Mike's NBC-TV stories

Apps to help you sleep better

Sleep deprivation can have all sorts of harmful effects on your body — ranging from depression to heart diseases and several other more severe diseases.

But as PC Mike Wendland reports, a number of apps can help you get a better night’s sleep.

The SleepScore app tracks your sleep and shows when you sleep light, deep  and  when you wake up. The app uses sonar technology so you only have to have your phone by your bedside for it to work. The app is free for iOS and Android with premium features available for purchase.

Sleep Cycle provides analysis to help you get a good night’s sleep and better overall health. The app has an intelligent alarm clock designed to gently wake you up while you’re in your lightest sleep phase. It also integrates with Apple Health. The app is free for iOS and Android with premium features available for purchase.

Nap  Bot is an automatic sleep tracking and analyzing app for your iOS and watchOS devices. It presents detailed analysis ofs the environment around you to understand how it affects your sleep quality. It, too, works with Apple Health. The app is free for iOS with premium features available for purchase.

Mike is a veteran journalist whose video "PC Mike" reports have been distributed weekly to all 215 NBC-TV stations since 1994, making him one of the most experienced tech reporters in the country. His tech stories and videos have appeared on MSNBC, CNBC, the Today Show, The New York Times, USA Today and in numerous national newspapers and magazines. In addition to the PC Mike tech blog, he also publishes the Roadtreking.com RV Travel Blog in which he travels North America in an RV reporting about interesting people and places.