RISE: Sleep Tracker Reviews

by Breklo12

The first issue I encountered was that I had little control over the sleep data I imported. My data was mostly from years ago when I was dealing with health issues, as I just recently started wearing my Apple Watch again. My sleep needs were very different then than they are now so it skewed the sleep need, energy graph, etc.
Then I noticed that RISE was telling me to wake up much later than I need to for work. I could not find a way to tell RISE when I needed to wake up so it could adjust my recommendations. If there is a way to do this, it needs to be much more accessible.
Finally, the energy graph was INCREDIBLY inaccurate, basically the opposite of what’s true for me. Part of this has to do with medication that alters my energy levels and part of it is just being different than the average human.

Overall, there needs to be more options to customize your data and recommendations. There also needs to be more data collected so that RISE can account for things like being neurodivergent, mental health issues, etc. For example, the algorithm should be able to identify sleep patterns consistent with depressive episodes, so data doesn’t get skewed by periods when a user may sleep significantly more, but not as a result of their biological sleep schedule

by Supersonic123321

I started working graveyard a month ago and figured I would give RISE a shot. It synced all of my sleep data from my health app. Shows I go to sleep between 3-4pm and wake up at 11pm. But it keeps showing my melatonin window is 11:57 pm. I’ve manually set my sleep hours on the energy tab and now it’s showing I only have my energy cycle from 11-12pm and then it just flatlines…I have a peak at 11:00, grogginess as 11:20, peak at 11:40, and melatonin at 11:50.
Not sure why they can’t use their normal algorithm and just adjust it 8 hours back to give me some results. But it’s non functioning for people who don’t sleep from 11-7pm.
My wife also tried it and has work at 5am so sleeps from 8:00-4:00am and has a similar issue. Has her whole day cycle of energy in a short hour span.
I feel RISE just gives similar results to everyone who sleeps at normal times and it glitches when you sleep at other times.
I use AutoSleep and it may not have the most, but it’s free and it works no matter when you sleep. Plus it’s free unlike this $60 a year for generic results that fail when you are out of the norm

by Gray-pup

I love the idea of RISE, but the execution makes it obnoxious to use for people who are regularly up working late and not constantly on their phones. It estimates when you sleep based on when you put your phone down for a long period of time at night—which means if I work from 10pm to 4am and then check my phone before going to sleep, RISE decides I went to sleep at 10 and woke up at 4. I have to check every day to see if the times are wildly off (which they often are). Sometimes I’m able to manually enter the right times, but sometimes it won’t let me. This morning I went to sleep around 5:30 and it wouldn’t let me enter anything past 4am. It also doesn’t have a way to record your whole night of sleep if you happen to wake up in the middle of the night and check your phone before going back to sleep; you have to manually adjust. I finally gave up and deleted RISE . I think it would work better if I used Sleep Cycle every night, but I don’t have an outlet near my side of the bed and don’t want to go to the hassle of charging my phone on a portable charger every single night just to get this app to work. For a paid app it should be better with this.

by TSGalpin

Been using this app for 2 months now. Being able to track my sleep debt helped my insomnia. When this app works at least.

Sometimes, this app decides I didn’t sleep last night. Even though the Fitbit App and Phone App said I slept 6.5 hours last night. Main issue is if Fitbit breaks up my sleep into 2 or more events, this app ignores it? Odd feature to ignore naps and broken up sleep..

That throws of my sleep debt for the next 2 weeks.

this app misses about a night of sleep once every 2 weeks.

So my sleep debt is usually wrong. Because it’s missing an entire night of actual sleep.

If I could edit the sleep data I could fix it easily. But it only lets me delete sleep, not add it.

You can add naps, but they do not affect sleep debt calculation? Even though it said naps help sleep debt?

this app is a very pretty app. Cool features. Nice ideas. When it works it’s cool and helpful.

But half the time it simply has the wrong sleep data. If I could add sleep manually I could fix it.

But if the core function of calculating sleep debt is wrong half the time…. And there is nothing I can do to fix it other than write emails to tech support.

Or click the data is wrong button.

Tech support was nice and responsive. And did seem to fix it once after about 2 weeks. I think?

