Dreamy App

My sleep-tracking statistics said I needed more sleep. (Duh.) Buried deep inside the data was some general information about sleep, but the app stopped short of offering advice on how to solve my personal sleep problems.

Brian X. Chen

The Sad Truth About Sleep-Tracking Devices and Apps

My sleep-tracking statistics said I needed more sleep. (Duh.) Buried deep inside the data was some general information about sleep, but the app stopped short of offering advice on how to solve my personal sleep problems.

Brian X. Chen

The Sad Truth About Sleep-Tracking Devices and Apps

My sleep-tracking statistics said I needed more sleep. (Duh.) Buried deep inside the data was some general information about sleep, but the app stopped short of offering advice on how to solve my personal sleep problems.

Brian X. Chen

The Sad Truth About Sleep-Tracking Devices and Apps

Context and Challenges

With limited access to sleep experts and no possibility for long-term user testing, I relied on scientific literature, open research, and publicly available medical recommendations. This allowed me to build a design based on proven behavioral and cognitive approaches.

This section gathers all the preliminary research and UX artifacts I created.

Context and Challenges

With limited access to sleep experts and no possibility for long-term user testing, I relied on scientific literature, open research, and publicly available medical recommendations. This allowed me to build a design based on proven behavioral and cognitive approaches.

This section gathers all the preliminary research and UX artifacts I created.

Context and Challenges

With limited access to sleep experts and no possibility for long-term user testing, I relied on scientific literature, open research, and publicly available medical recommendations. This allowed me to build a design based on proven behavioral and cognitive approaches.

This section gathers all the preliminary research and UX artifacts I created.

Research Phases

To build the foundation for the project, I used methods that helped me explore both the sleep context and user behavior. Research confirmed that engagement and emotional connection are key success factors in changing behavioral habits. This became the core of Dreamy's concept.

I conducted a survey with 52 users: 81% experienced sleep problems, and 63% doubted that apps could really help due to inaccurate data and lack of personalization. 44% had positive experiences, mainly thanks to nature sounds, breathing practices, and reminders. Ideally, users expect a combination of science and gentle support.

Research Phases

To build the foundation for the project, I used methods that helped me explore both the sleep context and user behavior. Research confirmed that engagement and emotional connection are key success factors in changing behavioral habits. This became the core of Dreamy's concept.

I conducted a survey with 52 users: 81% experienced sleep problems, and 63% doubted that apps could really help due to inaccurate data and lack of personalization. 44% had positive experiences, mainly thanks to nature sounds, breathing practices, and reminders. Ideally, users expect a combination of science and gentle support.

Research Phases

To build the foundation for the project, I used methods that helped me explore both the sleep context and user behavior. Research confirmed that engagement and emotional connection are key success factors in changing behavioral habits. This became the core of Dreamy's concept.

I conducted a survey with 52 users: 81% experienced sleep problems, and 63% doubted that apps could really help due to inaccurate data and lack of personalization. 44% had positive experiences, mainly thanks to nature sounds, breathing practices, and reminders. Ideally, users expect a combination of science and gentle support.

Analysis and planning methods:

Literature review
Competitive analysis
COM-B Behavior Model
Outcome Logic Map

Analysis and planning methods:

Literature review
Competitive analysis
COM-B Behavior Model
Outcome Logic Map

Analysis and planning methods:

Literature review
Competitive analysis
COM-B Behavior Model
Outcome Logic Map

Idea generation and testing methods:

Brainstorming
Usability testing (small-group prototypes, evaluating perception and clarity)

Idea generation and testing methods:

Brainstorming
Usability testing (small-group prototypes, evaluating perception and clarity)

Idea generation and testing methods:

Brainstorming
Usability testing (small-group prototypes, evaluating perception and clarity)

Core Ideas

Dreamy is based on five key principles to make the path to healthy sleep clear and motivating:

Gamification. Gentle game mechanics keep users engaged and help build habits.
Variety of formats. Meditations, music, and tasks for different sleep and wake scenarios.
Simple language. A trust-building tone with clear explanations of how sleep works and how to improve it.
Scientific foundation. All solutions are based on CBT-i and other validated research.
Support. A virtual character, gentle reminders, and reflection features create a sense of care.

Core Ideas

Dreamy is based on five key principles to make the path to healthy sleep clear and motivating:

Gamification. Gentle game mechanics keep users engaged and help build habits.
Variety of formats. Meditations, music, and tasks for different sleep and wake scenarios.
Simple language. A trust-building tone with clear explanations of how sleep works and how to improve it.
Scientific foundation. All solutions are based on CBT-i and other validated research.
Support. A virtual character, gentle reminders, and reflection features create a sense of care.

