Pokémon Sleep was first released in Australia on July 17, 2023. It’s the complete opposite compared to Pokémon GO, where the goal is to research different sleep styles of Pokémon via sleeping. I’ve been using the app since it launched in hopes of tracking my sleep patterns and hopefully improving my sleeping habits. But did it work? Or is the app full of bunk? Let’s find out.
Full disclosure, I was completely free to play throughout my entire Pokémon Sleep experience. I never paid a single dime. While I’ve seen players spend money on the premium pass or for the in-game currency, I truly believe that it’s possible to do well in this app without paying an extra dollar.
Why I chose to use Pokémon Sleep
2023 was the year I decided to look a little bit closer at my health. I had a minor health scare in the middle of the year which required me to be tested. As a result, it became a mid-New Year’s Resolution to take better care of myself, whether it’s going to the gym for the first time or adjusting my sleeping habits. So aside from getting a health-tracking watch and getting a gym membership, I’ve also downloaded Pokémon Sleep to help with my sleeping issues. Each sleep session gives a detailed report on what my sleeping was like, and it even records sounds made if you’re the type of person who talks in their sleep.
I remember back in the early days, I yelled out “pillow” for some reason and when I woke up and checked how my sleep session was, I heard that recording. It was so weird. Also, it picked up other sounds like when I turned over to my sides, my heavy snoring when I was sick, etc. It makes me wonder, what else did this app record? I hope The Pokémon Company doesn’t think I’m weird or anything.
One of the caveats that I was worried about when I got the game was how it dealt with me waking up in the middle of the night due to bad dreams. I’m nightmare prone so I was afraid that there would be sleep sessions that would be inconclusive. This was something that I and many other sleep-deprived trainers were concerned about. Turns out, that isn’t an issue whatsoever as the Sleep Session continues until you manually say you’re done. It does log when there is sudden movement or changes in sleep, so you can tell at what point the nightmares or trips to the toilets come into play. But if you are having sleep issues that require real medical attention, please see a doctor or a health expert.
So when it comes to the sleep tracking, it’s pretty good. But what about its Pokémon game aspect?
First Impressions – It’s a fun stay-at-home Pokémon game
What makes Pokémon Sleep different from other sleep trackers is that trainers are rewarded for their sleep. The longer you sleep, the more points you earn, which allows you to buy stuff in the game’s store. At the same time, your sleep score plus Snorlax’s score plays a role in what Pokémon you’ll encounter in the morning and their sleep styles. Many of them are common, but there are some, like Heracross or Absol, that are completely rare. So you need to have a really good sleep session if you want the chance to meet and catch them.
That’s what makes this sleep tracker very enticing to use. The Pokémon aspect of the game encourages you to go to bed so you can update that PokéDex and your research notes. If you want good Pokémon to add to your team, well better hit the hay!
One thing I’ve noticed throughout my time on this app is that there is a “meta” when it comes to building the perfect Pokémon Sleep team, that you need certain Pokémon with certain natures and sub-skills if you want to fully utilise the game. In my personal opinion, I think it’s not necessary to focus on the meta. It’s a sleep tracker for Pete’s sake, with Pokémon sprinkled on top of it. If you want to focus on the meta for the sake of raising the Snorlax faster and getting better sleep research data, be my guest. But in all honesty, it doesn’t seem crucial, since it all relies on luck if you’d get the chance to get the “perfect Pokémon”
Another thing that I would like to address is the in-app purchases. As I said earlier, I never spent a single dollar throughout my one year using the app. But I can see the benefits and perks that subscribers for the premium pass receive, like having access to all their sleep data, not just the last 30 days. However, I do believe that it is possible to progress through the game without needing to pay, albeit you will be a bit slower compared to the whales, but that’s okay since it’s a single-player game (with a friends list). This is not like Pokémon GO where you need to have people with you if you want to catch the much rarer Pokémon to do raids. This is a sleep tracker.
When this game launched, I was completely motivated. I would sleep at the scheduled time I’ve placed and would get a really great sleep score for a while. However, as time passed, I met some challenges that affected my results.
Pokémon Sleep vs. Life
Many things occurred between 2023 and 2024 that made my sleep progression a challenge. For one, there were a bunch of games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Artificer’s Tower that were very addictive which led to late-night game sessions. Not to mention, the instability of the Australian media industry started to occur, albeit, via smaller media networks. This heavily affected me before the year ended and led to picking up casual and freelancing jobs with really weird working hours, like early mornings and late nights. It also didn’t help that the Eurovision Song Contest was happening during a lead-up for the Entei Research Event, which was not good since I like watching it live, even if it means waking up at 4 am. Fortunately, my sleep inconsistencies didn’t hinder me from catching not one, but 4 Enteis!
All of these inconveniences caused a massive decline in my sleep score and my sleeping habits didn’t improve at all. From A’s and B’s, I’ve been receiving C, D’s and other lower scores, which was not good if I wanted to get some good Pokémon. All of this was logged by Pokémon Sleep. Looking back, it made me reflect on what I do in my spare time and revealed how my life and personal time management is all over the place. And despite how much I want to improve, there are things way beyond my control.
As much as I wanted to play by the game’s meta and create the perfect team, get the perfect scores, and most importantly, improve my sleep, there are things in my personal life that make things a bit difficult. And the app knows it.
Pokémon Sleep motivates me to go to bed
Something I’ve noticed with recent Pokémon mobile games is that they’re trying to do more than just be a Pokémon game. Pokémon GO once encouraged me to go outside and meet friends. Meanwhile, Pokémon Smile is an app that motivates proper toothbrushing habits. Now, Pokémon Sleep is here to promote healthy sleeping habits. In my personal experience, it didn’t solve all my problems, but it did encourage me to try to maintain a reasonable sleep schedule in exchange for catching cool Pokémon. At the same time, I get to see how I’m progressing, if things improved or not, and it allows me to think to myself “How can I improve on this?”
I’ve used this app for a full year, and I can say with confidence that Pokémon found a way to make sleeping fun. I get rewarded if I get a good night’s sleep, Snorlax looks really cute in the middle of my screen, and just seeing my team grow thanks to my time hitting the hay feels so rewarding. At the same time, the competitive side in me wants me to do better, and find good Pokémon with really good main and sub-skills and natures just so I can feed and grow Snorlax better and faster. At the end of the day, this app is here to help people sleep and have fun. Sure, it will not cure all my sleep issues and make my sleeping habits perfect, but at least it has enough motivation to get me and many others to bed.
Pokémon Sleep is available to download on the Apple and Google Play Store.
About the Author
Erielle Sudario
If she's not podcasting, Erielle Sudario is seen either playing Baldurs Gate 3, The Sims, or a really cute cozy indie game that she found either in conventions or on TikTok. Outside of gaming, she's either embracing her inner Swiftie, building keyboards, or watching shows/films in theatres or streaming platforms.