But have had the problem a couple more times since then.....

I wish it worked. Because it's such a cool and helpful app.

by KyleJH1995

I’ve noticed you cannot delete erroneously recorded periods of sleep. You can edit their length, but not delete them (at least that I can find). I just noticed RISE registered the past two hours as me being asleep when really I was just sedentary, playing a video game on a different device (I even had episodes of a show playing on this same phone, so the phone wasn't even inactive and it was literally sitting in my lap. I highly doubt I was so still that my phone registered me as asleep). I tried to delete the recorded period of sleep but can’t seem to do so beyond manually reducing it to a 0 minute nap that never happened. This seems like a glaring error to me that could make the sleep debt calculation wildly inaccurate depending on how the calculations are made. I assume RISE took my normal average sleep times and made the ~wrong~ assumption that my movements this late at night were just restless sleep. Please add the ability to delete sleep records and I’ll probably start using RISE seriously, because all of the other resources it provides seem to go above and beyond other sleep tracking apps. Otherwise, I can’t trust something that won’t even let me fully correct incorrect data.

by Danifacetastic

I love the energy schedule I'm given throughout the day- and when I remember and lay attention to the notifications for habits it really helps. But I have two issues.

First- my sleep schedule has been messed up. I'm trying to get it on track. But if I'm up late and then wake up late it tells me my energy peak occurred while I was still sleeping. And anytine I sleep over 12 hours it seems to not give me a new adjusted energy schedule or sleep debt that day - only shows the day prior. Meaning the nights I've working hard to pay down my sleep debt are skipped, and my sleep debt only decreases if I'm sleeping 1-3 hours over my sleep need.

The second issue I have is the confusing Pricing. I had made up my mind I would pay for an annual subscription after the trial ended. I forgot and got charged automatically, which was my fault. But when I looked at the pricing options I was charged for a $60 annual subscription while there was a second option for a $30-40 annual subscription. If there was a special going on its upsetting thst anyone auto charged during that time paid full price. I already felt like I was splurging considering paying for RISE and then felt like I somehow was overcharged inadvertently.

by Maw211

UPDATE: Apparently certain parts of setup need a day or a few days to work. That really should be stated when it starts doing those parts. If I’d known the first sleep debt calculation took a few days, for example, I wouldn’t have been checking every day and contacting support.

I just downloaded RISE because it looks really cool and I’ve already run into a problem. I’ve enabled the motion tracking no problem. Then I tried to enable the health data and that’s when it stopped working. I followed the steps given in RISE and enabled the options I had. My settings shows two options labeled “steps” and “sleep.” Apparently “sleep” isn’t the same as the “sleep analysis” RISE wants, because now it’s telling me I don’t have it enabled. But as far as I can tell, I do. I’ve been trying to find a way to contact customer support, but there isn’t any way. The support page is just FAQs, no way to contact them, despite the top of the page saying you can contact them. I really want to start using RISE, but until this settings issue is figured out, I can’t! How do I contact a customer support person????

by GoldSpruce

i like RISE overall and it’s really helped me to keep my sleep debt low to nonexistent for the first time ever. the feature that would make it perfect in my opinion would be if you could input your own data on when you actually notice peaks & dips during your day, then that would help influence your energy schedule over time. i feel like i kind of align with the energy schedule (?), but it’s not worth the price without being able to refine it.
i actually came to rate 4 stars + make my suggestion but now i see a review mentioning that there was a $35 tier i could have paid for instead of a $60 one? i checked my subscription and it’s true. super sketchy as that was NEVER mentioned before auto subscribe. so one less star for that.
I’ll change my review & rating if you’re ever able to input your own data regarding peaks & dips, but I still have a bad taste in my mouth because of the price issue. I turned off auto renewal now, so I’ll see what kinds of updates come out before I make a decision about subscribing again.

by Drc223

I really enjoy RISE and look forward to future innovations to RISE .

A barrier to this app truly being a near cure for a lot of my struggles is that my schedule as a graduate student is not in my control for a lot of things. It is very rare that I find myself being able to follow what this app indicates as good times for me to work or rest. I wish there was a way to input what tasks you actually completed during each peak and dip duration as a way to see, for example, how having to study or do something that requires attention and energy during a dip effects sleep debt.

