I’ve been using the Rise: Energy & Sleep Tracker app since early June, shortly after listening to an episode of AppStories. At that time, summer break was about to begin and my energy levels were at an all time low due to a grueling, 34th year of teaching and (spoiler alert) the amount of sleep I owed my body. During the podcast, I listened carefully as Leon Sasson, the developer of Rise, explained the importance of gaining a better understanding of the concept of sleep debt. His explanation lead me to believe that I was a prime candidate for experimenting with the app so I downloaded it and paid for a year’s subscription (totally worth it by the way). Since I have started using the app I’ve learned some very interesting things about myself. This blog post, while NOT a complete overview of a very nuanced app (I continue to learn new features and ways it represents data to me daily), touches on some of the things I have learned.

Sleep Debt

According to the developer, this (sleep debt) is the ONLY score that matters. The app’s main purpose is to help users gain a better understanding of sleep debt (the amount of sleep we owe our body) and, through an amazing display of data, provides a path; via tracking that debt, that enables the user to figure out what needs to be done to pay it back. When I installed the app back in mid June, I owed my body 7.2 hours of sleep. For me, that is almost 1 full night’s sleep. I said that the app has an ‘amazing display of data.’ Here is a picture of the Energy view. Note that the main data point is your current Sleep debt. This data point will fluctuate daily based on a number of factors, most of them viewable from the next thing I’d like to talk about; the Energy Schedule view.

Energy Schedule

With this view, you get a very granular depiction of your day. Most importantly, the user gets the opportunity to place reminders to her/himself that can help manage your sleep debt; among other things, when to avoid caffeine and alcohol for the day.

Avoid caffeine

In the picture below you can see that I will get a reminder to avoid caffeine for the day. For me, this means stop drinking coffee; something I could drink all day long. I have been amazed at how this reminder has helped out. It has in essence created a habit for me that I work hard to achieve daily, in an effort to manage my sleep debt.

Avoid alcohol

This picture, (see below) like the one above, shows when my reminder to avoid alcohol for the remainder of the day should be enacted. Like avoiding caffeine, this reminder has really helped me cultivate a habit of knowing when it is best to not have alcohol for the rest of the day. I have found that on days that I adhere to this reminder, my sleeping heart rate stays in my normal range; between 60-68 bpm, and my wrist temperature stays within my normal range. When these metrics are “in check” I get more sleep and the quality of that sleep is better which helps me manage my sleep debt.

Melatonin window

Further down the picture I shared above you will see my Melatonin window. This window indicates, based on my metrics, when it is best for me to get in bed and go to sleep in order to get the right amount of hours of rest thus decreasing my sleep debt. I have always cherished my sleep time, especially while I’m working. However, seeing this window in the Rise app, coupled with the other metrics I’ve written about above, has motivated me to “hit” my Melatonin window as often as I can, since using the Rise app.

The Watch app/complication

The Watch app and complication are a nice accompaniment to have. They allow the user to receive notifications sent right to your wrist. I have the complication positioned in sub-dial Bottom on my beloved Apple Watch Ultra and use it for a quick reference multiple times a day.

Conclusion

If you are interested in “paying your body” back the precious hours of sleep it deserves, the Rise: Energy & Sleep Tracker app deserves your attention.