Tech Savvy Mama

Parenting in the Digital Age

SleepTracker: Putting an End to the Exhaustion

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UPDATED: Congratulations to Cindy for winning her very own SleepTracker!

The beeping of the alarm clock wakes me every morning and makes me wish for the weekend. Bleary eyed, I roll over, slap it, and contemplate going back to sleep but drag my tired self out of bed and prepare the steady stream of caffeine that I need to get me going. Each night I vow to go to bed earlier and I don’t.

SleepTracker probably had been watching my late night Tweets when they pitched me about trying their watch-like device ($179) that monitors sleep cycles and wakes users at their best waking moments. Best waking moments? Apparently those really do exist! By monitoring signals from my body, the internal sensors in the SleepTracker detect slight physical signals from my body and determine if I am asleep or awake. SleepTracker monitors my signals and sleep cycles to wake me at my most almost-awake moments.

Before you think I have gone off the deep end (or am just truly sleep deprived), SleepTracker helped me understand more about sleep cycles. When you sleep, your body goes through a series of sleep cycles. The average adult experiences 4-5 full sleep cycles over an 8-hour period. Each cycle lasts about 90-110 minutes and comprises five different stages. Here’s the rundown about sleep cycles from the SleepTracker site:

  • Stage 1 of your sleep cycle- You sleep lightly.
  • Stage 2– Your sleep gets progressively deeper.
  • Stages 3 and 4 (also known as “Delta Sleep”)- You sleep most heavily; this is when your body rebuilds itself.
  • Stage 5 (also known as REM-rapid eye movement sleep)- Marked by extensive physiological changes, such as accelerated respiration, increased brain activity, rapid eye movement, and muscle relaxation. People dream during REM sleep.

The idea behind SleepTracker is that it uses the stages of sleep to find the most optimal almost-awake moment during your sleep cycle. By monitoring your sleep cycle for these optimal waking moments that occur during your present alarm window, SleepTracker awakens you at a time when you are most alert.

Yes, but does it work?

When I first got the device, I had to admit that I was skeptical. Even the Ladies’ SleepTracker Elite just looked like an oversized wristwatch and I wasn’t sure that it was really capable of really doing what it claimed. It didn’t help that Tech Savvy Daddy joked that the only way it would work is if it kicked me off of the computer and tucked me into bed each night as I was setting it up.

Nevertheless, I entered the time by which I am usually asleep (1 am!) and set an alarm. I also set a 30 minute window for the SleepTracker looks for my most awake times so I could be up by 6:30 am. Then I put it on and went to sleep.

The very first morning I woke up to a gentle buzzing on my arm. I did feel less sleepy but thought it could be the placebo effect of wearing a watch on my wrist that was supposed to help me feel less tired. I went to sleep that night still doubtful but awoke feeling, well, awake! While I didn’t exactly jump out of bed, I wasn’t dragging either. The fact that I can now wake up after a typical 5-6 hours of sleep and really feel awake is amazing.

If I wanted to, I could delve into the data that is collected each night while I sleep to figure out if there I have any habits that are detrimental to my sleep. While SleepTracker doesn’t have a Twitter tracker to record the number of minutes that late night Tweeting keeps me up, it does feature built in data review so you can use the buttons to review almost-awake moments. It records and stores my almost-awake times for one day. It also comes with a USB plug to clip to the device to the computer to upload each night’s sleep cycle information. Currently SleepTracker’s software is only for PCs only but there is a Mac version coming out in February 2010 or earlier.

After using SleepTracker for 2 weeks now, I can say that I am no longer a skeptic and am certainly glad that SleepTracker found me. While the device is expensive ($179), I don’t have to give up the late night blogging and Tweeting in order to wake up feeling more refreshed!

Win your own SleepTracker to wake up feeling refreshed!

Go to the SleepTracker website and leave a comment about something you learned about SleepTracker and how many hours a night you typically sleep. Everyone who enters to win will get a 30% off code just for commenting so please leave your e-mail in the comments so your code can be sent to you.

