Crazy idea ... Improve your sleeping

electron

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Staff member
So every morning, I wake up around the same time, and usually I am in a deep sleep when the alarm goes off. I am aware that there are several stages when you are asleep, and depending on which stage you wake up in, you either will be really sleepy, or all fresh, ready to go. 2 days ago I woke up at 5am (thanks X10!), but I was awake instantly, and stayed up without any problems. Then I remembered this article:

http://www.mensjournal.com/healthFitness/0...ping_power.html

So now I am thinking about somehow have my home automation setup detect when I fall asleep (maybe using motion and start counting when I stop moving?), and instead of using a regular alarm clock, have the house wake you up when you are in the right stage, as close as possible to the desired wake up time. I know they sell watches and other hardware to do something similar, but I am trying to go the cheap route here. Bad idea?
 
I have my M1 say the time: "Time is 6:30 AM", at four intervals before I need to wake up. 6:30AM, 6:40 AM, 6:45 AM, and 6:50 AM. Many mornings I do not hear the 6:30 AM message, but the others I do hear. The Wakeup Rules do not fire on Saturday and Sunday.
 
How about a microphone to detect the sound of your snoring. I know that I would get some high level readings fairly consitently. Use a motion detector as a backup.

Perhaps some micro sensor on your pillow could detect when you are drooling :lol:
 
According to the article the 5 stages take between 90-120 min to recycle. So there is really no way for you to know what stage of sleep you are in simply based on time passed since no movement. But I am thinking of a 20 Min Snooze option. So when you first wake up (first alarm) in the morning. Make sure you wake up enough to know whats going on (pull you out of whatever stage of sleep you were in. Then if you take a 20 min snooze you should wakeup right in the powernap (alert) phase.

Just my 2 cents,


Regards,
Shawn
 
Waking me up first thing in the morning might be easier if I was able to hook up some high voltage wiring. A single zap at 6:15am, two slightly increased zaps at 6:30am and then one long continuous burst at 6:45am.


I would use the snore sensor theory, but I'm sure I would exceed the maximum decible ratings.
 
to wake up in the morning, i've been using HA to gradually brighten my nightstand light from off to full on over a period of 10 minutes. it's sorta like simulating the sunrise which works for me since i always get up when it's dark. there's a whole bunch of commercial products that do this ( http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=lang...arch&lr=lang_en ) but it just takes a lamp module.

i enable the wakeup routine by pushing a button on my nightstand audrey before i go to sleep (that tells the house to go to sleep mode, turn off lights & appliances, etc). i have another button to set the house to sleep mode but not to wake me up in the morning.
 
I sat in on a lecture in the early 90s that was centered around shift workers and sleep habits. The one rule that I remember and try to follow to this day is the 90 minute sleep cycle. I give my self ~ 15-20 minutes to fall asleep and then always plan to sleep for 6 or 7-1/2 hours after that (4-1/2 occasionally). This seems to work really well and supports the above article.

The other one I remeber from the lecture is to never take an hour nap. Take a 20 minute nap or 1-1/2 hour nap. You will wake up in the correct stage of sleep and feel much better. I used the 20 minute power nap last night when I got home from work, felt great!

Again, just supporting the information given!
 
I guess one thing I forgot to mention is that I don't want to wake my wife up in the morning, so bright lights are out. She doesn't wake up when the clock radio goes off, so I was going to stick with some sort of sound/music.
 
My $20 wall mart clock gradually increases the volume from a very faint to very loud over a period of a few seconds. I think it is made by emmerson. Its very smart... When you first bring it home and plug it in you don't even need to set the time. It will automatically figure it out and if it unplugs no information is lost. It doesnt even require a battery to hold the information. All your alarm settings are saved in everything. It has the ability to stay set for only one day a week all 5 days, all 7 days, or just the saturday and sunday. It is the greatest clock I have ever owned. Go to their electronics section and test it out for your self. They usually have it on display. You can get it with an optional CD players also.
 
I have HS play music very low and every 2 minutes gradually increase. Sometimes I don't hear it for about 20 minutes. Sometimes I hear the faint sound of power being applied to the speakers when the AB8SS switches the speakers on.

This also gives me the ability to skip weekends and add a day or skip the next x days.

But I usually leave it on, Otherwise I tend to sleep until noon... And then feel really crappy from sleeping too much..

;)

StevenE
 
I can't believe you guys don't use the most obvious "alarm clock" - a nagging wife or young kids! In my case, I'm single, and my son is grown and moved out, so I don't have those options. ;-)

But seriously, I've tried the sleep cycle approach and I find that it doesn't work for me. I have been a serious napper for years now, so maybe my sleep cycles are all off, but then again I believe I have actually woken myself up because of my loud snoring. That would indicate a sleeping disorder...


zzzzzzzzzzzzzz....
 
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