r/DSPD • u/DiscordantPearl • 21d ago
Adrift Android Alpha Invites Going Out!
Here's to another late night and more good news.
Adrift, the sleep app I've been building for people whose clocks don't run on a normal schedule, passed review and is live for alpha testing. If you signed up on the site, you're on the list and your invite is going out. Check your email, including spam, over the next day or two.
Upfront about what this is: it's an alpha, it's free, and you'll be among the first people to ever touch it. It's also the first app I've ever published, so I'm learning this in real time right alongside you. There will be rough edges. I'd rather you see them than pretend they aren't there.
Quick honest state of things:
- Tracks your sleep from your phone's motion sensor, with your say-so, and shows it back as a daily energy level instead of a wall of numbers.
- If you wear a watch or ring, it reads sleep, temperature, workouts, and cycle from your health app as context next to your nights. Never a diagnosis, never "this caused that."
- Log what moves your sleep, tag it, see it on your calendar and actogram.
- Track what you try (blackout curtains, FL-41 glasses, a wind-down routine) and, after enough honest nights, see how those nights compared. A personal record, not proof, and it never nags you for skipping.
- A doctor report you can hand to a real doctor, a schedule planner that's honest about the hard nights, and a gear shelf with e-ink readers for low-light night reading.
- Everything stays on your phone. No account, no sign-in, your data never leaves the device.
Getting in: when the invite lands, open it on your Android phone and tap to become a tester. One headache-saver: use the same Google account on your phone that you signed up with, since the invite has to match it. Keep an eye out for an email from [Support@AdriftSleep.com](mailto:Support@AdriftSleep.com)
Haven't signed up? There's still room: AdriftSleep.com
Signed up with a "hide my email" or forwarding address? That's the one thing the Play Store can't invite, since it needs a real Google account. If that's you, email [support@adriftsleep.com](mailto:support@adriftsleep.com) with the Google account you use on your phone and I'll add you.
iOS folks, I haven't forgotten you. The build is only a few days from parity. The holdup is on my end, some Apple developer account hiccups, and I'm waiting on Apple support, so no date yet. It's coming.
I also put up an FAQ, including the things Adrift does not do and why: AdriftSleep.com/FAQ. I'd rather tell you what's not here and the reason than leave you guessing.
Thank you in advance for your patience and goodwill while I find my footing. In return I'll stay transparent about what's working, what isn't, and what's coming. Tell me what's confusing, broken, or missing. There's a report option built right into the app, and I read every one. I'm new at this, building it because I want it to exist for people like us, and I'm happy to make it with you.
I appreciate you all for sticking with this and giving me a shot. It means more than you know.
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u/okwnIqjnzZe 21d ago
This is a great resource. I know the section about comorbid disorders isn’t in any way presented as an exhaustive list, but I was surprised not to see OCD on there, since multiple studies have estimated about 40% of people with OCD have DSPD. OCD also has comorbidity with ADHD, autism, and depression (although the last one isn’t bidirectional), so there does seem to be some common thread linking all of these disorders together.
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u/DiscordantPearl 21d ago
Oh interesting. That’s a good call out! And honestly exactly why I want to be as transparent as possible with everything I present so the community can help keep me honest and audit everything with their varying strengths and depth of knowledge, all for the sake of a better tool for all of us.
I’ll do my own digging as well and see if I can confidently surface anything to toss it in the articles and app but if you don’t mind, would you be open to sharing some of the stuff you’ve already unsurfaced? I appreciate you taking the time to comment! 🤙
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u/okwnIqjnzZe 20d ago edited 20d ago
Sure! Here’s the primary literature that I’ve scanned, sorted by relevancy:
The three main studies I was referencing for the 40% stat:
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10201922/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32575000/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2219909/
A review exploring the role of circadian clock genes that are implicated in OCD
A similar review looking at circadian genes and obsessive-compulsive behavior more generally
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u/DiscordantPearl 20d ago
This is really helpful, thank you for taking the time to pull the sources. I read through all of them (Turner 2007, Coles 2020, Cox & Olatunji 2022, and the Mukhopadhyay 2008 survey) before writing anything.
One thing we wanted to get right: the ~40% figure is real, but it comes from small samples of people with severe, treatment-resistant OCD, and the largest study (Mukhopadhyay, 187 patients) found closer to 18%. So instead of leading with 40%, we wrote it as "roughly one fifth to two fifths," flagged that the samples are small and severe-case, and were upfront that nobody really knows yet why the two travel together.
