Wake-up light
1 Article
What is a wake up light?
Unlike a traditional, commercially available alarm clock which ends your sleep with sounds and melodies, a wake up light uses pleasant light to wake you up. Wake up lights are equipped with a lamp that gradually becomes brighter. The wake up light thereby simulates the colours of a sunrise and uses a natural process to wake you up gently and naturally. To make sure you don’t oversleep, you can also set an alarm tone that sounds when the simulated sunrise finishes. There are different sounds to choose from, for example gentle music as the ideal accompaniment to the simulated sunrise from your wake up light.
Why is a wake up light effective?
The human body reacts to a change in brightness, which is why a wake up light is effective at gradually waking you up in the morning. The wake up light uses your body’s natural process for regulating sleep. When the body is exposed to light, the release of the sleep hormone melatonin is inhibited, signalling to your body that it is time to wake up. The wake up light simulates the natural process of the day becoming brighter in the morning with a sunrise, helping your body to regulate your sleep.
The body regulates sleep through what is known as the circadian rhythm, also known as our internal clock. This internal clock is primarily controlled by whether or not we are exposed to light. If it is dark, the hormone melatonin is released, which makes you tired and fall asleep. However, if it is light, the release of melatonin is inhibited and the release of the wake-up hormone cortisol and the happiness hormone serotonin increases instead. A greater amount of cortisol is produced and released in your body from the early hours of the morning, making you wake up gradually. Serotonin is also produced when the day gets brighter and it puts you in a better mood. The simulated sunrise from your wake up light targets this process in your body and influences the rhythm of your sleep.
The wake up light helps your body with the natural process of your internal clock. Simulating a sunrise ensures that you wake up gently and in a natural way. Many wake up lights can even help you fall asleep by also simulating a sunset. This feature gradually makes your bedroom darker and encourages the release of melatonin.
What are the differences between wake up lights?
Wake up lights can differ in terms of their functions and properties. For example, some wake up lights provide the option of a snooze function. The number of alarm times that you can set may also vary depending on the model. In addition, it may be possible to dim the display brightness of your wake up light.
Most notably, there are some important differences in the light function. Not every wake up light has a fall-asleep function in addition to the wake-up function, so it’s important to know whether your wake up light also offers a simulated sunset. The type of simulated sunrise and sunset also differs; coloured lights may be used, or there may be one light colour that gradually becomes brighter or darker.
What additional features can a wake up light offer me?
In addition to the simulated sunrise and sunset, a wake up light can offer you a whole host of features:
- Additional light functions: Wake up lights can also be used as a night light or reading lamp. This means you can use your wake up light for different situations and don’t need to keep multiple devices on your bedside table. Some wake up lights can also be used as a mood light, which means you can set different colours for your light.
- Integrated sound: Some wake up lights enable you to set additional variants as acoustic wake-up signals. These could be wake-up tones such as the sounds of nature or a connection to a radio station.
- App connection: Wake up lights may also be equipped with Connect functionality and controlled via an app. This allows you to conveniently set your wake-up time, signals, light patterns and light colours using your smartphone.
Side note: Your body’s sleep cycle
The exact timing of every person’s sleep rhythm differs slightly, but the rhythm is divided into the same phases for everyone. These are repeated several times over the course of a night and are called sleep cycles. A sleep cycle typically lasts about 90 to 110 minutes, after which the next cycle starts. Each sleep cycle is divided into the following four phases: falling asleep phase, light sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep.