While searching the internet tonight on some of my favorite health and nutrition blogs, I came across an article called 7 Tech Tools for Better Primal Living. I found the Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock to be the most interesting and useful tools on this list. After further research I found this iPhone app can actually monitor and analyze someone's sleeping patterns and wake the sleeper up in his/her lightest phase of sleep. It wakes the sleeper up with a low soothing noise and will increase the volume slowly until the sleeper awakes. The website Lifehacker took a vote on the best alarm app currently on the market, and this App won with a 50% vote. At a price of $0.99, this app seems worth it for such a practical technology.
I am very curious on how this application actually monitors the sleep cycle. Depending on the monitoring system, this could really drain the battery of the device. Also, with how I charge my phone, I don't know how well this application would work. I charge my phone on a dock at night on the other side of the room. The dock does not allow applications to make noises while docked and the space between me and my device could be an issue of detecting sleep patterns.
ReplyDeleteI do really like the idea of this technology. There are many research studies that support the fact that waking between sleep cycles allows for a person to feel refreshed in the morning instead of tired. An application that works accurately to detect an individual's sleep cycles nightly would honestly be really cool. The only catch is that it has to work accurately in order to be useful at all.
Caitlin, I got this app towards the beginning of the semester and have been using it on certain days of the week for a while now. You're right, it does drain the battery, which is why the app encourages you to plug in your phone to set the alarm. The way it works is that it uses the accelerometer to detect your movement during the night. Your phone must be placed facedown on the corner of your bed, under your sheets. It takes a few nights for it to get calibrated. But supposedly, when you are in REM sleep, you move much less, and thus it is able to detect your sleep cycles.
DeleteI've found that yes, I usually do tend to have an easier time getting up when I use this app. Actually, the first time I woke up to it, it was so pleasant it was surprising. But I will also say that it does absolutely nothing for endurance through the day. If you didn't get much sleep, you won't last as long, just as usual. I'd say the only real disadvantages of this app are that you must remember to manually set the alarm every night (which is why I set normal scheduled alarms as backup) and that you wake up within a range of times, rather than the same time each morning. If you're big on morning routines, this could be bothersome. The default range is 30 minutes, meaning it won't wake you up earlier than 30 minutes before the set time.
This seems to be very interesting and I would really like to know the actual technology of the app as well as what it claims to do. I would like to see the research behind it in order to gain a better understanding of how it actually works. This app seems like it could be extremely practical for students as well as adults in the working world, or for that matter anyone who needs some sort of alarm to wake up.
ReplyDeleteAssuming that this technology works as it claims, it seems really cool. I would love to wake up feeling more restful. As for the technology itself, I think it would be nice to have something monitor my REM cycles and wake me in the lighter sleep as I am not (obviously) able to do this on my own. This technology presents an interesting development in which an enhancement to life is presented rather than a typical technology addiction. It also makes me wonder if the body could grow out of the need for the application. If I begin to consistently wake up in my lighter sleep cycle with the app, could I become habituated to this sleep pattern and no longer need the alarm to wake?
ReplyDeleteI have heard of this technology before and am very tempted to try it. I would love to learn more about it and read the reviews and experiences of other people who have used it. I always feel very tired when I have to wake up and would love to try something new like this that could potentially wake me up at the time that would be best. I wonder if you can set it to wake you up by a certain time if you have class or somewhere else to be? It is definitely a very interesting technology that I would like to learn more about.
ReplyDeleteI also think that this application is an amazing tool! I don't think it creates dependence, only just a greater outlook on the human sleep cycle. There are great implications for this app because the user has the potential to discover things about hi or her sleep cycle and certain times of the night that sleep is optimal. One downside to the application is its accuracy. I have never used it personally, but I know that the application uses movement as an indication of certain sleep cycles. This could be very easily interrupted, which would cause inaccuracy in the readings. Overall, I think this is a great tool!
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea behind this technology. I know the purpose of this is to measure your REM cycles so you can wake up when you aren't in a deep sleep, but I am a little confused about how it would work? I remember reading somewhere else about a wristband that does the same thing. It works by measuring pulse, body temperature, and movement. Knowing that these were some of the key points that the wristband measured I am curious if this app took the same approach. I feel like something like this is incredibly beneficial. Right now, I use my alarm clock to wake me up in the morning and from occasional naps, and this just seems like an improved alarm clock. Because of this, it is hard for me to think of anything negative about the app.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea behind this technology. I know the purpose of this is to measure your REM cycles so you can wake up when you aren't in a deep sleep, but I am a little confused about how it would work? I remember reading somewhere else about a wristband that does the same thing. It works by measuring pulse, body temperature, and movement. Knowing that these were some of the key points that the wristband measured I am curious if this app took the same approach. I feel like something like this is incredibly beneficial. Right now, I use my alarm clock to wake me up in the morning and from occasional naps, and this just seems like an improved alarm clock. Because of this, it is hard for me to think of anything negative about the app.
ReplyDeleteI've used a very similar online tool nearly every night for the past several weeks to ensure that I wake up at the optimal time to start my day off well, and I love it! Human error, as in when we fall asleep, is a tremendous downfall, but I see no practical way of solving that problem as it is no fault of the technology. Very big fan!
ReplyDeleteHere's the website I use- http://sleepyti.me/