Core Ideas

Dreamy is based on five key principles to make the path to healthy sleep clear and motivating:

Gamification. Gentle game mechanics keep users engaged and help build habits.
Variety of formats. Meditations, music, and tasks for different sleep and wake scenarios.
Simple language. A trust-building tone with clear explanations of how sleep works and how to improve it.
Scientific foundation. All solutions are based on CBT-i and other validated research.
Support. A virtual character, gentle reminders, and reflection features create a sense of care.

The Dreamy Character

To build emotional connection, I created Dreamy — a soft, friendly virtual assistant that guides the user from the very start.

Dreamy is not just an illustration, but a full mediator between the user and the system. It:

asks onboarding questions,
helps identify causes of poor sleep,
supports progress,
offers tips and helps with relaxation.

The character became an anchor of trust and care — users see it as a personal guide, not just an interface. Dreamy is not just aesthetics, but a functional element boosting engagement.

The Dreamy Character

To build emotional connection, I created Dreamy — a soft, friendly virtual assistant that guides the user from the very start.

Dreamy is not just an illustration, but a full mediator between the user and the system. It:

asks onboarding questions,
helps identify causes of poor sleep,
supports progress,
offers tips and helps with relaxation.

The character became an anchor of trust and care — users see it as a personal guide, not just an interface. Dreamy is not just aesthetics, but a functional element boosting engagement.

The Dreamy Character

To build emotional connection, I created Dreamy — a soft, friendly virtual assistant that guides the user from the very start.

Dreamy is not just an illustration, but a full mediator between the user and the system. It:

asks onboarding questions,
helps identify causes of poor sleep,
supports progress,
offers tips and helps with relaxation.

The character became an anchor of trust and care — users see it as a personal guide, not just an interface. Dreamy is not just aesthetics, but a functional element boosting engagement.

People can feel connected in the context of behavior change and without a direct relationship with others.

Amy Boucher

Engaged

People can feel connected in the context of behavior change and without a direct relationship with others.

Amy Boucher

Engaged

People can feel connected in the context of behavior change and without a direct relationship with others.

Amy Boucher

Engaged

Onboarding

The user's first interaction sets the tone. I designed onboarding as a dialogue with Dreamy to immediately create a sense of care and trust.

Instead of dry registration, the user answers simple questions about sleep, habits, and mood. These become the foundation for a personal scenario — without pressure or overload.

This approach helps:

reduce anxiety at the start,
increase engagement from the first minutes,
immediately tailor the app to personal needs.

Onboarding

The user's first interaction sets the tone. I designed onboarding as a dialogue with Dreamy to immediately create a sense of care and trust.

Instead of dry registration, the user answers simple questions about sleep, habits, and mood. These become the foundation for a personal scenario — without pressure or overload.

This approach helps:

reduce anxiety at the start,
increase engagement from the first minutes,
immediately tailor the app to personal needs.

Onboarding

The user's first interaction sets the tone. I designed onboarding as a dialogue with Dreamy to immediately create a sense of care and trust.

Instead of dry registration, the user answers simple questions about sleep, habits, and mood. These become the foundation for a personal scenario — without pressure or overload.

This approach helps:

reduce anxiety at the start,
increase engagement from the first minutes,
immediately tailor the app to personal needs.

Daily Page

Dreamy's main screen gathers all relevant information so the user can instantly understand their status and easily access helpful actions.

Upon opening after sleep, the app shows:

key sleep stats with recommendations,
the current lesson or task,
weekly goal reminders,
a block inviting friends for mutual support.

Users can customize the page structure — adding or removing blocks as they like. This makes the Daily Page not just a dashboard but a living entry point to the sleep ritual.

Daily Page

Dreamy's main screen gathers all relevant information so the user can instantly understand their status and easily access helpful actions.

Upon opening after sleep, the app shows:

key sleep stats with recommendations,
the current lesson or task,
weekly goal reminders,
a block inviting friends for mutual support.

Users can customize the page structure — adding or removing blocks as they like. This makes the Daily Page not just a dashboard but a living entry point to the sleep ritual.

Daily Page

Dreamy's main screen gathers all relevant information so the user can instantly understand their status and easily access helpful actions.

Upon opening after sleep, the app shows:

key sleep stats with recommendations,
the current lesson or task,
weekly goal reminders,
a block inviting friends for mutual support.

Users can customize the page structure — adding or removing blocks as they like. This makes the Daily Page not just a dashboard but a living entry point to the sleep ritual.

Contextual helper

The main screen adapts to the user’s situation. Thanks to the built-in helper widget, Dreamy offers targeted actions based on context:

If the user logs in later than usual, Dreamy gently reminds them of the importance of a sleep routine.
If the sleep was poor, it offers a short breathing exercise or recovery advice.

This makes interactions more personalized and timely, enhancing trust and effectiveness.