Personally I feel like RISE has a ton of future potential and I really hope that the company and people involved feel as strongly as I do because RISE is something that helps manage and track more than just sleep and I’m excited thinking of what’s possible with each update that comes out!

by Rightfuture

I like how this app gives insight into your energy levels, circadian rhythm, and sleep inertia/debt . The only things I would change are the disincentive/expensive renewal surprise, better widget glance for sleep debt/ hours and where you are on circadian rhythm, and better integration with other sleep and exercise apps to track energy levels vs naps and exercise activity. Tips could be more personalized to show how improvements in behavior can make small incentive/percentage gains both in potential and actual improvement changes so people can easily tune into significant behavior. I also have sleep apnea, narcolepsy type 2, and Idiopathic Hypersomnia (IH) and would love to be able to compare how these behaviors compare and can be improved versus others who have the same issues/tags. It would be neat to also extend the Circassian rhythm graph into sleep rhythms and interruptions to highlight behavior such as insomnia, night waking due to temp, or patterns, maybe even correlate allergy interruptions with allergy apps. this app is awesome and is so close to being even better.

by Devon Garvey

I like the concept of RISE a lot. The energy schedule is incredibly helpful and knowing my sleep debt gives me a lot of insight on my habits. However, there are some frustrating flaws that I feel RISE should not have given the amount of money I’m spending to use it. It only syncs to my Apple Watch maybe half the time, the other half I have to input the data myself and it’s not as accurate as it is if imported from my watch. I use Pillow in conjunction to this app and there really shouldn’t be an issue importing the data from Pillow but for some reason this app really struggles with it. The other annoying flaw is that I have it set to text me before my melatonin window and in the week and a half I’ve had RISE I’ve only received one text. I could set an alarm myself but again, it’s supposed to be a feature of RISE so I shouldn’t have to. If the developers fixed these flaws I think it could be a really amazing app but as it stands it needs some improvement.

by ImagiNat12

I was fully gonna cancel this subscription after a month. I do that with a lot of apps I just want to try, and figured this would just be another one. But... I love it. I have found my lifestyle actually changing because of RISE!! I’m more aware of my productivity, when my brain is elsewhere (when to not fight the procrastinating) and when to dive back in. I love the widgets I can use. And sleep debt tracking is honestly SUCH a game changer. Way more helpful than simply tracking your hours asleep (which is what I was originally doing). I feel more aware of the tolls my lack of sleep has on my body, and how to care for it until I’m back in the green. I’m giving it 4 stars because it’s kinda pricey, and I think the interface could be better (not a fan of the little pop up windows in the main screen). On to another month of this app!

by Bakerbeatz

First and foremost, I find RISE to be a huge help in improving your energy throughout the day. I have tried a few different paid sleep recording apps and this one is far above the rest in terms of scientific support and ultimate results!

As a medical student, I’ve found that RISE is tempting to refer patients to as a sleep aid resource. However, it’s looking like I’ll only be able to afford the free five-day trial. Would love to see if there’s any kind of healthcare or student discount to help pay for the cost of RISE so I can better trial it and use it in my clinical practice!

The main improvement that I would like to see is the ability to adjust one’s wake-up time. This may already be implemented, I simply haven’t had enough time to look into it, but if so it could be simplified as well. I know RISE is focused on circadian rhythm so that may prove to be a hurdle with this request but all in all truly have enjoyed my trial with this app!

by EMC Alicious

I used this for a week the entire time of my free trial an I absolutely loved it ! I don’t have any sort of health watch an RISE turned my phone into a motion censored tracker an was 97% dead on accurate . Anytime it sensed my motion from me touching my phone or moving around it it would log I was awake which is correct because I hang my phone at head height on a stand right next to my face at night . I’m super impressed with RISE an I so so badly want to keep using it ! But they do not offer any lower monthly or weekly rates to pay for it .

