Runtastic, makers of the popular fitness tracking app of the same name, today announced the introduction of a new app focused on improving sleep habits. Rather than using a wearable or bedside sensor, the company’s new Sleep Better app uses an iPhone placed next to your pillow to track sleep patterns with no additional hardware required. Using the iPhone’s sensors, the app offers sleep tracking features including data on Duration, Cycles and Efficiency as well as Smart Alarm & Wake-Up Window features, Moon Phase tracking, and more. The app is also fully compatible with Apple’s HealthKit and Health app in iOS 8:

Sleep Better is the result of dedicated work over the course of several months, during which the Runtastic team not only developed the app, but also perfected sleep algorithms by spending countless nights in sleep labs and gaining insights from sleep specialists, doctors and individuals struggling with sleep quality. The result is a unique, high-quality app, packed with features that will help users fall asleep more easily, achieve higher sleep efficiency and awake at the perfect moment during light sleep cycles – ensuring a smooth transition into the day.

While Runtastic already has its own fitness and sleep tracking wearable and companion apps, the Sleep Better app is made to work with no additional hardware for iPhone users that would prefer not to invest in a wearable or bedside sensor.

Runtastic explained to us how exactly the sleep tracking features work:

For sleep tracking and monitoring, Runtastic relies on body movements. Tests conducted on different subjects and in several phases to further improve the tracking algorithm confirmed that EEG evaluations in a sleeping lab correlated with the values measured by the Sleep Better app. A physician from the sleeping lab corroborates that if an individual does not move within a certain period (approx. 15 minutes), it is safe to assume he or she is in a deep sleep phase. Major deflections in the graph, on the other hand, indicate a wake phase.

In addition to today’s launch of the new Sleep Better sleep tracking app, Runstastic noted its now at “100 million mobile app downloads” total for its apps across platforms.

Runtastic highlighted a few other features available in the Sleep Better app:

-Track sleep duration, cycles and efficiency -Develop a better understanding of light and deep sleep cycles, as well as time spent awake -Use the Smart Alarm to wake up at the ideal time within your personalized Wake-Up Window -Enjoy a variety of alarm sounds and snooze functions -Enter daily habits & variables, such as caffeine consumption, exercise info, alcohol consumption and stress levels, to determine the effects of these variables on sleep quality -Monitor moon phases -Use Dream Notes to learn what you dream about most and what percentage of your dreams are good, bad or neutral -View sleep history, including daily stats and overviews for longer time periods (i.e. a selected week or month) -Filter history taking daily variables into account to determine when you’re sleeping best.

The new Sleep Better app from Runtastic is available on the App Store starting today. The initial download is free, but some features are unlocked via in-app purchase.

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