March 7, 2005 Sleeptracker looks like a wristwatch but it monitors the wearer's sleep patterns to detect the best possible wake-up times. Sleeptracker's alarm then goes off at the optimum moment during a pre-set, customised window of time, so that the wearer wakes up alert and energized. According to Sleeptracker's creator, Innovative Sleep Solutions, during a typical night, most people go through continuous cycles of sleep stages, progressing from deep sleep to almost-awake moments and back again. If their standard alarm happens to ring at an almost-awake moment, the person wakes feeling rested and refreshed. But as the cyclic pattern is only at an optimal state for waking a small percentage of the time, a standard alarm usually goes off during deeper sleep, so that those people wake up tired and groggy.
Sleeptracker is the answer to this problem, if it indeed the problem exists to the degree an individual might feel the need for change. The manufacturer's claims certainly seem to make sense, so it all boils down to how much time and effort you might wish to go to to optimise your efficiency and state-of-mind. Sleeptracker tracks wearers' sleep cycles to find their most awake moments during a pre-set alarm window. When they are almost awake, the Sleeptracker alarm goes off, and they wake up feeling energised.
Sleeptracker not only tracks wearers' sleep, but also stores their sleep data so they can review how well or how poorly they sleep. Each night, Sleeptracker records the time of each almost-awake moment, which occur many times per night during normal sleep cycles. Wearers can review the recorded data the next day to see how many times they were almost awake, and thus how soundly they slept in comparison to other nights.
Sleeptracker has normal watch features, including time, day, date, and standard alarm settings, as well as a snooze function. It's water-resistant, has a night-glow feature, and carries a one-year warranty. With four simple buttons, the manufacturers claim Sleeptracker is as easy to set as any digital watch.
If you aren't sleeping well the Sleeptracker might be worth a try, and similarly, if you're a frequent traveler who wants to wake up alert and ready to start the day in a different time zone, the Sleeptracker might indeed provide an extra edge, or if your partner doesn't necessarily keep the same schedules, the Sleeptracker might be invaluable in another sense in that those not wearing the device are left undisturbed.
"We're excited to offer the Sleeptracker to anyone who has trouble getting up in the morning," says Lee Loree, an Innovative Sleep Solutions partner. "Only a sleep laboratory could give you the kind of information Sleeptracker collects. And no other product can wake you up at your optimum moment like Sleeptracker can. We look forward to making morning people out of all our customers."
Sleeptracker has a suggested retail price of US$149.00 and is available exclusively at www.sleeptracker.com. We've got one on the way for evaluation purposes - stay tuned for our opinions.