#Gentle alarm clock app how to#
#Gentle alarm clock app full#

Sound-based alarms are very effective if you want to wake at a specific time but they can’t account for what stage of sleep you’re in when you’re woken by them. In reality, with a sound-based alarm, where in your sleep cycle you wake up is a bit of a lottery. Ideally, you want to wake up in light sleep, just after REM ends and N2 begins. The sleep stage you wake up in can have a dramatic effect on how you feel when you wake and how you go about your day. So now you know what’s going on when you sleep, what does this have to do with your alarm clock? It’s best to wake up during light sleep 1 With each sleep cycle, you spend more time in REM sleep and less in deep sleep.

#Gentle alarm clock app full#

Each full cycle takes somewhere from 90-110 minutes and you cycle through them multiple times each night. If you are woken during REM, you’ll likely be able to vividly recall whatever dream you may have been experiencing at the time.Īfter REM sleep, you go back into N2 and the cycle repeats again. It’s not as deep as N3, but you can still be hard to wake from REM sleep. This sleep stage is thought to be when your brain processes emotions that have been experienced during the day and forms memories from them. REM sleep is when you experience most of your dreams. Just as deep sleep is considered important for repair and recuperation of your body, REM is thought to be important for your mind and mental wellbeing. Your breathing and heart rate increase, your eyes can be seen darting back and forth under your eyelids and your brain activity is similar to when you’re awake. This sleep stage is when your body carries out its housekeeping tasks: muscles are repaired, growth occurs, toxins that have built up during the day are removed and your immune system is strengthened.įinally, you enter rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Because of this, you become difficult to rouse during N3. Your heartbeat and breathing rate are at their lowest and your body is fully relaxed. During this sleep stage, your heartbeat and breathing rate slow down a little more and your muscles become more relaxed. While still light sleep, N2 is slightly deeper than N1. You then pass into the next stage of sleep, called N2. During this stage your heartbeat and breathing rate begin to slow down and your muscles start to relax. This explains why sometimes as you’re dropping off to sleep, a little noise like a creak or a disturbance from outside can wake you back up. This is your lightest stage of sleep and the easiest to wake from. When you initially fall asleep, you enter the first stage of sleep, called N1.

Your sleep’s made up of four different phases, each with their own distinct functions and features. So we’ll begin with a quick tour through the different stages of your sleep.

To understand how sound-based alarms can impact your health and wellbeing, we need to look at how they can affect your sleep. We’ll explain why using a sound-based alarm might not be the best way to start your day and what alternatives are available to you.

In this article, we’ll look at the pros and cons of using sound to wake you up. You might be surprised to hear that this standard wake-up method can negatively affect how you feel as you wake up and throughout the day.ĭo you already hate the sound of your alarm and dread it going off each morning? Have you ever stopped to consider if there’s a better way to wake up? What wakes you up in the morning? Is it the first rays of sunlight gently creeping in through the window? A paw to the face from a pet that’s decided it’s definitely time you got up? Or maybe you wake up to the sweet sound of birds chirping outside.įor the vast majority of us, it’s none of the above.įigures vary, but somewhere around 80% of us are relying on a sound-based alarm clock to rouse us from our slumbers.

where to turn if you’re waking up exhausted and unrefreshed every time your alarm goes off.

#Gentle alarm clock app how to#

how to encourage your body and mind to wake up more naturally each morning.

why it might be time to ditch your phone as an alarm clock.

alternatives to sound-based alarms that may improve how you start your day.

how different types of alarm noise can affect how you feel when you wake up.

why your alarm clock could be the reason you feel groggy first thing in the morning.

Did you know that your choice of alarm clock can affect how you feel during the day? In this article, we explore just why this is and we’ll cover: