If you live in the UK we are dealing with one of the hottest days on record, but the biggest challenge for me so far has been trying to fall asleep during this time.
Managing heat during the day appealed to me, mainly because I was in the coldest area of the house, using three apps, with a fan on all the time, and a fridge full of bottled water ready to go.
But while you fall asleep, you try to turn off while your room looks like the Sahara desert, and two fans just didn't work for me.
Although we already discussed the background noise feature available in iOS 15, I needed to use something more powerful to help me fall asleep. That's where Dark Noise comes in (opens in a new tab), available on iOS for $9.99 / $9.99 / AU$10.99 (opens in a new tab), has the standard noise types, like pink, brown, gray and white, but this app goes one step further.
Turn the rain up to 11
(Image credit: LaComparacion)
Dark Noise, created by Charlie Chapman (Opens in a new tab), I've always had on my iPhone and Mac to help me focus when I needed to get some urgent work done.
The app offers a bunch of different noises, divided into seven categories:
- Water
- Accessories
- Nature
- Fuego
- vehicles
- Transport
- Somnolent
You can also create your own noises, so if you have a blender nearby, for example, it can record itself making a smoothie for you.
There are also plenty of widgets and shortcuts you can configure, so some in-app noise is just a few clicks away, but this time I wanted to configure it in a different way.
At 2am, during the UK's worst heatwave, I was getting impatient. It might just be me, but I like to imagine scenarios while trying to fall asleep, and as there were two fans blowing directly into my face, I imagined myself flying across the UK. Uni, kind of like Superman, but without the costume.
It still didn't work though, especially when the heat made everything uncomfortable. That's when I thought of using Dark Noise and turning on the “Thunderstorm” noise. But instead of just playing this on my iPhone, I also turned on the weather effect on the iPad so the noise could be amplified.
Shortly after, I fell asleep. It was ideal, because I also dreamed of running in the rain, so it was mission accomplished for Dark Noise.
At time of writing (July 19), the day is slowly approaching 40 degrees Fahrenheit, but it will be manageable. It's the next night where it can be a fight once again. But after Dark Noise saved the night before, this will be the first app I use whenever I'm trying to fall asleep, and I recommend you do the same if you're having trouble too.
