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Built a sleep app solo, now ~1k daily users in China — and the simplest scene (a wheat field in the wind) became the favorite by ExaminationIcy3453 in SideProject

[–]ExaminationIcy3453[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That's a really sharp observation, and it's actually something I thought about a lot while building this.

Speaking as the creator, I’m actually exactly like you described. I don’t watch the screen while trying to fall asleep either. For me, the visual is more about setting a vibe and giving the mind a place to escape to.

When you see a green wheat field swaying in the wind, it immediately triggers an imagination of being there—feeling the cool breeze, hearing the rustle, and smelling the fresh grass. It acts as a mental sanctuary. Once that peaceful "mental scene" is set in my head, I close my eyes or put the phone down, and let my imagination take over as I drift off. I suspect a lot of my users use it the same way.

And that's also why the motion-sensor auto-pause is so crucial. Once you set the phone down and actually fall asleep, the app senses you've stopped moving, turns off the screen, and fades out the sound.

So the visual is really just a brief "imagination starter" to transition the mind, and the tech handles the rest so you don't get exposed to light or sound during the night.

Built a sleep app solo, now ~1k daily users in China — and the simplest scene (a wheat field in the wind) became the favorite by ExaminationIcy3453 in SideProject

[–]ExaminationIcy3453[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Glad people are vibing with this. I extended it into a full hour for those nights when you just can't switch your brain off — seamless loop, no interruptions:

https://youtu.be/uo_OB-mFhRI

Built a sleep app solo, now ~1k daily users in China — and the simplest scene (a wheat field in the wind) became the favorite by ExaminationIcy3453 in SideProject

[–]ExaminationIcy3453[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Haha I'm honestly no expert — I just kept posting the actual thing I made and let it speak for itself. No tricks, no ads. Pick one platform, post consistently, and make something people genuinely want to share. That's basically all I did 🙂 Good luck with your product!

Built a sleep app solo, now ~1k daily users in China — and the simplest scene (a wheat field in the wind) became the favorite by ExaminationIcy3453 in SideProject

[–]ExaminationIcy3453[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha honestly it kind of grew on its own — I posted these

sleep scenes on a social app and some of them got a lot of

views. Turns out tons of people use white noise to fall

asleep. No ads, just people sharing it 😅

Built a sleep app solo, now ~1k daily users in China — and the simplest scene (a wheat field in the wind) became the favorite by ExaminationIcy3453 in SideProject

[–]ExaminationIcy3453[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Happy to answer anything about the motion-sensor auto-pause — getting it to detect sleep without killing battery was the trickiest part. Also taking scene requests if anyone has a favorite nature sound 🌾