Yes I could spend $36 an I could spend the $60 but I’m on a tight budget an that’s my only complaint so far without being able to use it long term is people who want to keep using it but may not have the money to pay those high rates. If you lowered rates to weekly bi weekly or something for all us who can’t afford these expensive monthly yearly subscriptions you’d likely have even mire people using RISE ! Otherwise I thought it was the best out there for anyone without a WATCH !

It really started teaching me a lot someone who has never tracked sleep or been very mindful of all other daily health routine things .

by Maddisonmdavis

Fantastic app, had helped me improve my sleeping habits surprisingly fast!!
I struggle with getting a good night of sleep quite a lot and getting non restorative sleep RISE is such a beautiful design and also really helps! Simple has everything you need and nothing over complicating it, I have recommend it to a number of people already and they have also downloaded. Not gonna lie I was a little jealous when they had a low sleep debt and mine started at 21hours! But in 2 days it went down to 13 and kept dropping! So RISE works! I’m just competitive and jealous of other people sleeping healthy unlike me I guess!
Their customer service team is great and extremely responsive, I reached out with a issue with getting in RISE , and they responded in minutes and fixed it quickly and kindly
10/10 highly recommend

by Mambosarelle

I got RISE and so far I love it. I realized that my teenage daughter needs this more than I do. Unfortunately the school system has zero compassion for the science that says that pre-teens and teens experience a biology shift that causes them to experience later sleep onset and wake times, plus the need for more hours compared to adults (9-11 hours!). All of this, plus a new and thriving social life outside of family wreaks havoc on their sleep schedule. She missed a class from oversleeping and was so stressed and frustrated over her erratic sleep habits she came to me and asked for help, which in all honesty really surprised me! I had literally just started on RISE when she did this and couldn’t believe I didn’t think of it for her first. She’s using it now (still on her trial) and we’re willing to see how it does, if it helps, even though it’s for adult sleep needs. She likes the interface and the gamification of reducing her sleep debt.

She also suggested the ability to edit her “wind down” activity such as “Pack backpack” and “Set next the next day’s school outfit”. She also suggested “spending time with pets” which I thought was actually brilliant given the calming benefits of petting our critters.

If RISE helps my teenager feel rested and more motivated to get to bed at a decent hour than shut up and take my money!

by Rbbjms13

I’ve tried quite literally everything to get sleep: pills, vitamins, meditation, everything. It’s only been a few days, but with RISE I’ve noticed a marked improvement in my sleep quality.
The notifications for different aspects of things that may affect your sleep have been incredibly helpful to begin to change my sleep schedule and hopefully resolve a majority of my insomnia. These notifications have helped me take stock of when I’m working too much or just getting sucked into my phone or laptop and need to step away from the screen because I need to prepare for sleep.
Within three days of downloading, I’ve had marked improvement in the amount of deep sleep I’ve gotten and my heart rate while sleeping has also dropped.
The creators of RISE are truly on to something really revolutionary and I can’t wait to see where it will go from here.

by TecKSinclair

I’ve only been using this app for a week or so, so far, but it is literally changing my life. I’ve always struggled with insomnia and troubles getting up in the morning. I’ve been a self described night owl my entire life. I found RISE shortly after I got my Apple Watch series 6 and was looking for something to analyze my sleep data. It has made a world of difference. I plan my day around my energy schedule and follow the tips for better sleep. I’m waking up and falling asleep on my own, which is a miracle for me in and of itself, but I’m waking up before 9 am, usually before 8 am, without an alarm! It helps me figure out when to do my heavyweight chores and when my energy is going to be too low for much. I struggle with chronic illness, pain, and fatigue, so having this information is proving invaluable to balancing my day and keeping within my limits. I haven’t needed any of the premium features but I am tempted to get it anyway, just to support this amazing app.

by Kec333

So far, I really like RISE. For the first time, I actually feel real motivation to get more sleep on a regular basis because I want to see my sleep debt go down! The information about energy peaks and dips and melatonin windows is also extremely helpful and very accurate so far. I only wish that there was a way to add naps to lower sleep debt. The pop up windows are constantly suggesting taking naps during energy dips, yet I couldn’t find a way to add a nap to my sleep total. I was really hopeful that adding a nap would lower my sleep debt, but maybe science suggests it doesn’t work that way, so they didn’t include that option? Idk, but I sure wish they did, or at the very least included some information about the science of naps if they have some reason not to add this feature.

