We all know the basics of a happy, healthy life, but what if the time after you fall asleep is less than stellar? Sure, you might be getting eight hours a night, but did you know that sleep deprivation can cause depression, weight gain, and decreased fertility in men if that time is not well spent? Or that these side-effects can occur long after you wake from your unsatisfying slumber? Accruing sleep hours in short periods of time can also have the same, if not worst effect on your health, as you increase the sensation of deprivation. Researchers, whose work is published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, added that while restoring a satisfying sleep pattern helps, how men feel when they wake up plays a critical role in their overall quality of life. There’s a reason why Male Standard advocates getting a good nights sleep, but now we have concrete evidence of how one simple step can make a significant change in your overall life and wellness.
Introducing the Philips WakeUp Light:
For most people, waking up is not glamorous. Nobody appreciates the “early bird” who always seems so well rested. How is it that they get a good night sleep and we don’t? The older we get, the less sleep we get. We are often tempted to believe that interrupted sleep is “normal.” Yes, we live in a modern world, and yes we never turn our phones or our internet off, but that doesn’t mean convenience is always a good thing. In fact, if you are one of millions of American’s who wake up on the “wrong side of the bed,” you could be putting your body in danger. To help address this growing concern, Male Standard put the Philips WakeUp Light to the test to see if we could improve our experience of both going to sleep, and most importantly, waking up when accomplishing our successes. Mimicking the effects of the sunset and sunrise, this unique device draws you into the night or new day without aggressive or aggravating alarm bells, and functions as your body was intended too, naturally.
Introducing The Philips WakeUp Light
Call us curious, but as this device has little to no sound, we were interested to see if it could a) wake us up, and b), see if it’s a real help to our health. The concept is surprisingly simple, to wake naturally by mimicking the look and sound of nature, with an adjustable sound setting that includes birds chirping and the like, should you wish to be woken with noise as a fail safe. It also works in reverse, allowing you to turn the “sun” down before you go to sleep, which was an unexpected favorite feature. The energy efficient light is ideal for late night readers, and tricks your body into unwinding as the light turns from daylight to dawn, and then off. There’s no glare, should you be worried about trading in your faithful night light too. In the morning, the sunrise feature is a wonderful way to embrace a new day, and offers an authentic daybreak experience. There was no sudden noise, distractions, or lights turning on — just the feeling of waking up rested, which on day 1, arrived sooner and more satisfyingly than expected.
Highlights
Natural light wakes you gradually
- Colored Sunrise Simulation wakes you naturally
- Dimming light and sound gently send you off to sleep
- 20 brightness settings to fit your personal preference
Natural sounds wake you gently
- Choice of 5 different natural wake up sounds
- FM radio let’s you wake up with your favorite radio show
Naturally designed around you
- Display automatically dims itself when the bedroom gets dark
- Just tap the product to snooze
The Importance of a Good Nights Sleep
Getting enough sleep, and good sleep, is all very well, but getting too much sleep, or oversleeping can lead to groggy starts to the day. When you wake, you want to feel refreshed. You can’t put a number on how to accomplish that task either! Male Standard found the WakeUp Light absolutely lived up to it’s bold claims on the first night, waking us 20 minutes earlier than the one and only alarm would sound. What is surprising about this, is that while our mood was already improved over using traditional methods, we didn’t have to silence an audio assault, waking up early didn’t detract from the day. Instead, we were left with a natural sensation that today was going to be a fantastic day, and already had one foot firmly on the floor before the sound of chosen birds would tick into action. Then, when going to bed at night, we actually found a significant decrease in the amount of downtime required to slow down our brains when trying to fall asleep; it was as if our body had been waiting all along for this sweet, sleeping balance.
What We Liked:
- Using the “rewind” feature to fall asleep peacefully
- How easy and fast it was to program, and customize
- Waking up before the alarm going off, and feeling refreshed
- Having a choice of radio or nature sounds to wake up to over a siren
- The functionality and sleek design; it’s a great companion for the bedroom
The Verdict
The Philips WakeUp Light quickly exceeded all expectations. This is one of those products that really does make you wonder where it’s been all your life. The difference a day can make is true, and having the ability to “touch” a snooze button and fall asleep without a headache was something we hadn’t valued on our health. If you don’t believe us, take down those daylight saving curtains and feel the difference for yourself. For all practicalities, and for the sake of our power bill, Philips have afforded us that luxury with simplicity and functionality intertwined, with some extra neat tricks we’ll be unveiling soon; it’s a gift from nature, but well suited for tech lovers alike. While the first impressions were excellent, we’re going to use the Philips WakeUp Light for seven consecutive days, keeping a record of our sleeping patterns, so you can see for yourself how much this radial “alarm clock” system can make a difference to your long-term health. Leave a comment below and let us know if you have trouble sleeping!
Take the Winter Blues test at Philips, and see what your results say about you.