There is no question sleep is a vital part of everyone’s well-being. The proper amount of sleep can set a person up for a great day. Too little sleep cannot only leave a person in a fog all day, it can start to have serious side effects if the problem persists. A new app could help some people struggling to get into dreamland.

The new app

The app, called Renew SleepClock is described in NY Times article as, “an that the app uses radio sensors to detect breathing patterns and movements at night, then uses that information to wake a person at the lightest point of sleep, the optimal time to wake up. The theory is that awaking from light sleep, as opposed to the deep stages of sleep, helps reduce so-called sleep inertia, the cloud of grogginess and impaired alertness that makes people desperately want to crawl back into bed.”

This app isn’t the standard $1.99, it’s selling for $199 and is one of several expensive sleep apps that have sprung onto the market recently.

Helpful, or not?

Like many apps, there are limitations to the technology and few studies to back up the science behind the app. “I think these are clever devices, but there’s very limited data on how valuable they are,” said Dr. David M. Rapoport, the director of the sleep medicine program at New York University School of Medicine. “They’re a really good way to capture data. But some of them are giving out recommendations in ways that just aren’t proven.”

Rapoport says apps are created for a mass public, and when it comes to sleep, there should be a ‘one size fits all’ solution.

“These apps tend to suggest that there’s a right way you should do things,” he said, “but we cannot make the same recommendations for everybody.”