Contextual helper

The main screen adapts to the user’s situation. Thanks to the built-in helper widget, Dreamy offers targeted actions based on context:

If the user logs in later than usual, Dreamy gently reminds them of the importance of a sleep routine.
If the sleep was poor, it offers a short breathing exercise or recovery advice.

This makes interactions more personalized and timely, enhancing trust and effectiveness.

Contextual helper

The main screen adapts to the user’s situation. Thanks to the built-in helper widget, Dreamy offers targeted actions based on context:

If the user logs in later than usual, Dreamy gently reminds them of the importance of a sleep routine.
If the sleep was poor, it offers a short breathing exercise or recovery advice.

This makes interactions more personalized and timely, enhancing trust and effectiveness.

Learning

Behavioral change is impossible without awareness. That’s why Dreamy has a section with short, clear lessons that help understand sleep mechanisms and build new habits.

Lessons are:

adapted to everyday situations (e.g., anxious thoughts before bed or working night shifts),
broken into short modules that take 2–3 minutes,
supplemented with interactive elements and reflection questions.

The user gets not dry theory, but practical tips they can apply today. This turns learning into a habit and provides a sense of progress.

Learning

Behavioral change is impossible without awareness. That’s why Dreamy has a section with short, clear lessons that help understand sleep mechanisms and build new habits.

Lessons are:

adapted to everyday situations (e.g., anxious thoughts before bed or working night shifts),
broken into short modules that take 2–3 minutes,
supplemented with interactive elements and reflection questions.

The user gets not dry theory, but practical tips they can apply today. This turns learning into a habit and provides a sense of progress.

Learning

Behavioral change is impossible without awareness. That’s why Dreamy has a section with short, clear lessons that help understand sleep mechanisms and build new habits.

Lessons are:

adapted to everyday situations (e.g., anxious thoughts before bed or working night shifts),
broken into short modules that take 2–3 minutes,
supplemented with interactive elements and reflection questions.

The user gets not dry theory, but practical tips they can apply today. This turns learning into a habit and provides a sense of progress.

Social interaction and activities in lessons

To amplify the learning effect, I added social elements: users can leave comments, share tips, and get recommendations from others. At the end of each lesson, short self-reflection activities help consolidate the material and understand how to apply it in practice.

Social interaction and activities in lessons

To amplify the learning effect, I added social elements: users can leave comments, share tips, and get recommendations from others. At the end of each lesson, short self-reflection activities help consolidate the material and understand how to apply it in practice.

Social interaction and activities in lessons

To amplify the learning effect, I added social elements: users can leave comments, share tips, and get recommendations from others. At the end of each lesson, short self-reflection activities help consolidate the material and understand how to apply it in practice.

Visual information in lessons

To make lessons more visual and connect dry data to practical tips, I added infographics and sleep visualizations. This helps the user better understand how their sleep stats link to specific recommendations and actions.

Visual information in lessons

To make lessons more visual and connect dry data to practical tips, I added infographics and sleep visualizations. This helps the user better understand how their sleep stats link to specific recommendations and actions.

Visual information in lessons

To make lessons more visual and connect dry data to practical tips, I added infographics and sleep visualizations. This helps the user better understand how their sleep stats link to specific recommendations and actions.

Sounds for falling asleep

Sound is one of the simplest and most effective relaxation methods. In Dreamy, users can choose calming audio: nature sounds, soft music, or breathing rhythms.

These sounds:

start automatically during the evening ritual,
adapt to the user’s mood and preferences,
can be combined with visual images and breathing prompts.

Music in Dreamy is not just background noise but part of the support system and attention shift before sleep.

Sounds for falling asleep

Sound is one of the simplest and most effective relaxation methods. In Dreamy, users can choose calming audio: nature sounds, soft music, or breathing rhythms.

These sounds:

start automatically during the evening ritual,
adapt to the user’s mood and preferences,
can be combined with visual images and breathing prompts.

Music in Dreamy is not just background noise but part of the support system and attention shift before sleep.

Sounds for falling asleep

Sound is one of the simplest and most effective relaxation methods. In Dreamy, users can choose calming audio: nature sounds, soft music, or breathing rhythms.

These sounds:

start automatically during the evening ritual,
adapt to the user’s mood and preferences,
can be combined with visual images and breathing prompts.

Music in Dreamy is not just background noise but part of the support system and attention shift before sleep.

Daily rituals

After a lesson, the user goes through a daily ritual that helps prepare for sleep. Over time, the number of available actions grows, and the user can adjust them, choosing what works best.

Daily rituals

After a lesson, the user goes through a daily ritual that helps prepare for sleep. Over time, the number of available actions grows, and the user can adjust them, choosing what works best.

