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Last winter I found myself mourning the summer sun a lot more than usual. As the nights drew in, and as the morning sun took longer to rise, I found it a lot harder to wake up to my 6:30 am alarm. It’s surprising what just a little bit of summer sunshine does to your morning wake up and mentality for the rest of the day.
With that said, I decided to put the Lumie Bodyclock Rise 100 alarm clock on my Christmas wishlist. Santa listened to my wishes, and I’ve been using my Lumie for 3 months now. Here are my thoughts:
Why the Lumie Bodyclock?
Lumie lights specialise in treating SAD: Seasonal Affective Disorder, as well as improving the winter blues, boosting moods and working on a better sleep routine.
The Lumie Bodyclock Rise 100 is an alarm clock that mimics the morning sunrise with a steady brightening light so that when you open your eyes you feel properly awake and refreshed.
I decided to opt for an alarm clock as opposed to a basic light to help me move away from my phone too. Having used my mobile as my alarm for as long as I can remember, I became very aware of the fact my phone was the last thing I looked at before bed, and the first thing when I woke up, which was probably having a bigger effect on my sleep than I thought. Moving to an alarm clock meant I could move away from that routine.
Lumie do make radio alarm clocks too, but this more basic version had all the functionality I was after – a sunrise alarm clock (sound too if you choose), and sunset too. The look and feel of the Lumie light is modern and not too clunky for my bedside table either.
How has it helped my sleep?
To say the Lumie Bodyclock has improved my sleep is probably a bold claim, but I’ve certainly enjoyed having it instead of my mobile when waking up. The sunrise starts 30 minutes ahead of your alarm and is slow and gentle enough that you can slowly wake-up. On most occasions, I’m aware of the brightening of the light, but still, need the alarm sound to wake me up. That said, it’s a lot easier to hop out of bed when your room is already light.
I’ve appreciated using the sunset setting at night to send me to sleep too. It’s a great way to naturally wind down in the evenings. It’s worth noting too that the digital display will automatically turn off in darkness too, so if you’re one of those people that can’t sleep with any light whatsoever, you’ll be ok with this.
To fully improve sleep I think you need to look further than just an alarm clock. But having said that, I don’t think I’ll be able to go back to my mobile alarm anytime soon. There’s nothing better than real sunshine to wake you up in the morning, but in the colder, darker months, the Lumie Bodyclock will certainly do.
Have you tried any SAD lights? What do you think?
Lucy
