Beep. Beep. Beep.
Ugh, that dreaded sound. You’ve been snapped awake from your vivid dream of fighting a battle aboard a floating ship in the middle of nowhere. Yes, that dream. Perhaps you’re thinking about drifting back into a deep sleep to finish what you started…
Beep. Beep. Beep.
“I guess it’s time to get moving.”
Think of how peacefully you awaken on the days when an alarm doesn’t need to be set. Ahhh, slowly becoming aware of your surroundings – maybe it’s the sun or the chirp of a bird that’s caused you to stir. Who wouldn’t welcome that over the Beep. Beep. Beep.? And with that, we introduce the Philips Wake-Up Light. An “alarm clock” (without the horrendous beeping sound) that gradually increases the intensity of light for thirty minutes before your alarm time – mimicking the rising of the sun, and essentially preparing you to awaken naturally and feel more energetic at the start of the day.
The Wake-Up Light is clinically proven: “Recommended by the National Sleep Foundation and backed by clinical research, the Wake-Up Light is scientifically proven to be effective. In sleep studies, 92 percent of users found that the Wake-Up Light improved the quality of waking and left them more energized and in a better mood.”
The main difference between the Wake-Up Light and an alarm clock is disruption. An alarm clock immediately breaks you from your deep sleep – there’s no warning or natural progression of wakening. The Wake-Up Light is an intensification of light informing the body that it’s morning. The pineal gland, which moderates the sleep hormones, begins to hamper the generation of melatonin (a sleep-inducing hormone) throughout the body. This allows your brain to gradually become aware that you’ll be waking up soon, progressively pulling your conscious out of deep sleep.
Another neat feature is the light-dimming setting which helps guide you into a drowsy state. The “dusk light” feature can be set for an amount of time (ex. 20 minutes) where the light will slowly decrease in brightness, stimulating the body’s own melatonin production to make you sleepy.
Proper rest is extremely vital to a healthy body and peaceful mind. A night of disrupted sleep will surely leave you feeling lethargic, moody, and perhaps unproductive. A study by Harvard University found that “Just one sleepless night can impair performance as much as a blood-alcohol level of 0.10 percent, beyond the legal limit to drive.” How you start your morning can greatly influence your mindset for the remainder of the day. A positive, relaxing first few wakeful seconds can make all the difference for how you handle that Monday morning wake-up call, or any wake-up call for that matter.
The Wake-Up Light can be purchased at Amazon & Philips, for around $100-$150.