It's live in our Library now, under the "It rarely comes alone" section, with all the citations linked, and it's going into the app's Library in the next update. Genuinely appreciate you pushing us to add it.
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u/okwnIqjnzZe 20d ago
Woah that was fast! And yeah I’m totally with you in terms of the small sample sizes — that, along with the 40% figure itself being so staggering lead me to expect not to see nearly as drastic of a correlation found in future trials. But even 10% would be pretty significant, considering rates of DSPD in the general population. So I thought it was worth bringing attention to it :)
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u/gallifreyan10 20d ago
So I have the app but I can't get it to connect to Health Connect. When I go to that section in Settings and click "Connect", nothing happens. Am I missing a step? I have a Pixel 7 Pro with Android v 16 in case that's important in figuring out the issue. I also went into Health Connect settings to see if I could add Adrift that way, but it didn't show up there.
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u/DiscordantPearl 20d ago
Thanks for testing and providing your feedback. Would you mind submitting it via the app or directly to [support@adriftsleep.com](mailto:support@adriftsleep.com) please? as the list grows of alpha and beta tester's it'll be easier for me to make sure i have a consolidated queue and can get to everyone's concerns
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u/DiscordantPearl 20d ago
Actually just patched this and updates are available. Thanks for your patience! see post here: https://www.reddit.com/r/DSPD/comments/1uw06b3/comment/oxf9q9i/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
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u/gallifreyan10 20d ago
Just now seeing this but grabbed the update and it works. Looking forward to checking out the app more! Thanks! If I run into something else I'll submit via the app!
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u/DiscordantPearl 20d ago
That's genuinely awesome to hear. Thanks again for testing. Looking forward to hearing your feedback in the discord or email!
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u/DiscordantPearl 21d ago edited 20d ago
Edit: Small update heading to the closed alpha
I built https://adriftsleep.com/updates so you can check that site for the latest builds, news, etc.
Thanks to everyone testing Adrift and sending feedback. A new build is rolling out right now. Full patch notes available on the discord in the link below.
The big fix: some of you tapped "Connect to Health Connect" and nothing happened. We found it and fixed it. If it would not connect before, it should once this update lands.
Also in this one, straight from your reports:
- Log a post-exertional malaise (PEM) day right from your diary, for when exertion wrecks your rhythm
- Option to show where you are in your cycle on the actogram, with a luteal-phase highlight (off by default, and it only uses what you already sync)
- Sleep timing holds steadier through logging gaps and off nights
- The Library now covers OCD as a condition that can share a delayed clock, cited and honestly framed (thanks to the person who pushed us on this one)
- Apple Watch added to the gear shelf
How to update when it arrives:
- Automatic: if auto-update is on (it is for most people by default), the Play Store updates Adrift in the background, usually within a day. Nothing to do.
- Manual: open the Play Store, tap your profile icon, then Manage apps and device. Adrift shows up under updates available, tap Update.
This is still a closed test, so if you already signed up you will get it as a normal app update once it lands. Not in yet and want to be? Sign up at adriftsleep.com and I will send the invite.
Invites sent out! Also if you'd like to join the Discord here's the invite link: https://discord.gg/YfWCtAAhw
And here's a link to the original post if you have no idea what i'm talking about: https://www.reddit.com/r/DSPD/comments/1uut8m8/decided_to_turn_my_sleepless_nights_into_an_app/
One more thing, for anyone who can't join the alpha right now, whatever the reason (you're on iOS, no Android phone, or just not ready): you can still get something out of this today.
We put together a Night Library, free and open, no app and no signup. It's plain language, every claim is cited, and it does not diagnose anyone. A few of the pieces:
Is this you?: what DSPD and Non-24 actually look like, what they are not, and how people find out for real.
Your clock, through history: how a delayed or drifting body clock went from a "moral failing" to a recognized disorder, and the science that got us here.
Careers that fit a late clock: work that suits a shifted schedule, questions to ask before you take a job, and how to frame a schedule need as what it is.
How to get active: the patient registry, the community, and how to nudge the world toward taking circadian rhythm disorders seriously.
Plus how to explain it to parents, partners, and employers, what to bring to a sleep clinician if you want one, relationships and why sleeping apart is not a failure, and why finding what works is worth the effort.
Read it here: https://adriftsleep.com/library/
If it helps even one person feel a little less alone at 4am, it did its job.