The 7 best sleep apps

Calm

14-day free trial, $79.99/year – iOS & Android

Calm is one of the world's leading mental health apps for meditation, sleep and relaxation to help you sleep better, stress less and live mindfully with a range of science-backed content and activities for daily mental health support. 

Most notable are Calm’s bedtime stories for grownups which include celebrated voices like Matthew McConaughey, Harry Styles, and Jennifer Garner. The kids don’t miss out though, with sleep stories featuring well-loved characters such as Winnie the Pooh and Transformers.

Alright, alright, alright, it’s sleep time.

BetterSleep

7-day free trial, $59.99/year – iOS & Android

When simple rain sounds won’t cut it, BetterSleep helps you to build a personalised soundscape to soundtrack your journey to deep sleep. There’s a large selection of sounds, noises and brainwaves ranging from peaceful to brain-tickling – think elvish whispers and walking in woods – as well as meditations, sleep stories and music playlists. BetterSleep also offers four-week sleep routines, designed to help you achieve your personal sleep goal, whether it’s tracking your sleep or figuring out your sleep cycle.

BreathWrk

7-day free trial, $69USD/year – iOS & Android

Breathe in, one, two, three, four.

Slowing down your breathing may help you to feel calm and less tense, making those Zs flow more freely. Breathwrk’s Sleep Breath aims to bring about calm by activating the parasympathetic nervous system through a series of guided breathing practices.

Sleep Ninja

Free, subscription-free – iOS & Android

Nod off knowing your teen is getting the rest they need.

Created by the Black Dog Institute, this app provides evidence-based strategies to help young people improve their sleep. Sleep Ninja guides your teen through six training sessions that include the importance of sleep, how to become aware of habits contributing to poor sleep and strategies to change unhelpful sleep patterns.

Smiling Mind

Free, subscription-free – iOS & Android

Drift off to the sound of a babbling creek in Victoria’s Redwood Forest, on Gadubanud Country without leaving home.

Designed to help reduce stress and improve wellbeing, Smiling Minds includes an extensive sleep toolkit for kids, teens, and adults. The app aims to promote better sleep practices as well as educate on the importance of sleep for mental wellness.

The app includes visualisation, gratitude and muscle relaxation meditations, pre-sleep practices to clear the mind, soundscapes including distinctive Aussie sounds, and music to help lull you to sleep.

Balance

30-day free trial, $69.99/year – iOS & Android

Balance offers a personalised meditation program to help you improve your sleep. The app guides you to create a consistent sleep schedule using nightly reminders and a range of meditation practices specific to your age, sleep challenges, and preferences.

Headspace

14-day free trial, $91.99/year – iOS & Android

Sleep by Headspace is the app within an app, with a comprehensive library of sleep-inducing meditations, stories, known as sleepcasts, and winddown activities. If you’re not sure where to start, you can explore your emotions and get personalised recommendations from an empathetic AI companion named Ebb.