A significant upside of modern technology is that information about health and medical conditions (like the information found on this blog!) is available to anyone, without having to see a doctor. Now, a new app created by doctors at a London hospital attempts to take this one step further. Their new smartphone app attamps to track the sleep habits of children and teens and then gives personalized tips on what the kids and parents can do to improve those sleep patterns. 

Free Sleep App Gives Advice

What the App Does

Here is a description of the new phone application:

"A free app called, "Kids Sleep Dr" has been launched by the doctors at the Evalina Children's Hospital in London. The app gives parents (expected to help over 2 million parents in the UK) advice on dealing with night-terrors, up-all-night teens, and helping children's sleeping patterns, vital for development and behavior.

The app monitors a child's sleeping habits--caffeine ingested prior to bed time, sleep-waking, and where the child falls asleep--for 5 days before the personalized service kicks in. One example includes a child having night terrors more than 10% of the time, should be woken up roughly 30 minutes after first falling asleep, to prevent night terrors once falling back asleep.

The app provides tailored, daily tasks to help children's sleeping habits. It was noted that the over 200,000 children with serious sleep disorders like narcolepsy, or sleep apnea, still need to visit a doctor.

The 'Kids Sleep Dr' app will help parents to understand and better manage their children's sleep problems."

For more detailed information on the app, see this news story from the BBC. 

What do we think of this app? 

We think it's great that this app provides a new resource to parents who are trying to make sure that their kids are getting a good night's sleep. Ample sleep and relaxation is very important for kids' development and energy. 

On the other hand, in much the way that digital sleep tracking apps have limitations, such "digital medicine" cannot substitute for the opinion of a doctor or a sleep specialist. If your child shows the symptoms of a sleep disorder, it is vital that you bring it up with your doctor, or contact us about the possibility of arranging a sleep study. 

What techniques do you use to make sure that your children are getting adequate sleep? Comment and let us know!

Photo Credit: Olaf Gradin