"I think these are clever devices, but there's very limited data on how valuable they are," said Dr. David M. Rapoport, the director of the sleep medicine program at New York University School of Medicine. "They're a really good way to capture data. But some of them are giving out recommendations in ways that just aren't proven."
"我认为这些应用都是很聪明的设置，但是关于它们有用性的数据十分有限，"大卫.M.拉波波特博士说。拉波波特是纽约大学医学院睡眠医学项目的指导。"这些应用是获取信息非常有效的方式，但是有些软件给出的建议尚未得到证实。"
He points out that certain features, like quantifying sleep and tracking habits, are particularly beneficial because they identify sleep patterns. "Many people lie to themselves about how much sleep they're really getting," he said. "If it takes an app to tell you you're only getting four hours a night and that that's why you're tired, then that's a good thing."
拉波波特指出这项应用的某些特点尤其有用，如提高睡眠质量和追踪生活习惯，因为这些功能可以识别睡眠模式。"很多人关于自己的睡眠时间都撒了谎。"他说，"如果让一个应用程序告诉你你晚上只睡了4个小时，所以你很疲惫，这是件好事。"
But, he says, when an app instructs you to get eight hours of sleep instead of seven, or to avoid coffee after 6 p.m. for better sleep, it has gone too far, since not everyone needs the same amount of sleep or is affected in the same way by caffeine. "These apps tend to suggest that there's a right way you should do things," he said, "but we cannot make the same recommendations for everybody."
但是他也说，如果一个应用指挥你睡8个小时而不是7个小时，或者不让你晚上6点之后喝咖啡，这样就走极端了，因为不是所有人都需要相同时间的睡眠，而咖啡因对所有人的影响也不尽相同。"这些应用试图告诉人们做事情的正确途径，"拉波波特教授说，"但是我们不能给所有人相同的建议。"
Dr. Rapoport also questioned the claim that waking a person from light sleep prevents sleep inertia. While some studies have found evidence of this, others, like one carried out by Harvard researchers and published in The Journal of Sleep Research, have found it has almost no effect. "It is not clear that systematically waking people up in light sleep is going to benefit them or lead to better health," he said.
除此之外，拉波波特博士也质疑所谓的在轻度睡眠时被叫醒能够预防睡后迟钝。尽管有些研究已经找到了相关证据，但是其他研究，比如发表在《睡眠调查期刊》上的哈佛大学研究者所做的研究，均发现这些应用毫无效果。"系统地在轻度睡眠的时候把人叫醒是否有助于身体健康尚不明确，"拉波波特说。
Toward the end of a normal night of rest, the amount of time spent in deep sleep tends to diminish, so it's likely that any alarm will wake a person in light sleep anyway, said Dr. Meir H. Kryger, a professor at Yale Medical School and the author of a new e-book, "The Guide to Sleep."
梅尔.H.克莱格，耶鲁大学医学院教授，新出的电子书《睡眠指南》的作者。他说，当夜晚休息临近尾声的时候，用于深度睡眠的时间逐渐减少，因此，任何方式的任何闹铃都能叫醒一个处于轻度睡眠的人。
"At 6 or 7 in the morning, it's very likely that a person will not be in a very deep state of sleep," he said. "Simply knowing that means that these devices have a very good chance of working just because of biology. On the other hand, so does any alarm clock."
"大约早上6、7点的是时候，人很可能已经不处于深度睡眠的阶段了，"克莱格教授说，"了解这点只是意味着因为生理学原理，这些应用很可能起到作用。不过从另一方面讲，任何一个闹钟也能做到这一点。"
That is not enough to dissuade faithful users of the programs, like Bart Epstein, 43, a longtime Zeo user who lives in Arlington, Va. Mr. Epstein, an executive at Tutor.com, an online tutoring program, says he has no doubt that the program lives up to its claims. After years of sleeping poorly, he began using the Zeo, which helped him identify habits that were keeping him "wired" at night and cutting into his sleep, like evening exercise, and it forced him to be disciplined about his bedtime regimen.
Best of all, he said, he no longer struggles with morning grogginess. "It just doesn't happen anymore."
以上说明还不足以劝阻这些应用的忠实粉丝。比如巴特.爱普斯坦，43岁，一直居住在艾灵顿，是长期使用Zeo产品的老客户。爱普斯坦先生还是Tutor.com的管理人员，负责网上辅导项目。他说他一开始就是用Zeo的产品，可以帮助他发现晚上睡不好觉的原因以及打断他的睡眠，像夜间锻炼一样，这些应用迫使他遵守睡眠规律。
"Having all the data that it collects is what influences me," he said. "You can lie to yourself and lie to your spouse, but you can't lie to the Zeo. It holds you accountable."
"拥有所有睡眠应用所搜集的信息实实在在地影响着我，"爱普斯坦说，"你可以跟自己说谎，也可以欺骗你的伴侣，但是你瞒不了Zeo，它让你充满责任感。"
Best of all, he said, he no longer struggles with morning grogginess. "It just doesn't happen anymore."
爱普斯坦说，最棒的就是，他再也不需要为早晨的神经衰弱而挣扎了，"睡醒之后的种种问题再也没有发生过"。