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Sure, using technology at night is said to keep you awake longer, but could it also help you relax and let you get more--and better--sleep? That's the promise of the soothing sounds available for iPods and from various sleep apps for your iPhone or iPod touch. Consider these options:

Search for soothing songs on iTunes. Think waterfalls, rain, yoga and "sleep time" mixes. Go to the iTunes Store and search for "sleep music." The long list of songs that pop up range from "Moonlight Sonata" and "Meditation on Tranquility," to "Reiki Music" and "Forest Rain."

The iSoothe app (99 cents) lets you choose sounds to unwind to. Options like "cityscape," which features the noises of Times Square, may only appeal to city dwellers, but choices like "ocean shore," "tropical forest" and "benevolent storm" have more mass appeal.

AmbiScience Pure Sleep (99 cents) is a mix of nine songs that promise "entrainment," that is, to lead you toward relaxation in a step-wise fashion.

The iSleepAid (99 cents) app plays peaceful sounds rather than actual songs.

While there's no scientific proof these products work, sleep experts say it can't hurt to try them out. Here is their advice for using technology to fall asleep:

Consider using white noise machines. This can be particularly helpful for people who just added a second baby to their family, since using white noise in a toddler's nearby room may help him sleep through the sound of a crying baby, suggests Jodi Mindell, Ph.D., associate director of the Sleep Center at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and author of Sleep Deprived No More. White noise may also mask sudden loud sounds, such as a passing subway train. A 2005 study published in the journal Sleep Medicine found that sudden changes in sound levels (rather than absolute loudness) are most likely to disturb sleep.


Pick music that gets slower, rather than faster. That's what sleep researchers do when they use music to help patients fall asleep.

Decide whether to set the device to turn itself off after a half hour, or to keep it on all night. "It is probably most sensible to have the device shut itself off after a brief interval," says Mary Carskadon, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University and director of chronobiology and sleep research at Bradley Hospital in East Providence, RI. "On the other hand, if someone were used to falling asleep with the sound, to the extent that they'd want to turn it back on if they awoke [in the middle of the night], then leaving it on might be less arousing."

Remind friends not to text you at night. If you keep your iPhone on to play sleep apps, you can still hear the text-message alert chiming through your music.

Skip ear buds. They may be uncomfortable, injure the outer ear. or allow for an infection of the ear canal, says Udayan Shah, M.D., pediatric otolaryngologist at the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Philadelphia and chair of the Medical Devices and Drugs Committee for the American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery. "You're blocking off the natural aeration and potentially putting pressure against the skin of the outer ear. Putting it in a docking station is more prudent." There's always the remote chance that ear buds, or anything else put into the ear canal, can get stuck. The ear-bud cords could also pose a problem. "Having a cord around your neck while you're sleeping doesn't seem to be the wisest approach," says Benjamin Hoffman, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at the University of New Mexico.

Set your iPhone or iPod away from the bed. Even small bright screens can disrupt sleep. Any light source should be at least 5 feet from the bed, says sleep researcher Christina Calamaro, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing. "When you're in front of multiple sources of light after 9 p.m., it can trick the brain into thinking you need to stay awake."

Closely monitor Junior. Studies have linked TV, computers and cell phone use in the bedroom with inadequate sleep in kids. "The danger with the applications, while potentially useful if targeted at assisting with sleep, is that the user will not limit the use to the sleep applications alone," says Judith Owens, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at Brown University. That is, kids may send text messages and play games into the wee hours.
By Karen Springen

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