Oh, gosh, I have trouble getting up in the morning. I usually "negotiate" with my alarm clock for several snooze periods until I finally turn on the lamp and groggily make my way out of bed. Or I give up entirely, turning off the alarm clock altogether, too half-asleep even to think the words "forget it" consciously. Then the cat comes in and vociferously demands breakfast. There’s no way I can sleep through that — and once I’m up, I’m up for the day. While the cat is an effective alarm clock, the waking experience isn’t the most pleasant.
Sound familiar? Maybe it’s not our fault. The alarm clock wakes us up by the time of day (an external factor), not by the best time for us to wake up naturally (an internal factor). Aren’t there some times you wake up more easily than others, regardless of whether you’ve had your requisite hours of sleep?
On the January 2 episode of Dr. Phil (which I watch when I’m in the mood to feel self-righteous and falsely superior to others), guest LuAnn has profound trouble getting up in the morning. Even a high-decibel alarm located across the room from the bed isn’t enough to keep her up for the day (she gets up to turn it off and crawls back into bed). In addition to the expected psychological analysis (LuAnn doesn’t want to get up because she’s avoiding things she doesn’t like in her life), Dr. Phil gives her a SleepTracker alarm watch.
This is what intrigues me: the watch — not a clock, because it has to be in direct contact with the body — monitors the biological changes associated with the different stages of your sleep cycle and wakes you up during an "almost-awake" moment, which is the easiest stage for waking. Instead of setting the alarm for an exact time, like 7:00 AM, you set an "alarm window," such as 6:30 to 7:00 AM. The SleepTracker finds the "almost-awake" moment during that half hour (like, say, at 6:53 AM) and wakes you up then. It can also record your sleep data so that you can review your cycles and see what works best for you over time.
The Gear Live reviewer and others seem to love the SleepTracker, even if it’s a bit pricey ($150) for a geeky-looking carpal accouterment. SleepTracker maker Innovative Sleep Solutions also offers some rather obvious sleep tips as well as a forum for SleepTrack users.
Posted January 9, 2006 by Mariva in gadgets, gifts, innovations, resources