Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I bought this system about a month ago after researching a number of dawn simulators on the market. I liked the fact that it used my own lamp as the source of light -- I already have a bedside lamp that matches my decor and didn't want to replace it with a monstrosity (most of the others are really ugly); moreover, I'd read that many simulators that contain their own light source don't get bright enough to be effective. My bedroom is extremely dark, and without an alarm I just can't wake up on my own. Since I work at home and set my own hours, though, an alarm clock that jars me awake and leaves me groggy all day seemed like overkill. I was hoping a dawn simulator would allow me to wake up peacefully -- just earlier.
I was a bit skeptical when I opened the box -- it was larger and a lot lighter than I thought it would be; for $115 I expected it to feel more substantial. It has a very thick forked cord coming out of it that's too heavy for the actual clock -- it would drag it off my nightstand if I didn't anchor it around my lamp -- and also too short: I needed an extension cord even though my outlet is only a couple of feet away.
I found the system somewhat confusing to set -- it's necessary, for example, to set an alarm time for every day of the week, rather than simply setting one time that could be changed if necessary. This might be nice for people with revolving schedules, but I find it rather cumbersome. I also find it awkward that it automatically starts the sunset feature if you set the alarm when the light is on -- so unless I set my alarm with another light on in the room (or leave the alarm permanently set, which I've been doing lately), it will start to dim the light while I'm reading. Perhaps I just haven't figured this out, though -- it seems like there's a lot I'm still learning about it. I don't know, for instance, how the previous reviewer managed to set the brightness of the backlight -- I've found the control to change the contrast of the numbers (which seems sort of useless) but not the bright green backlight. The first night I slept badly, thinking that green light was too bright, but by the second night I'd already gotten used to it.
Despite all this, however, I really love this dawn simulator. I had a morning meeting the first morning I used it, so I set the buzzer as well as the simulator, but found I really didn't need it -- I woke up a few minutes before the light had reached full brightness. I waited for the buzzer, just to hear what it would sound like, and was glad to hear it wasn't obnoxious -- definitely loud enough to wake someone, but not to set their teeth on edge. What's more, I woke up refreshed! With my traditional alarm clock, I'd find myself pressing "snooze" over and over, but with this system I really did feel awake. I find that the 30 minute setting, though, is the only one that works for me -- if I set it for a longer time (the system allows 15, 30, 60 or 90 minute settings) I wake up too early and then fall back asleep again, and it's harder to wake up the second time. However, on the 30-minute setting I think it's wonderful.
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