For extra entries do any of the following:

• Tweet this: @TechSavvyMama wants me to sleep better with her @SleepTracker device giveaway! Enter to win here: https://www.techsavvymama.com

• Fess up and leave a comment telling me how many hours of sleep you get each night. I told you. It is only fair!

• Add my button to your site and leave a comment with your URL so I can find it

• Subscribe to my blog via e-mail and leave a comment letting me know you have done so!

The winner will selected from all eligible entries using Random.org on New Year’s Day. Good luck!
SleepTracker provided a device for review purposes. I was not compensated to review this item and all opinions are my own.

Thanks for reading Tech Savvy Mama through your feed!

Original post by Tech Savvy Mama
©2012

Reader Interactions

Comments

  8. Some Lucky Dog says

    I learned that the inventor, Lee Loree, came up with the idea for the Sleeptracker after observing his wife’s sleep habits and the correlation to her alertness. I went right to the web site when you mentioned this in a previous site. I’m definitely going to give it a try, so thanks for the code (assuming I’m not the winner) 🙂 The hours I sleep at night can vary greatly.

    someluckydog at gmail dot com

  10. Some Lucky Dog says

    I need 10 hours of sleep. If I only get 7 or 8 at night, I will almost always need a nap in the afternoon. I have fibromyalgia and it really contributes to the fatigue.

  17. Lauren says

    I usually get around 7 hours of sleep a night. I know that’s a decent amount, but then I still don’t want to get up! It’s so frustrating to get either 3 or 8 hours, and still want to not move. Ugh.

  26. Heather says

    Oh wow! I would love to win this for my husband. He has so much trouble with sleep. I learned that “No two people have the same sleep cycles”.

  28. Heather says

    I actually go to bed for ten hours each night. My “plan” is after all my wake ups (night nursing) I hope I am asleep for eight.

  31. whymommy says

    Leticia, I have no idea how much I sleep at night — is that a bad sign? 🙂

    I go to sleep after Jon Stewart and wake up when the baby says in his cheery baby voice, “Daylight!”

    So what’s that, about 6.5 hours? No wonder I’m tired.

  33. whymommy says

    I added your button too. (Mostly cause I thought I already had, but also because I’m really curious about this little device!) Glad to have you on Toddler Planet!

  34. whymommy says

    Dude. I just spent ten minutes on the Sleep Tracker site looking for a place to leave a comment. Either I can’t follow instructions or I’m already sleep-deprived.

    I learned that your body doesn’t get much delta sleep (where it repairs itself and helps you feel rested) in the last third of the night. So the first two thirds are most critical. Interesting….

  35. Kate @ UpsideBackwards says

    I get 6-7 hours a night, I think, but I really need 8. However, one of these devices wouldn’t work for me unless it repelled children until a good point in my sleep cycle…? I usually get woken up by a loud thump, followed by running feet, “Hello Mama!” and a cold metal fire-engine placed in the small of my back. Or run over my face. 🙂

  36. Bryan says

    I learned I might actually be able to wake my kids up without being grumpy! My family is a bunch of ADHD people ( I know, scary!) and this is perfect. I’ve struggled with sleep my entire life. This is a must for me!

  38. Lynn in MD says

    I love that you can download the data on your sleep to your computer and analyze it!

    lynnpagel at yahoo dot com

  39. Lynn in MD says

    I’m in bed about 8 hours/night. However, my baby wakes me up about every other hour… so it’s not very good quality sleep!!

    lynnpagel at yahoo dot com

  41. bettycd says

    The testimonials were consistent that people were happier, they weren’t grumpy any more in the morning. I usually sleep 6 and ahalf to 7 hours each night.

  44. bettycd says

    I always feel like I should get more sleep. I go to bed about midnight and usually wake up naturally about 6:30. It’s nice getting up with the house all quiet. I check email, listen to the news and enjoy coffee before the rest of the family have to get up.

  49. Laura says

    I’m very excited to see if the SleepTracker can help me become a morning person since I had to give up caffeine for health reasons.