Daily rituals

After a lesson, the user goes through a daily ritual that helps prepare for sleep. Over time, the number of available actions grows, and the user can adjust them, choosing what works best.

Statistics

It’s important to show the user progress in improving sleep even before they start to feel it themselves. That’s why I included detailed sleep statistics with trend dynamics and tips. This helps understand what works, what needs to change, and motivates continued progress toward better sleep.

Statistics

It’s important to show the user progress in improving sleep even before they start to feel it themselves. That’s why I included detailed sleep statistics with trend dynamics and tips. This helps understand what works, what needs to change, and motivates continued progress toward better sleep.

Statistics

It’s important to show the user progress in improving sleep even before they start to feel it themselves. That’s why I included detailed sleep statistics with trend dynamics and tips. This helps understand what works, what needs to change, and motivates continued progress toward better sleep.

Maximum information

Statistics in Dreamy are not just numbers. I added tips and trends so that even users who don’t want to dive into details can understand their progress and get clear recommendations. This approach connects data to practical actions and makes progress visible and motivating.

Maximum information

Statistics in Dreamy are not just numbers. I added tips and trends so that even users who don’t want to dive into details can understand their progress and get clear recommendations. This approach connects data to practical actions and makes progress visible and motivating.

Maximum information

Statistics in Dreamy are not just numbers. I added tips and trends so that even users who don’t want to dive into details can understand their progress and get clear recommendations. This approach connects data to practical actions and makes progress visible and motivating.

Networking

People need people. According to self-determination theory, the feeling of belonging to something bigger is a basic psychological need. That’s why I made social interaction a red thread throughout the product. Users can share sleep stats, talk about how their morning or nap went — all in a shared social feed that creates a sense of connection and support.

Networking

People need people. According to self-determination theory, the feeling of belonging to something bigger is a basic psychological need. That’s why I made social interaction a red thread throughout the product. Users can share sleep stats, talk about how their morning or nap went — all in a shared social feed that creates a sense of connection and support.

Networking

People need people. According to self-determination theory, the feeling of belonging to something bigger is a basic psychological need. That’s why I made social interaction a red thread throughout the product. Users can share sleep stats, talk about how their morning or nap went — all in a shared social feed that creates a sense of connection and support.

Profile and goals

The profile is a place to store personal achievements and set sleep goals. The user can set their benchmarks: how many hours to sleep, what quality is acceptable, and gradually adjust them to approach ideal results.

Profile and goals

The profile is a place to store personal achievements and set sleep goals. The user can set their benchmarks: how many hours to sleep, what quality is acceptable, and gradually adjust them to approach ideal results.

Profile and goals

The profile is a place to store personal achievements and set sleep goals. The user can set their benchmarks: how many hours to sleep, what quality is acceptable, and gradually adjust them to approach ideal results.

Awards

To maintain motivation, I introduced a system of awards and challenges. Users feel recognized for their efforts here and now, and they also receive important feedback that helps maintain interest and see the meaning in changing habits.

Awards

To maintain motivation, I introduced a system of awards and challenges. Users feel recognized for their efforts here and now, and they also receive important feedback that helps maintain interest and see the meaning in changing habits.

Awards

To maintain motivation, I introduced a system of awards and challenges. Users feel recognized for their efforts here and now, and they also receive important feedback that helps maintain interest and see the meaning in changing habits.

Conclusions

While working on this project, I tried to look at the topic from all angles and understand how an app can truly influence human behavior. It was a large amount of work that allowed me to dive deep into research, design, and behavioral mechanics.

I deliberately didn’t touch on monetization — in this case, my priority was the user experience. Along the way, I learned a lot myself, and I tried some of the developed practices on myself — and they worked.

I believe Dreamy turned out to be a successful and cohesive project. I welcome questions, suggestions, and feedback — I’m sure together we can make it even better.

Conclusions

While working on this project, I tried to look at the topic from all angles and understand how an app can truly influence human behavior. It was a large amount of work that allowed me to dive deep into research, design, and behavioral mechanics.

I deliberately didn’t touch on monetization — in this case, my priority was the user experience. Along the way, I learned a lot myself, and I tried some of the developed practices on myself — and they worked.

I believe Dreamy turned out to be a successful and cohesive project. I welcome questions, suggestions, and feedback — I’m sure together we can make it even better.

Conclusions

While working on this project, I tried to look at the topic from all angles and understand how an app can truly influence human behavior. It was a large amount of work that allowed me to dive deep into research, design, and behavioral mechanics.

I deliberately didn’t touch on monetization — in this case, my priority was the user experience. Along the way, I learned a lot myself, and I tried some of the developed practices on myself — and they worked.

I believe Dreamy turned out to be a successful and cohesive project. I welcome questions, suggestions, and feedback — I’m sure together we can make it even better.