The Zen Alarm Clock: Wake Up Feeling Rested
Posted: Tuesday, June 12, 2007
by Jennifer Shepherd
Surveys show that most of us are getting fewer hours of sleep than we need each night. And when we do wake up, we're waking up cranky and groggy. Sleeping for more hours can help this, but even so, most of us will still struggle with the waking up process itself.
Because getting up is so difficult, we tend to use alarm clocks that startle us into getting up. Most alarm clocks have a loud buzz or bell to them, and when these alarms go off, they immediately send our bodies into a "fight or flight" response. This response happens when our nervous system is reacting to a stimulus of some kind that inspires a feeling of threat. Our hearts race and our blood pressure goes up. The Zen Alarm Clock is a rare exception to these alarms. The Zen Alarm Clock wakes us up without creating stress and strain upon the body as happens with those other alarm clocks.
Researchers have shown that our bodies are very responsive to sound. We respond really well to natural sounds and musical instruments. We don't respond well to mechanical sounds or synthesized music. For instance, our bodies love certain kinds of classical music. The style of music created during the Baroque era has been proven to create an Alpha brainwave state in the listener. This Alpha state is that deeply relaxed state of mind we get into right when we are going to sleep or just when we are about to wake up. It's the brainwave state that people achieve when they are meditating or are deeply absorbed in doing creative work. Baroque music from such composers as Bach, Handel, and Mozart is helpful for putting us into an Alpha state.
The makers of the Zen Alarm Clock knew that there had to be a better way to wake up then resorting to annoying buzzes or mechanical beeps. And so they designed a new kind of alarm clock, one which works with the natural impulses of the body instead of against them.
The Zen Alarm Clock comes in two styles - digital and analog (traditional clock face.) The Zen Alarm Clock uses a Tibetan style chime to wake you up. This chime is not a synthesized sound. It's a real chime that is built into the clock.
At first, the chime rings once. Then it rings a few minutes later. Over a ten minute period it gradually increases the chimes until it is ringing every few seconds. But the chime never gets loud or intense. Throughout its chiming, it maintains a calm, clear tone that allows you to maintain a peaceful Alpha state while you are waking up. You don't wake up startled, and you don't wake up disrupted.
Waking up in this gradual way has been proven to increase emotional well-being, promote dream recall, enhance health, and increase cognitive memory. Waking up to the Zen Alarm Clock can change the energy you bring to your day, helping you wake up to a world of possibilities.
Wake up happy, not grumpy!
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)I might have to check this out. If it works for me, it'd be great! Right now, I've got to have my alarm set to full-blast, otherwise I sleep right through it.. but the jarring wake-up call isn't pleasant in the least.
If the chimes wake me up, awesome! I'm a bit concerned they'll just put me into a lovely dream where I'm hanging out in a mountain temple with the monks.
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