Quite often I encounter the problem of being unable to fall asleep for long periods of time, regardless of how active or relaxed I spend the day. Walking outdoors in the evening, physical activity, yoga, dancing – all these things have been already tried. However, unfortunately it doesn’t help and gives the opposite result – a great amount of energy by midnight, and it is out of the question to get any sleep. Even if I worked all day and was very tired, took a warm bath and drank herbal tea, sleep still would not come. In desperation, I decided to turn to digital assistants and downloaded the sleep app Journey: Sleep Insomnia Helper, and now I would like to share my experience with you.
1. What is Journey?
The Sleep Journey: Insomnia Helper app positions itself as a personal assistant that takes care of your sleep and helps you cope with sleeplessness. Furthermore, it also provides you with the information necessary to establish healthy sleeping habits. Sounds pretty impressive, although I had already lost faith in my ability to fall asleep quickly. The app is quite versatile in its approach, making it suitable for people of all ages, ranging from kids to adults and seniors.
2. Getting started with the Journey app
Let’s start from the beginning, since I am an iPhone user I downloaded the app for free in the app store https://apps.apple.com/us/app/journey-digital-sleep-coach/id1590102815, but it is worth mentioning that the app is currently not available for download in the Play market for Android users. Immediately after installing the Journey app, I was prompted to take a relatively chin-up questionnaire regarding my sleep. Then, the app created a personalized six-week program for me. It’s also worth mentioning that I immediately had access to a free one-week trial of the premium subscription. After 7 days of using the premium mode, users are offered a subscription.
3. Is the Journey app science-backed?
In my 30-day plan, each week was devoted to a specific task. From the basics of sleep studies to building new habits and patterns. Certainly I wanted to get immediate results and get fast asleep, but it should be noted that, generally, it takes about 5 weeks to build up a new habit. This is exactly the point of cognitive behavioral therapy, upon which the Sleep Journey app is based. The cognitive behavioral therapy approach is widely used by therapists and professionals to work with anxiety and depression, as it helps to identify and clear negative thoughts and nervousness that may be keeping you from falling asleep.
4. Journey’s personal sleep coaching service, what is it?
My course schedule consisted of morning and evening sessions of about 8 minutes each, which were all aimed at improving my sleep. I should mention that the distinguishing feature of the app is the personal contact with your trainer in the online chat. At any time you can ask a question and get an answer from the coach during some time. From my instructor I received a set of recommendations with appropriate techniques, which I applied before going to sleep.
5. Exploring content library on Journey
In the app, users have access to a huge library of sleep materials that includes more than a hundred stories recorded by sleep experts. Furthermore, Journey offers a variety of meditations designed to calm the mind in the evening and to boost energy for the coming day. Though I rarely listen to music in my daily life, following the recommendations of the online coach in the app, I started trying to turn on various sounds of nature and instrumental music 20 minutes before bedtime. What really impressed me about the Journey: Sleep Insomnia Helper app was the variety of sleep sounds to listen to. Options include white noise, relaxing tunes, stories and meditation guides. What can be said with great certainty is that one type of soothing sound doesn’t work for everyone. That is why you can try different options such as white noise, rain sounds, or piano music.
Conclusion: is the Journey app subscription worth it?
Obviously everything has pros and cons, and this app is no exception. For myself, I noted the following advantages of using it:
- a scientific approach to examining sleep problems;
- constant feedback from the coach;
- a large audio library with a variety of music, including ambient, nature sounds and white noises;
- an exclusive collection of meditations and stories on various topics.
However, there are some points I found to be disadvantages:
- in case of a heavy workload, it can take a long time to wait for a personal trainer to respond;
- no smart alarm clock function;
- small selection of meditations.
After 30 days, I can surely say that the quality of my sleep has improved, now it takes me less time to fall asleep. In particular, I have benefited greatly from the coaching recommendations, regular meditation and listening to nature sounds before going to bed. If you are looking to maintain your sleep health in the long run, it is vital to develop sleep habits and this app would be a real helper for you. For more information about the Journey: Sleep Insomnia Helper app, visit their website at https://gojourney.app/.
