Bloomberg Businessweek USA - 19.08.2019

THEONE Bloomberg Pursuits August 19, 2019

Create abetter wake-up routine with a smarter,

more soothing alarm.Photograph by Will Anderson

Modern life’s
ability to disrupt
ourcircadian
rhythms—whether
with blue light from
our devices orjet
lag—has spurred
a cottage industry
of alarm clocks
that aim toprovide
inconsistent sleepers
with a measure of
control. Philips’s
touch-sensitive
SmartSleep light
($200)mimics
natural light patterns
to easeyou into and
outof a restfu l state.
To simulate dawn,
LEDs glow from red
to orange to yellow

THE COMPETITION

• Lumie’s Bodyclock
  Active 250
  ($125) uses an
  incandescentbulb
  to mimic sunrise
  and sunset for 15 to
  90 minutes. It has
  sound effects, a lamp
  th at canbe dimmed,
  power backup, and
  a display that shuts
  off completely.


• In Januarymattress
  industrydisruptor
  Casper introduced
  the $129 Glow,which
  skips the display
  entirely. An internal
  gyroscope adjusts
  its brightness based
  on whetheryou
  twist, wiggle, or
  shakethe device.


• The $99 Illumy is
  an app-controlled
  sleepmask with
  integrated lights
  that letsyou create
  your own sunrise or
  sunset. Italso has a
  feature usinglight
  pulses to helpshift
  brain waves into
  a morerelaxed—or
  alert—stat e.

THE CASE

Remarkably simple

to use, SmartSleep

light provides a wide

range of options

to customize your

nightly routine.

Touch the home

button, and it opens

up into five icons,

which include

onesfor an alarm

bell, brightness,

andsound. Even

better, you can set

the strength of

the wake-up light

to your preferred

intensity of dawn.

And though most

“smart” gizmos that

comewith aton of

settings are anything

but, this one will

actuallyget your

devices out of the

bedroom, making

it easier torest

easy. If not,you can

snoozeforninemore

minutesby tapping

the top.From $200;

usa.philips.com

over thecourse

of 30 minutes,

culminating in your

choice of FM radio,

nature sounds,or

ambientmusic that

gradually increases

in volume. At night,

a sunset setting

reverses the color

rangeto prepare you

for bed. A connected

version works with

the companion

SleepMapper app

with a built-in sensor

to track humidity,

temperature,

andsoundand

light levels.

00

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9 inches tall,i

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ththananyyour

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