The Sleep Control team has developed a unique App in the market, the closest thing to doing a sleep study in your own home, without having to sign up for long waiting lists to go to a hospital to do a polysomnography.
But we are aware that sometimes it is difficult to learn to manage a new App, and more so in this case, where the parameters we measure are many, and the graphics may seem somewhat difficult to understand at first glance.
Do not fear, because here we are to help you better understand the Sleep Control App, with a tutorial that will teach you how to handle the basic aspects of the application, so you can start measuring your dream from today.
What does the Sleep Control App measure?
The Sleep Control App has been developed to measure several parameters of your rest, mainly the number of snoring and its volume and the presence of obstructive apneas (plus other measures that you can measure with the premium version of the application).
In the case of snoring recording, the results you get depend largely on the following factors:
- The quality of the mobile with which you make the recording.
- The distance of this one with respect to you (the ideal is that you place it on the bedside table next to your side of the bed).
Other noises that occur around you and may interfere with the recording (your partner’s snoring, street noise, etc.)
And what exactly does the Sleep Control App measure? That depends on the version you purchase:
FREE version of Sleep Control: What does it measure?
The free version of Sleep Control is already quite powerful, as it allows you to measure the following variables:
- Number of snoring: our technology allows you to record your sleep sessions and list the snoring that has occurred, also telling you how many times you have snored for each hour.
- Volume of snoring: we not only count how much you snore, but how much loud. We classify your snoring into mild, moderate or strong, and we average the total snoring you have produced during the night.
- Obstructive apneas: obstructive sleep apneas occur when we run out of breath 10 seconds or more. Sleep Control will tell you how many apneas you have every hour and throughout the night.
PRO version of Sleep Control: What does it measure?
The parameters measured by the PRO version of the Sleep Control App are the same as in the case of the FREE version. The only difference is that in the PRO version you can save the data of your sleep sessions, and from there take out analytics and compare the results of different nights.
PREMIUM version of Sleep Control: What does it measure?
The PREMIUM version of Sleep Control differs from the other two, the FREE and the PRO, in that it brings with it a gadget, a measuring device that you must carry on your wrist to take additional measures. This device is called a pulse oximeter, and measures the following:
- Heart rate: thanks to this gadget, Sleep Control will record your heart rate every second, and display it in the results graph.
- Blood oxygen saturation: it is important to know the level of oxygen in the blood to know at what times of the night we suffer desaturations (sudden drops of this level), since they are closely related to the difficulty of breathing caused by snoring. Sleep Control will tell you the level of blood oxygen you have at every moment of the night, and will tell you when desaturations have taken place.
- How do I start measuring my first session?
How do I start my first session?
First, you must download the application to your mobile. Here are the links to do it: application for Android devices, and application for Apple devices.
Once downloaded and started, the application will show you some brief screens where it explains what the process is. Once you have finished watching them, this screen will appear:
To start recording, you must first fill in the following information:
- Factors: these are certain circumstances, which may or may not have happened to you in your day, and that may influence the quality of your sleep, such as having gone to the gym, having had a stressful day … Mark those that apply to you, and leave unchecked all those that do not reflect your situation.
- Remedies: Here are a series of treatments that you may or may not be using to avoid snoring and have obstructive sleep apnea. You may sleep with humidifier, CPAP or snoring pillows. Mark everything you use to try to get a good rest.
- Before sleeping: in this section you must indicate if you are going to go to sleep immediately, or in a while. You can also indicate if you want to sleep with some kind of music, or prefer to go to sleep without sound.
Anti-snores: Optionally, you can tell the app to launch a warning when it detects that you are snoring. You can configure if you want me to wake you up only with strong snoring, or also with moderate and strong snoring; and you can also configure if the alert is only sound, or vibration, or both. - Oximeter: This option is only available for users who purchase the pulse oximeter, which is included in the premium version of Sleep Control. Thanks to this gadget, you can measure your pulse and blood oxygen, and get more complete measurements.
Once you have everything set up to your liking, just press the Record button, and this screen will appear:
Your mobile is already in recording mode. You just have to leave it on your bedside table, face down, without turning off the screen, and go to sleep. Sleep Control will start measuring your sleep from that moment.
When we get up to finish the recording, we move the blue dot to the right and the following screen appears:
We will click on the face that represents our morning sensation and we can perform the Epworth test by pressing the button. To go to the next screen and save the session we must click on the word SAVE in the upper right corner, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT.
Below we will see the summary of the session graphically and when clicking on the circles we will have the recordings of the most significant episodes during the night that we can reproduce:
Finally, click on the word CONTINUE in the upper right corner
What questions does Sleep Control ask you after the sleep session?
It is time to get up: your alarm has sounded or you have decided to start your day, and the first thing you do is take your phone, to end the recording session of Sleep Control. To do this, slide the button to the right twice, and you will have the data stored on your phone.
In addition to everything the device has measured during the night, you can enrich the information that Sleep Control already has about your rest with the following options:
- Sensations: How did you get up this morning? Full of energy, or as if a train had run over you? In the text box that will appear after the end of the session, indicate your mood with one of the five faces shown. You can also include a phrase about how you feel.
- Epworth test: this test was introduced in 1991 at the Epworth Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, and aims to measure daytime sleepiness in order to diagnose possible sleep disorders. By completing this test, you will give the App even more information about the quality of your rest and the possible need for treatment.
With this tutorial you are ready to take full advantage of the Sleep Control sleep measurement application. If you want to know the best tips to rest, and learn to interpret the results, join our mailing list to not miss any of our articles.