Comments on: Dawn simulators

By: My experience with a dawn simulator | Infotropism

My experience with a dawn simulator | Infotropism — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:37:00 +0000

[...] couple of weeks ago I posted asking if anyone had had experience with dawn simulators or opinions of what model I should get. I [...]

By: Melanie Archer

Melanie Archer — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:57:18 +0000

You will love, love the experience of waking up with whatever device you get. I first purchased one because, like you, I was struggling to wake up in a dark SF apartment (maybe you’re in the same place?!).

My first setup was a SunRizr that plugged into an ordinary incandescent lamp. It seemed to be made of Radio Shack components. It worked okay for five years. I know you’re not considering this kind of device–other readers, I warn you away from it, since the product’s really not worth its price. Buy one of the other products mentioned in this post.

Currently I’m happy with the Apollo Daybreak, another incandescent lamp accessory. The “sunset” function is a little jerky when dimming the light–but I am never awake by the time it’s fully dark!

Both the sunrise and sunset features are wonderful to have. Look for them when choosing your device.

Happy rising!

By: Elaine

Elaine — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:47:22 +0000

I’ve been thinking about getting a “real” dawn simulator for ages now, but I find that a relatively dim light on a (ludicrously cheap Ikea) timer set about 15 minutes ahead of my alarm works pretty well. It’s set up so I can still turn it on manually to use as a reading lamp in the evening. A cheap CFL bulb might actually be just the thing…one of those (usually annoying) ones that takes a while to warm up? :)

I just can’t believe I went so long without a timed light. It’s made waking up through the dark season — I’ve been waking up in the dark up north for weeks now — much more bearable.

By: Dave Hodgkinson

Dave Hodgkinson — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:57:22 +0000

Hibernate?

By: David Gerard

David Gerard — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:24:14 +0000

Another idea: daylight spectrum compact fluoro bulbs. We have them all through our house and they’re fantastic.

By: Skud

Skud — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:38:18 +0000

Simon: yeah, I looked at a bunch that were kind of like that, and suspected they would be too dim, too.

By: Simon

Simon — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 16:33:44 +0000

I got one of these a couple of years ago:

http://www.sadbox.co.uk/lumie-bodyclock-sunray-p-99.html

It worked well but was perhaps a little too dim on full power (and is a regular lamp rather than LED). I think the most telling part was that it broke after about 6 months and I wasn’t bothered enough to get it replaced.

I rather wish I’d gone for the Philips HF3461 and I think I may go for the newer LED Philips for this winter as I’m really starting to struggle with the lack of sun in the mornings, and we’re barely into Autumn yet !

Roll on spring !

Simon.

By: Demmy

Demmy — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 07:47:20 +0000

I have a slightly older Philips one with an incandescent bulb.
The birds chirping, or frogs quaking, or waves breaking etc etc is awesome, but what I use is the radio.
It slowly brightens the light, and if that fails to wake me it fades in the radio.

Like magic, since I got it, my usual morning grumpyness has gone away. I used to be a Morning Monster, but now I’m almost human when I get out of bed.

I’d be concerned about LED brightness, but if you trust Philips to not fumble it I can heartily recomend it due to one simple fact: The build quality of mine is awesome!

By: Sonya

Sonya — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:52:58 +0000

I’ve been using a BioBrite Sunrise alarm for years and I love it. LOVE. I didn’t think I would care about the Sunset function, but I find it is incredibly useful for winding down and getting to sleep while reading in bed. I accidentally broke my first one during a move a few years ago ordered a new one within a couple of days because I missed it so much.

It is an incandescent bulb, but when I was purchasing mine the LED options were not on the market. This thing puts out a serious amount of heat and is kind of cheap looking, but it does what it says it will and while it doesn’t make me leap out of bed with joy in the morning, it does mean that I’m never shocked by the alarm either. It is a much more pleasant way to wake up.

If you buy one of the LED based ones please post your experience with them. I’d like to go that route when it’s time to replace this one if they are just as good.

By: Skud

Skud — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 05:18:26 +0000

Mmm, I’d rather not use an incandescent, I think; the idea of LEDs makes me happy. The other thing is that my bedroom is *tiny* (about 7′ x 8′ — only just enough room for my bed against one wall and a dresser against the other) and my bedside table is commensurately small, so I don’t really have room for two lamps if I ended up having to plug something into the external whatsit. The Philips is starting to speak to me, to be honest.