Reset your body clock with a dawn simulator alarm

Published by neil on December 8th, 2007

Dark winter mornings are anything but conducive to waking up feeling, well, awake. We all struggle through the winter, but some of us more than others. If you are like me and enter into a titanic battle in the search for morning coherence and the ability to do anything other than grunt for an hour, then you may need to reset your body clock with a bright light.

Imagine a world where you can ease your way into the day, wake up gradually and naturally, and discard the long held idea that loud sudden noises are the way to start your day. For someone like myself, a long time “not a morning person”, the very idea of feeling anything better than a brief glimpse of consciousness for an hour seemed absurd. But with increasing work hours and creative ambition, making the most of the day has become essential.

The answer to this aspect of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) might be in a special kind of alarm clock often called a “dawn simulator”. The primary function of a dawn simulator is, not surprisingly, to simulate dawn. Over a pre-set period of time - usually half an hour - the powerful lamp of the dawn simulator gradually increases illumination. This is one form of light therapy. This gradually wakes us up, naturally. No sudden beeps, no alarming blast of Terry Wogan, and no instinctive, automotive slamming of the snooze button half a dozen times each morning.

After some research, with most of the comparative options of similar pricing, I settled on the Philips HF3461 Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock. This unit contains a 100Watt lamp, generating, according to the specs, up to 400Lux - that’s almost twice the level of light needed to trigger the hormone switch.

30 minutes before you set your wakeup time, the lamp begins to gradually increase in light intensity. At your wakeup time, it adds in some sound to the mix (if you want it), again, gradually increasing the volume to the setting you have configured.

The sounds range from traditional FM radio and a pleasant beeping sound, to natural scenes: woodland birds, frogs, or ocean waves.

How this has changed my day…

BEFORE:
The radio alarm triggers around 6.30 and I keep slapping the snooze button for at least half an hour, likely an hour, after which alarm no 2 goes off - rinse and repeat. After which there’s the moment of “oh my, if I don’t get up now I”m going to be late because I need at least an hour to some around enough to do anything other than stare at Breakfast TV”. You get the picture.

AFTER:
With the alarm set at 6am, I usually rouse from 6-7 hours of sleep a few minutes before 6am, then lay there in half sleep until the birdsong sounds fade in - at which point I usually find myself asking “where’s that bird coming from?”. I slap the huge snooze button. The snooze only affects the sound, so the room is still being illuminated by the bright lamp which, unless I decide to bury my head beneath the covers, will stop me immediately returning to sleep. On the second appearance of the bird, 12 minutes later, I just get up. Easily. I could get up at the first birdsong, but it’s winter and the bed is indulgently cozy! How about that, the luxury of indulgence very first thing in the morning.

By waking like this at 6am, I am usually at work at my home desk, coherent, checking emails and starting the day by 7am. Of course, I could always have sat at my desk at 7am in the past, but the ability to be actually productive almost immediately is a whole new experience.

It has only been a week since we acquired the new alarm, but thus far it has been life changing, genuinely. I finally feel “normal” getting up early and getting sleepy around 10pm.

So what about the unit itself…

• Up to 400 Lux light intensity - can be set to suit your personal wake-up needs
• Built-in FM radio
• Compact design - doubles as a reading light, saving space
• Large easy-to-read LCD display
• Quick-check function to check next morning’s settings
• 9 minute snooze function with light and sound repetition
• Quick and easy bulb replacement
• Wake-up sounds friendly wake-up beep, 3 natural sounds (morning birds, seashore, pond), your favourite digital FM radio station
• Sound off function option to mute sound immediately
• Certified Medical Device
• Voltage: 230 V
• Frequency: 50 Hz
• Type of lamps: 1 Philips incandescent lamp
• Lifetime of lamps: 1000 hours
• Cord length: 3 m
• Insulation class II (double isolation)
• Snooze button for sound and light 9 minutes
• Quick-check function (90 sec.) check next morning’s light/sound level in 90 sec.
• Compact size limited bedside table space required (13.5×20 cm)
• Electricity back-up function 5 minute(s)
• Wake-up Light bulb with natural daylight spectrum, 100 W
• Sunrise simulating process (0-selected intensity) 30 minute(s)
• Light for easy reading 400 Lux at 40-50 cm
• Light intensity dimmer 0-400 Lux at 40-50 cm
• Sound off function option to mute sound immediately
• Premium sound box 2 W
• Easy-to-read LCD display 50×50 mm
• Display brightness control 3 settings (low, medium, high)

The final brightness of the 100Watt lamp is definable when you set the alarm. Depending on the room, 100W might be too bright. The final volume of the sound, should you choose to have it, is also definable, as is the type of sound you wish. I have to say that I have heard nature sounds in alarm units in the past, and I think the sound output of this one is superior. This might be down to the relatively large size of the illuminating section of the item, providing some resonance for the sound.

The period of time the light takes to come to full intensity is pre-set to 30 minutes, and not user definable. I do not feel it needs to be as I am not waking well before it has completed, or well after. Some units do have selectable timespan, however.

Other units can also offer a sunset mode, where the light is gradually reduced over time. But I wonder at the value of this. Chances are it’s already dark when you want to go to sleep anyway, and it’s not as if we immediately plunge into sleep the moment it gets dark. And if your aim is to use it as a reading light, then gradual reduction in light levels is not going to be good for your eyes as you are inevitably going to continue reading longer than you should in the dimming light.

It is a fairly large unit, but tall, so the actual footprint on your bedside cabinet is perfectly manageable. The unit does feel a little “plastic”, but this is down to the choice of surface finish and not overall build quality - which is quite solid. All the controls feel and work as they should, and setting alarm time, light intensity, and sound and volume are very straight forward. There is also a brief test mode where the unit runs through your settings over about 30 seconds so you can test light and sound are to your preference.

Here’s the science bit (it’s short, don’t panic)

Our bodies are tuned instinctively to our surrounding light conditions. While we sleep, we produce a hormone called Melotonin, which helps us sleep (melotonin is often used as a means to encourage natural sleeping patterns). As we wake, our bodies decrease the production of Melatonin, and increase cortisol - this is what wakes us up.

What this doesn’t do…

It does not improve your sleep, and does not compensate for lack of sleep - I’m still working on those. But as someone who has spent so many mornings doing a darn good impression of a zombie and being unproductive for a few hours, I can personally vouch for my days being more productive as a result of using this type of alarm. That is a very good thing in today’s increasingly busy life.

Go get one from Amazon now and transform your winter.

A range of dawn simulation devices at Amazon:
Philips HF3461 Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock (£89.99)
Lumie Bodyclock Sunray (£59.95)
Lumie Bodyclock Advanced (99.95)
Lumie Bodyclock Classic (£79.95)
Sunrise System SRS 250 (£119)

Tags: alarm, gadget, productivity, sleep
Posted in Cool Stuff |