If you are like me and have trouble waking up in the morning, a wake-up light is a must-have. When the sun does not hit your face/room in the mornings because it’s now spring forward / fall back, or your room windows do not face east, or you got to wake up at a time that is not your standard wake up time, the Philips SmartSleep Wake-up Light is what you are looking for.
I have to state that this is not my first time around using a wake-up light. Prior to owning the Philips SmartSleep Wake-up Light, I used to use the Philips Hue Color LED Bulbs in my room as a wake-up light. While the Philips Hue bulbs can still be used when needed however, the amazing part of this SmartSleep light is that I can pack it in and take it with me on trips too. I travel a fair bit for work so this will help.
You may be asking, does this work? Well, it does. The science is pretty sound, it simulates a morning sunrise, about 30 minutes prior to the alarm going off, the room steadily gets brighter, eventually getting to the maximum brightness as the time you wake up. This SmartSleep alarm has 25 levels of brightness, enough to make you think it's 8 am, and late for work. The effect of the gradual increase in light is that you wake up refreshed. The effect is more pronounced if you face the light. My partner and I have been using these technologies for a while now, and I will say, the days we use it, it makes a huge difference in our mornings. We wake up less grumpy, more energetic, and generally a pep in our step. The days we do not use it, we have the opposite effect.
The design of this SmartSleep wake-up light is very modern. I love the curvy contoured body and the hole in the center. The device features a wakeup alarm (via nature sounds alarm, or FM) to help you wake up. It also features a sundowner mode where it simulates sunset to help you go to bed. Should you have trouble relaxing, there is even a relaxed breathing mode to help pace yourself and calm your brain to get ready for sleep (a rather useful feature). I also liked the red night light feature that is activated by waving your hand on the top. The device includes an aux input to listen to your phone or media device (I’m surprised it does not have Bluetooth, as many phones do not have a headphone jack) - which sort of works in a pinch. Keeping expectations for audio quality in check, the single mono speaker does a decent job at low to medium volumes but does increase in distortion at higher volumes.
The SmartSleep system is worth having if you have trouble waking up. As someone who has a problem getting up in the morning, this device has changed my life. It might be pricey for an alarm clock but it’s worth every penny.
Pros:
* It works as it should. You may think it is a gimmick, but you must try it to believe it. It’s pricey for an alarm clock but it does work. If getting to work on time is important to you, then this is worth every penny.
* Nature sounds to wake up is perfect to get your day started. I love the birds chirping or the cowbell in the morning. It is very relaxing.,
* The unwind features which include either light synced breathing coaching or the sunset simulation mode with ocean waves or soft rain sounds, both are actually quite useful when you cannot fall asleep.
* The touch screen interface is slick and functional. Really do not need to use the manual to set up. The quick start guide helps guide you.
* USB Charger for charging your phone - great for keeping your phone battery charged for a second alarm.
Cons:
* The speaker isn’t what I had hoped for and it is also pointing the wrong way - pointing behind the unit. It is a mono speaker, without a lot of power, and not exactly stellar in audio quality. But it works well for an alarm clock, but that’s about it.
* The AUX input cannot be used for wake up, it can only be used for listening to music from a phone, and the audio quality isn’t exactly there for that feature. It does come with an Aux Cable though.
* There is no way to set up weekend profiles for waking up later (the Philips Hue Bulb App system allows weekend profiles)
* It has a compact footprint but large in terms of the size of the device.