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Part of staying healthy is getting plenty of sleep, but it isn’t always easy. Good sleep makes everything much better, your skin looks better, you’re able to focus more throughout the day and your metabolism speeds up. All signs point to more sleep, and these five free apps will work their hardest to get you the best sleep you can. Some will  help put you to sleep while others let you know how well it went when your eyes were closed.

1. Sleep Better

Wake up feeling more refreshed and monitor how well you slept with Sleep Better. Put your phone under your pillow and the app will take care note how deeply you fell in and out of sleep throughout the night. Set an alarm and the app will wake you when it is best for you, when your body is in the lowest level of sleep. This will make sure you are less groggy in the morning. You can also see how things like exercise, caffeine, alcohol and stress change the way you sleep. Note what kind of dreams you had and even describe them in the mini dream journal.

Pros:

• Get readouts of how you slept
• Write down dreams
• See how things like alcohol change your sleep

Cons:

• Banner ads
• Can be hard to turn off
• Doesn’t have all the features of the paid version

2. Relax Melodies

For a lot of people, falling asleep is harder than staying asleep. Relax Melodies works as a soundboard for sleep sounds. Choose between a few pages of different sounds from wind, to waves and even bird sounds. Combine as many as you want or just listen to one throughout the night. If the soothing sounds still can’t put you into a REM state, try one of the guided meditation tracks. When you get the app you’ll only receive one of these free, but you can buy more as you go.

Pros:

• Scroll through many different sleep sounds
• Combine different ones to find the perfect one for you
• Use the guided mediation for extra relaxation

Cons:

• Banner ads
• Only access to one guided meditation
• Sometimes hard to turn certain sounds off

3. SleepBot

Waking up in the morning is less terrible with SleepBot. The app tracks how you’re sleeping and sets an alarm at the most optimal time, making sure you wake up less tired. Look at the trends for the last ten days to better understand the days of the week that are best for your sleep. If you’re having a hard time falling asleep or staying away, the app gives you tips on what you can drink, eat and even reading material. Use the music in the app or add your own for the perfect wake up.

Pros:

• Alarm wakes you up when you’re in your lightest sleep
• Suggestions for how to get to sleep
• Track sleep trends

Cons:

• Can be a bit hard to navigate
• Have to manually set the alarm every time
• Some sorts of mattresses don’t detect as much movement

4. Dream Talk Recorder

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been told I say some pretty crazy things in my sleep. Dream Talk Recorder will replay all those strange conversations. Start the recording when you go to sleep and wake up to hear all of the madness that happened during the night. Share and send your favorites to your friends and favorite ones that you want to keep only to yourself. If you want to feel better about your crazy ramblings, go to the World section to see what other people have recorded.

Pros:

• Save your favorite recordings
• Send some to your friends
• Listen back what happened during the night

Cons:

• Have to leave it on all night to get a recording
• Sometimes turns off after only half an hour
• Hard to navigate

5. NatureSpace

Naturespace is a very simple sleep sounds app. There are six already installed apps that have waves crashing, bird sounds and cricket chirps. Hit the one you want to listen to and drift off to sleep. Make an alarm so the app turns off after 30 or so minutes and it isn’t on all night. Or use the soothing sounds to wake you up in the morning. If you get tired of the ones that are already downloaded, you can buy more right from the app. Review your favorites and least favorites.

Pros:

• Good variety of sounds
• Easy to use
• Can set either going to sleep or waking up apps

Cons:

• A couple recordings don’t have as great sound
• Have to pay for more sounds
• Sometimes doesn’t play for long periods of time