Parents' Guide to Sleepiest: The Sleeping App

For adults who have trouble falling asleep, this collection of sounds and stories that gently distract you from your thoughts could be quite helpful; it's less clear how good an idea this is for kids. The white noise and background sounds are pretty standard. What makes Sleepiest: The Sleeping App stand out is the collection of stories, beautifully narrated by voice actors who have amazingly gentle and soothing voices. The pacing of the reading purposefully gets a bit slower toward the end of the story as the listener should hopefully be getting closer to falling asleep. Helpful functions, like automatically turning off after a set amount of time (or at the end of the story), make for a thoughtfully designed app. However, some families may feel reluctant to introduce a screen at a time of day when most experts suggest leaving screens untouched. Sure, listening to stories or sounds does not involve prolonged viewing on a device. But given that the typical recommendation is to leave devices out of the bedroom, especially at bedtime, using the app clearly goes against that advice. Plus, it could potentially be a distraction, particularly for teens and particularly if the device is their phone. With the use of parent controls, Sleepiest: The Sleeping App is a nice, well-designed, albeit pricey, app. Whether families feel comfortable introducing a piece of technology to help their kids sleep is a personal decision that only they can make.