Last month, I packed my hats and gloves and took a ten hour trip to Svalbard in the Arctic Circle (yes, it was freezing). I went with the folk at Philips to talk to the people who live in Longyearbyen about what it's like to live in complete darkness for four months of the year. It was just getting dark when we arrived, and the light never really got better than a 6am haze. Even at midday. Philips gave out Wake-up Lights to the people in the community, and they've got their own website so you can see if the lights are making a difference to their day. The Wake-up Lights slowly streams light into your room before your alarm goes off, waking you up gradually.
And I got one too! Hurrah! This almost makes up for not seeing any polar bears.
I'm not a morning person. Not one little bit. I'm hardly suffering with SAD or anything, but if you give me the choice of jumping out of bed, or staying cosied in my duvet for just five more minutes, I'll choose the latter. Always. Especially when it's cold out.
But the Wake-up light has made things so much easier. I wake up to lovely bird song for a start. Tweety birds are much nicer than noisy alarm clocks. Does it make getting out of bed easier? Not really. I still like my morning snoozing, and I'm still way too attached to my snuggly duvet to be leaping out of bed the second I wake up. But! It makes me feel awake from the point I open my eyes. I don't stumble about feeling half asleep, I'm chirpy already. Surprisingly so. Despite my skepticism, it's won me over. Dare I say it, it might be turning me into one of those morning people I used to be suspicious of.
I'm still going to be lazy in the morning (I work from home, I'm not getting out of bed before 9am for anyone), but my Philips Wake-up Light has made the first part of my day a million times better. I'm so much more productive. I still can't get the fm radio to work, but I like the tweety birds so that's OK. Want one yourself? The one I have is £70 from Amazon. If you're not a morning person, it might just change that.
Now if they could just make it send a message to the kettle and make that boil on demand, my morning would be sorted.
Thanks so much to Philips for taking me to such an amazing place. Want to see more photos? Hop over here.
I need THIS in my life! I'm so not a morning person and I start work early, so this would be a life saver for me. Best start saving up then. Or dropping not so subtle hints to people that it would be a perfect Christmas present. That might just work.
ReplyDeleteI've got a similar light, from another company. It really makes a difference on these dark winter mornings. It doesn't get me bouncing out of bed either, but it stops me snoozing a hundred times. Also my light has a sunset function which really helps me fall asleep, dreamy...
ReplyDeleteI've had a Lumie wakeup light for a couple of years now and it's brilliant. I think it has really made a difference for me, especially in winter. Doesn't do birdsong like that Phillips one though - that sounds awesome!
ReplyDeleteThe Philips Wake-up Light has certainly made a difference to how I feel when I wake up. I'm a bit more with it.
ReplyDeleteYou all like the lights! It's making a real difference even after such a short time. Incidentally, there's more in the sale on Amazon too...
ReplyDelete