Update: now that I know how to add naps, my main concern with RISE has been resolved, and I will fully endorse it with 5/5 stars. Its design motivates me to get more sleep, which is exactly what I was needing.

by Sane Jane

I’ve had sleep issues most of adult life but didn’t really know how to improve it. I’ve used supplements, changed exercise habits and have tried other sleep apps. The other apps (Fitbit and Garmin) tracked my sleep but frankly I already knew how bad my sleep was - what I wanted was a way to improve it.

this app asked me a lot of personal questions about my sleep and lifestyle and created a plan for me to follow. The plan was simple but effective. I was able to see how my sleep debt built up and was given some tools to pay it off. It was effective for me because of nudges - those that I asked for - were gentle reminders to stick to the plan. An example of this - I am usually on my phone late into the evening - instead of telling me I couldn’t (which is what I thought the recommendation would be) they gave me tools to make it work for me.

My sleep has greatly improved and it is all thanks to the awareness, plan and help with implementation.

by Ryjokr22

I’ve updated my initial review to reflect customer service reaching out to me about my experience, and because Apple provided me with my request for a refund. For this, I have added two stars.

I really want to like RISE , but it is not suited to people with non-standard sleep schedules.

It is nice to be able visualize your energy peaks and valleys in the format provided, and receive notifications to help your behaviors, e.g., when to stop drinking caffeine, when to begin wind-down activities for your day.

Personally, the bedtime goal provided to me is not possible due to my work schedule. I’ve been told by customer service that bedtime goals adjust slowly based on sleep times and sleep debt. For the three weeks I used RISE , my bedtime goal did not adjust at all, even when I achieved a satisfactory sleep debt number. I appreciate RISE encouraging me to go to bed earlier to help with my sleep debt, but my preference would be to have a bedtime goal that accurately reflects when I am able to go to bed related to my life.

The in-app support system is convenient. But in the support conversations I started, I only got initial answers to my questions. My follow-up questions went completely unanswered. It would be nice if the customer service email was more readily available, as I only see it listed in their responses to negative reviews.

by Climb_ice

RISE is not trendy or gimmicky like so many sleep apps out there. It cuts straight to the heart of the matter: Sleep debt. While other apps give you graphs and reports each day which might be cool but don’t actually help you, this app helps you figure out actionable steps to eliminate your sleep debt and to develop overall better sleep hygiene. RISE actively encourages me to go to bed earlier and helps me understand my specific circadian rhythm. It has made a difference in the short term, and I look forward to seeing the long term effects. Thank you for making RISE!

by LClaireKnight

RISE actually told me what to do to improve my sleep. Other apps I've tried, and even have on my phone still, only track sleep. I never know what to do with that data. this app taught me about sleep debt, makes suggestions when it gets high, and gave me habits for specific problems I was having with my sleep. I've followed them and my sleep has improved. It's personalized to me and easy to use, and I love the smart-reminders. I got the orange glasses and they work! 😎(My 65 year old mom is even on RISE now!)

by R0n1N725

I have tried SO many sleep apps and many are nice, but none seemed to really make a difference. Finally I’ve found an app that puts things in a perspective that motivates me to change my habits and become a better sleeper. I’m sleeping better and more consistently than I ever have l, and it’s thanks to this app. There are still some things to improve of course, it’s pretty new, but the foundation is there and even at this stage it has been the only thing to help me. I’m looking forward to watching RISE grow and become even better.

by Yes To Adventure

Finally an app that looks to delve into the root of sleep issues for me as an individual and provides a sleep plan with small progressive steps to take to get to my ideal place! I love that it looks at your home life - partner snoring, tv and social media habits...Your environment - blue light, temperatures...your entire day - when you eat, when you drink caffeine...and your mental state as well - suggesting things like Brian dump, relaxation techniques, and more!

