Does anybody here use a wake up light?
I'm working on some sleep hygiene habits at the moment and would like to know if anyone has any feedback, good or bad, for using a wake up lamp/sunrise alarm clock. I have to get up for work before it's light outside so this wouldn't be replicable by just leaving my blinds open.
Part of me likes the idea of a softer, gentler wakeup from light rather than noise, but there's another part of me that's worried I'll hate it just as much as I hate my alarm clock. My bullshit detector is also ringing pretty loudly when I see that the flagship brand name model is selling for $200 USD. Two hundred dollars for... a... light... that... slowly... turns... on. What?!?!
Nevertheless, maybe there's something I'm missing here (like the other $180 worth of technology presumably hidden in there). As such, I'm interested in hearing from anyone who has one. I'd love to hear your experiences and, if you're willing to share, which model you have.
Yeah, it helped me wake up this morning. I don't really have any fancy solution, just an old desk lamp pointed at the roof slope over my bed, wired up to a timer switch so it turns on in the morning and puts itself out again. Since I started using it (it lights up about 45 minutes before my alarm goes off) I find it far easier to stay awake instead of just rolling to the other side.
I use the original version of the sleep phaser (I just found out about v2): https://www.happy-electronics.eu/shop/en/sleep/46-sleep-phaser.html
Its...ok. I believe anything that improves sleep is a worthy investment, at nearly any price. Everyone should spend 1/3 of their lives sleeping. Because of this, I have multiple sleep products that I spend a decent bit of money on. I give $10/month to sleep with me podcast and don't regret a single penny. I originally bought the sleep phaser because I used sleep as android and wanted to support the developer. To that end, I don't regret the money. The sleep phaser has plenty of issues though, and I would say that it is not worth the asking price unless you want to support the app developers (I have no idea about v2).
As for the idea of a wake up light, it works really well. Between that and some math questions, I never sleep through an alarm. If you have the money to spare on a wake up light, go for it.
You don't have to get a stand alone device though. Sleep as android can connect to a few different smart lights and use them as a wake up light. You could use it as an excuse to get a nice Phillip's hue or other smart light system. Personally, if my sleep phaser died right now, I would go with smart lights rather than replace it.
Second vote for smart lights here. I've mentioned before that I bought them primarily for sleep issues, and although not life-changing they've definitely helped. If it's the whole room's lighting (or even the whole house), you can also get the benefit of an orange-spectrum sunset fade out in the evening, which helps at the other end.
I have a Phillips hue and it has a setting to serve as a wake-up light. I'm not entirely certain how long it ramps up from no light to full light, but it often wakes me up a little bit before my alarm clock does.
It's also nice because when I get in bed at night I don't have to turn it off at the wall switch; I can simply turn it off from my phone or other smart devices.
I used to have one but it broke. Should get another since it really helps with waking up during winter.
Summer, not so much since l have translucent blinds on north-facing windows so it doesn't ever get dark anyway.
edit: "get" as in "build", it's not hard.
You can do this with hue smart bulbs, you can have them slowly dim on in the morning and change color and brightness in the evening. I had this set up for awhile and liked it but not I get up earlier than my wife so it is impractical.
I'm probably not using it quite as you're meant to since I also sleep with the blinds open, but I've used one for many years. It helps especially on cloudy days or days when I have to wake up before sunrise.
The light on its own doesn't always wake me up fully. I have mine set to a birdsong alarm, which starts off super quiet, in addition to the light. I'm a light sleeper, so the quiet birdsong plus the light wakes me up in a pretty peaceful way. I don't mind the sound even after all these years (and I sure do hate being startled awake by traditional alarm clocks and phone alarms).
Mine is a Phillips model I bought in 2012 for under $100 CAD. I believe it was the most basic one they had at the time.