LATE ONE NIGHT, much like the previous night, when I should have been getting ready for bed, I found myself knee-deep in an online discussion for New Yorkers like myself who recently moved to California. Comforted by their parallel experiences and warmly wrapped in community, I soaked up post after post until I realized it was 2:30 a.m.

Brian Stauffer for The Wall Street Journal

I had to be up for work at 5:30 a.m.

The next day I wasn't just tired, I was essentially diabetic: My blood sugar levels were out of control. I was cranky. I was craving fast food. The workday was a chore to get through, a mix of mental loopiness and all-out impatience. I survived, but I promised myself that I would get more sleep that evening.

That was before I got home and checked my mailbox. A new videogame I was dying to play had arrived. I was mashing buttons until the sun was almost up. By 4 p.m. the next day I had a nasty flu that led to yet another four days of restlessness.

I was stretched thread thin. I needed an out. I was a junkie and my pusher was technology.

My experience is tame compared with that of my friend and former boss Arianna Huffington. About four years ago, she'd just returned home after a week of taking her daughter on a tour of colleges where the ground rule was "no BlackBerrys." As a result, she stayed up so late catching up on email that she passed out from exhaustion, smartphone in hand. Literally. She had fallen and ended up with a broken cheekbone and five stitches under her eyebrow.

It's been said many times: Technology is sleep's enemy. It's not uncommon for one last tweet before bedtime to lead to YouTube wormholes, which lead to a few emails, which lead to the inevitable 4 a.m. "I can't sleep!" Facebook status update. If you've ever brought a smartphone or a tablet into bed with you, chances are you've been there. It isn't pretty—or healthy.

In deference to Arianna, I did what I know best: I turned to technology to help me sleep rather than push for a Luddistic, tech-free lifestyle. What I found was a mix of gadgets and apps that fed my geeky needs while improving my z's. I have since preached the wonders of technology as a sleep enabler and (hear me out) therapist that has transformed me from a blood-sugar nightmare to a denizen of dozing.

The vast array of sleep tech is a long catalog of devices and apps that promise better nights, but beware of snake oil. Instead, read on and see what I found.

So do these things work? In a word: sometimes.

In my case, I stuck with an alarm clock app that offers soothing wake-up calls and nerdy charting features that make for interesting water-cooler talk—"My REM was so on last night!"—at the office. And for the nights I can't get to sleep, I grab my Sleepsonic pillow and put on some slow jams. Everyone has different needs, sleep patterns, jobs, stressors and biologies, but chances are one or a combination of these apps and gadgets will lead you to your own sleepy path.


Phillips Wake-up Light F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal, Styling by Anne Cardenas

Philips Wake-up Light

This bedside light/alarm clock builds on the idea that humans are designed to wake up when the sun rises and rest when it goes down. In the morning, the Philips Wake-up Light simulates a sunrise by gradually increasing its brightness to help you get out of bed naturally. The end result is a peaceful waking period that lacks snooze cycles, blaring alarms and thus, morning crankiness. It also comes with a clock, radio and chirpy sounds to emulate a gentler nudge to start the day. Consider getting one of these if your windows are so heavily draped it feels like midnight in the morning. $100,

Clocky alarm clock F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal, Styling by Anne Cardenas

Clocky alarm clock

I have a love-hate relationship with this little bugger. The concept is simple: We hit the snooze button because we can; the Clocky aims to foil the habitual snoozer by rolling away from arm's reach. The device has wheels, and when rise-time arrives, it beeps like mad, rolls off your nightstand and makes a ruckus until you track it down and turn it off. Clocky's method isn't the most pleasant way to wake up—my fiancée hates me for it—but it gets me out of bed. Problem is it doesn't do a thing about getting me to sleep. $39,

Marpac Dohm-NSF white-noise generator F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal

Marpac Dohm-NSF white-noise generator

Marpac has been making what they call "sound conditioners" for 50 years. These devices, called Dohms, produce a rushing air sound that creates white noise that drowns out annoying sounds like the din of traffic, barking dogs or whatever it is that keeps you up at night. I live next door to a FedEx sorting facility where they like to cycle diesel engines all night, and the Dohm was pretty effective in giving me something else to listen to. If you live on a busy street, this might be the device for you. $70,

Sleepsonic Stereo Speaker Pillow F. Martin Ramin for The Wall Street Journal, Styling by Anne Cardenas

Sleepsonic Stereo Speaker Pillow

I love falling asleep to music, so the Sleepsonic Stereo Speaker is a true, ahem, dream. It's a sound system built into a pillow, and it's much more comfortable than headphones that tend to slip off and cause unsightly cheek impressions. You can use it as is, or put it inside the pillowcase of your existing pillow. Sleepsonic also offers models for children, and even a maternity kit that plays music for your gestating little one. $125,


Sleep Cycle

This enhanced alarm clock uses the iPhone's accelerometer (the thing that lets the iPhone know whether it's upright or on its side) to analyze your sleep patterns and wake you only when you are in a light sleep phase. Sleep therapists say that you begin to adjust your position when coming out of deep sleep, and this app detects said movement—you have to place your iPhone under your pillow—triggering a wake phase. The idea here is that you will feel more rested if woken when you're naturally coming out of a lighter sleep mode. I've used the app for months now and truly believe it works. The soothing harp alarm sound isn't jarring, and I love seeing graphs of my sleep patterns over time. $0.99, available for iPhone

Zeo Sleep Manager Mobile

Zeo Sleep Manager Mobile

Like the Sleep Cycle app, Zeo's Sleep Manager Mobile promises to track your sleep patterns and wake you when you're coming out of deep sleep. Unlike Sleep Cycle, though, the Zeo Sleep Manager Mobile is both app and brain-wave-tracking, wireless, rechargeable headband. The headband reads your brain waves (don't ask me how) and transmits your sleep data to a smartphone for review in the morning. It gives you what's called a "ZQ" (get it?), a sleep score that measures ratios of deep sleep, REM activity, wake time and times woken. The results, in my case, were enlightening. I learned that I spend plenty of time in bed, but very little of that time actually sleeping. Not all is lovely in Zeo-land, though: I found the headband uncomfortable, too tight at some times and slipping off at others. That said, I can see this device helping me change the way I sleep over time and, ironically, getting me to shut off the bedroom TV, move the iPhone and put the Kindle away.$99 for Zeo Sleep Manager Mobile; app is free and available for iPhone, iPad and Android

White Noise

At $1.99, Tmsoft's "White Noise" app is a good deal cheaper than the Marpac white noise generator. I like this program because it includes some more unusual drones, including air conditioners, airplane engines, extreme rain, hair dryers and even washing machines. I remember knowing Mom and Dad were still up and about by the sound of the washing machine as I was falling asleep as a child, so this one worked particularly well for me. From $1.99, available for iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Phones 7 and BlackBerry

Deep Sleep with Andrew Johnson

Deep Sleep with Andrew Johnson

This is a guided meditation app for the iPhone that is, in essence, a sleep therapist at a much more reasonable price. Andrew Johnson makes several self-help apps, but this one concentrates on the art of sleep's precursor: relaxation. I was skeptical, but the techniques—coupled with an alarm function to get you up in the morning—made this app an instant favorite. Give it a try if you're generally fidgety and thinking about your next Facebook status update when hitting the sack. $2.99, available for iPhone, iPad, Android and Windows Phone 7