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Getting enough sleep is possibly an urban myth. Between stress, kids, and a global pandemic, plus the temptation of our smartphones lurking on the bedside table, with all that sleep-disrupting blue light emanating from them, it's no wonder we're not getting enough quality rest.
A new alarm clock may be able to convince you to swap out your phone as an alarm, providing a more restful sleep and an easier wake up. I recently got my hands on a Philips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wake Up Light (formerly know as Philips Somneo) to test out and review in my home for a few weeks.
What is Philips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wake Up Light?
Philips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wake Up Light is an alarm clock that has a built in light. The light simulates the sun, either as it rises or sets, and the clock also has sound effects and white noise to help you drift off to sleep. It's a fairly large device, but its soft round shape is kind of pretty and mod looking. In addition to waking up with simulated sunlight, you can choose a variety of sounds to wake up to, from traditional alarms to nature sounds.
The key innovation for this light, over the original Somneo version and the previous wake Up Light (both reviewed here) ** is that this light now connects to your smart phone for what should be vastly easier set up and adjustments.
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The new SmartSleep light also has built-in sensors to measure your bedroom's temperature, noise, light and humidity levels - syncing with the SleepMapper app and suggesting ways to improve your sleep space.
Connectivity with Philips Sleep mapper app
Through the new SleepMapper app, you can more easily control and set the Philips SmartSleep You can now control your light and personalize your experience and set an advanced weekday or weekend alarm with the Advanced Alarm Scheduler that offers 20 different sounds, lights, and intensity patterns.
The app is a game changer for this device and for me it elevates this alarm clock to a new level. Previous versions of this clock, like the Somneo and Wake Up Light needed to be set manually using a complicated series of touch controls on the device itself that took forever and was beyond frustrating. Now, you can set everything from the time to alarms, adjust the radio station, change the display brightness and control the sunrise or sunset effects and a lot more.
Getting the clock set up was so easy this time around; use the app to connect to the clock, program the time of day and set your wake up time. When you set your alarm, you can choose right in the app what type of sunrise light you want, the sound, any repeats, and snooze duration.
Wake Up options
What’s it like waking up with Philips SmartSleep
I set two alarms, an early weekday alarm and a later weekend version. My weekday alarm goes off at 5am, and I chose the Island red sunrise, with a 30 minute fade in and a light intensity of 20/25. I found that works well to gradually wake me up and by the tie the light is on full, the sound kicks in. The sound that wakes me is forest birds and I find this super soothing and gentle but still enough of a noise that it gets me moving. The bonus of this whole alarm profile is that it doesn’t wake my husband.
Help falling asleep
Similarly, you can set the light to dim gradually, simulating sunset and triggering your body to head for sleep. Set how long you’d like the sunset effect to last, the colour and if you’d also like some white noise to fall asleep to.
Sound effects & FM radio
There are several sound options on the Philips SmartSleep. You can set them to play as white noise to help you sleep, or as the alarm sound. Sound options range from spa-style music, to nature sounds, and even Tibetan singing bowls.
A new feature called PowerWake Alarm can even provide a more jarrijg wakeup if that’s what you need to get you up.
I’ve been experimenting with sleep-wake lights and alarms for a few years now, and I can say this is definitely one of the best on the market today. Philips has definitely taken all the best features from its previous Wake Up lights and then made every necessary improvement
I absolutely love that every single setting on this light is customizable. There’s not one thing you can’s adjust to your own preferences.
The biggest downside is the speaker quality, but let’s be clear; it works just fine for its intended purpose and gets loud enough and is clear enough to wake me up. While a higher quality speaker would be nice, it’s not truly necessary.
Overall, I can’t say enough how much I love this light and how it’s earned a place on my bedside table permanently. The Philips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wake Up Light sells for about $249 and you can get it from Amazon.