It feels really comprehensive, but not overwhelming. I’m finally starting to get an understanding of how to create a routine that is best for me as an individual.

by Paige McPheely

My husband and I have been using this app for the last few weeks and have been so impressed by its beautiful simplicity paired with its ease of use and clarity of results. They make it look so easy, though simple-to-use apps are never easily made.

But the real icing on the cake has been their support team. We've had a number of questions about the science behind our results and their responses were not only quick but incredibly well-written and informative.

I recommend this app for anyone looking to clearly understand their sleep and how to improve it.

by Gbaynesknight

I’ve always had trouble sleeping and have noticed dips in my performance after sustained periods of sub-optimal sleep, but I haven’t had the tools to help rectify it. Using this app helps keep me on track and I love that I can see hard data, in real time, to track my sleep and to ensure that I’m performing at the highest level. After just a few weeks I’ve seen real, positive changes and have a roadmap to keep them up. this app works with you whatever your schedule without “shaming” you like other programs might (with the resulting anxiety and decrease in sleep that can come from worrying about sleep). Overall, it’s a user friendly and incredibly empowering experience that can keep you churning when you need it.

by Yair S

tldr RISE is a must if you’re trying to improve the quality or length of your sleep, and subsequently, your life. There’s nothing else like it - and I’ve searched extensively. There are a few features I’d like changed and the this app team has been responsive and seems to take my thoughts seriously.

The longer version:

I’ve known for years that I need more sleep but day-to-day, it was hard to make that actionable and change my habits and behavior. But I didn’t know where or how to start.

RISE changed that entirely. It was really cool to watch it set itself up. It somehow took my iOS health data and pretty accurately pegged my sleeping habits, offered a detailed view on my circadian rhythm, and gave me actionable insights to improve my sleep - those actionable steps I’ve craved (s/o to those orange glasses, and sleep masks are game-changers).

I plan on sticking to RISE and keeping it as the first thing I open when I wake up and the last thing I open before I conk-out.

by Shalmeneser

I’ve been trying to “fix” my sleeping patterns for 2 years now, and I was at wits end before I found RISE. The calculation of the melatonin window helped me realize that I needed a lot more sleep than I was getting. I used to just beat myself up for not being able to get up early and get going, but now I understand that I need to sleep in my melatonin window and sleep for 9 hours. It’s just that my melatonin window is late that keeps me sleeping in. Now I’m slowly and gently moving back my melatonin window so I can have the kind of happy and productive life that I want. Love RISE!!!!

by Chase McCants

I’ve been using this app for a few months now. In many ways, this app helped me understand a lot about sleep that I simply didn’t know. Prior issues with focus, motivation, and mood were all alleviated after using RISE and sticking to a sleeping plan. As a result, I’ve seen an increase in my energy level and productivity at work. And this app helped me achieve this in an inexpensive way with a sleeping plan that fit my schedule.

I found RISE easy to navigate, especially given the overload of information I got with AutoSleep (and I love AutoSleep). The notifications I get pushed to my watch to remind me to prepare for sleep were helpful too. Where as AutoSleep wants to record and present information, this app translates that information into a plan that not only allows you to understand sleep, but do something about the lack of it.

by Genna921

Update: I was able to get in touch with someone who quickly helped me resolve my issue, which was minor and now RISE seems to be working beautifully! Shout out to Oddie for the customer service experience I was hoping for!

I downloaded the week trial and setup my information without issue. The next day I couldn’t get past a screen telling me it needed permissions from Apple Health, which were already enabled. No amount of turning off/on permissions, deleting/reinstalling RISE helped. Reached out to support and am still waiting for any type of response, over 24 hours later. I really want to like RISE, and I’m willing to pay for it, but not if it won’t function the way it should and certainly not if support is nowhere to be found. I will update this should anything be resolved.

by Megsbrim

I looove RISE. It’s informative, helpful, creatively interactive and well worth it. I have occasional problems sleeping and I was more so interested in learning more about my sleep patterns and rhythms. I’m also a night owl so it’s been super helpful to get the notifications that it’s time for me to “wind down”. I’ve noticed less grogginess and more energy when I follow the recommended sleep and wake times. RISE helps you to be aware and take healthy steps towards healthier sleep patterns and a better you.