated the program on my iPhone which reminds me to go to bed at set times (the option is in the “Health” application in the sleep section) and it did the job.

That was before I came across this video of Leo Duff talking about the apps that changed his life and that I discovered Rise Sleep.

And if it's too early to say that it has changed my life, it has the potential. And that’s already more than enough for me to talk to you about it here.

Why is Rise’s approach so relevant?

Well, where my first tracker didn't provide me with any information, Rise used my sleep data to make me aware of 2 essential concepts:

The sleep debt and the circadian rhythm.

What is sleep debt?

By having a series of bad nights, you will lack sleep and accumulate debt. This debt can be counted in hours and the higher it is, the more tired you will be even after a long night.

It's as if your phone charged all night but when you left the house the battery was only at 70% instead of 100. Result: you have to save your energy and risk ending the day flat.

And besides, it’s not just a matter of time, the quality of your sleep has a direct impact on your debt.

Basically if you pay off your debt, you will have the maximum amount of energy available to get through the day and do your different activities: work, sport, etc.

The other essential concept is the circadian cycle.

What is the circadian cycle for?

It's your internal clock, the one that tells you when you're feeling tired and why you feel this slump after your lunch break.

Basically your day takes the shape of a curve with generally two peaks and a trough. This rhythm changes from person to person and has a direct impact on your performance. It is based on several parameters such as your age and… your amount of sleep.

Do you see the link coming?

Knowing this rhythm means knowing when you are going to be most dynamic and therefore planning the activities that require the most energy or concentration. Conversely, there is no need to plan your sports session when you are down.

The idea of Rise is to provide you with your cycle every day so that you can plan your activities when your body and brain will be best able to process them.

The advantage of linking this to your calendar is that you can plan certain activities at the best time.

Example that I want to do 30 minutes of sport or writing tomorrow, it is not necessarily at the same time that I would be most effective for these activities (one requiring more of my brain than my muscles). And Rise, by knowing my cycle each day (because it changes daily) will plan each activity as best as possible.

So I now know what times I absolutely must avoid being in a meeting.

At the end of the day you receive your dose of melatonin which corresponds to the best window for going to bed (and especially falling asleep).

In summary

The application is very educational and full of information and good advice. They also have a very complete guide available on their site. And the cherry on the cake, it is available on iOS and Android.

Rise still has 2 drawbacks that could put off more than one person:

1. It is only available in English
2. It requires payment (allow 38€ for the annual subscription)

You will have understood, I was more than convinced after the free trial period I heated up the CB directly as the application amazed me and I very quickly noticed its concrete effects even though I don't consider myself to have any major problems sleeping.

So I'll let you imagine the good it could do you if you constantly have the impression of being exhausted?

Okay, I'll leave you, I just got a notification telling me that it was a good time to go to bed 😅.