As someone who travelers more than 90 percent of the year (mostly overseas), jet lag can really get the best of me. I have mastered time zone changes of 4-7 hours, but when the swings go from 12 hours’ time difference on day to six hours’ difference the next, the result is not pretty.
Sleep for me is very important and a blessing when I can rest well. I am willing to try a variety of different ways to get the best night’s rest. Part of the reason I don’t like taking early morning flights is because I rarely rest the night before only to be startled awake by my alarm clock.
That’s why the BEDDI Glow SE intelligent alarm clock from WITTI was of such interest to me. Essentially, it’s a clock that gently wakes you up from your slumber rather than startles you. This is especially important if you are in a deep REM sleep cycle as you will most certainly be extra tired (or extra grouchy) if you wake up in the middle of your REM sleep cycle.
When I first tried it, I realized it might take me awhile to get used to it. Actually, it didn’t, but that could be part of the reason why someone who is so jetlagged might really like it. The alarm clock was lightweight enough to squeeze into my carry-on bag on recent trips to Asia and Europe where I really wanted to benefit from it.
By using a Bluetooth signal, it pairs with your smartphone so that you can listen to your own music via Spotify or other phone playlists (or like me, my white noise machine) on a better speaker. You can set it to play local radio stations at an increasing volume to help you wake up more gradually. There are four snooze button settings, too.
It also has unique features like playing the local weather or using chromotherapy to help you wake up more rested with soothing colors (rather than a jarring white or flashing red light). The colors can even pulse to the music if that energizes you more quickly. The idea is that the color changes simulate the sunrise so that your body wakes up using its own internal clock no matter where you might be.
Don’t worry, your smart phone won’t lose its importance either given that there are USB ports built into the alarm clock. Since there are two, you can also charge a tablet. I really appreciated how simple it was to set up and sync with my phone because I am not the most tech-savvy person.
The latest version of this clock allows you to set the timing to your preferred display whether 12-hour clocks or military time. You can also take advantage of its backup battery, which can be a life saver just knowing that it is there. No more stress if worrying if your phone will stop charging or the cable will become slightly undone.
It retails on the WITTI website for about $80, which can be just a drop in the bucket when it comes to the way you feel when you wake up. As someone who has experienced waking up in the middle of a vivid dream, the next few hours were quite tiring. That’s why I think this is a solid investment in the way it makes you wake up more rested.
There’s no need to keep buying new clocks because you can update it via the app that allows changes to sync when the latest version is downloaded. I found that I enjoyed deeper sleep since I didn’t have to worry about the alarm function, and a more restful start to my day.