Rules for using a smart alarm clock with sleep phases. Fitness bracelets with a smart alarm clock and a heart rate monitor A watch that wakes you up in the right phase of sleep

We bring to your attention an overview of fitness bracelets and smart watches with a smart alarm clock and a heart rate monitor that help us improve the quality of our sleep. But before the list of devices, we will find out what a smart alarm clock is, what its functions are, and we will also understand the phases of sleep: how they affect awakening and our general state throughout the day.

The very concept of "alarm clock" is well known to all of us: in order to wake up, we need to be awakened. But the problem with traditional alarm clocks is that their sudden signal "pulls" us out of sleep, no matter what stage we are in.

When awakening occurs during the “wrong” part of the sleep cycle, such as in the middle of a deep dive, our natural rhythm is disrupted, leaving us feeling tired, unsteady, and dissatisfied.

The development of new technologies has led to better ways to wake up, which should make you feel less stressed in the morning and more energized during the day. In the wearables market, there are gadgets such as fitness trackers, smart bracelets or smart watches with smart alarms pre-installed. Many of them have a sleep quality tracking feature.

The smart alarm clock with sleep phases is designed to make waking up easier and able to do it at just the right moment.

How a sleep tracker helps improve sleep quality

Many wearable devices have a built-in heart rate monitor, or heart rate monitor. With it, the smart alarm monitors the heart rate and can determine what phase of sleep the wearer of the bracelet or watch is in.

Also, any of the devices contains a body motion sensor to determine its mobility or rest, thereby analyzing the state of a person: wakefulness or sleep. In addition, devices can offer a tri-band sensor that measures Sp02, allowing you to track oxygen in the blood, and as a result, monitor for such an abnormality as apnea.

Every time the sleep bracelet determines the right time to wake up, a smart alarm clock can wake you up in the morning even a little earlier than you planned, but this will be the very moment when your body will be ready for it.

In addition, by monitoring sleep tracking applications installed on your smartphone, you can analyze its quality and, possibly, draw certain conclusions. For example, going to bed earlier or paying attention to what reason can serve as constant awakenings at night (drinking coffee before rest, physical activity, etc.).

Another advantage of smart alarm clocks is their gradually increasing signal or its absence at all, which is compensated by the vibration of the wearable device itself. In this case, the vibration alarm clock bracelet will not disturb the sleeping person nearby.

So a fitness tracker with a heart rate monitor and a smart alarm on your wrist can help improve your sleep quality.

How a fitness bracelet determines sleep phases

Before understanding how the smart alarm function works, let's look at what phases a person goes through when he sleeps.

The first state in the cycle is non-REM sleep followed by light and deep sleep. The second is REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.

If it is relatively easy to wake up in a state of light sleep (falling asleep), then it is difficult to wake a person during deep sleep: it is at this time that those dreams come that the sleeper in most cases does not remember. Slow-wave sleep covers 75-80% of the entire cycle, while fast sleep occurs sporadically throughout the night, making up 20-25% of the total nighttime rest. It is in the REM phase that a person wakes up easily and clearly remembers his vivid dreams.

Thus, REM occurs after light and deep sleep after 70-90 minutes and lasts 5-10 minutes, but with each cycle, the REM phase increases and in the morning can reach up to 20-60 minutes, while becoming more and more superficial. This period is considered similar to wakefulness.

That is why in the morning it is in this state that it is easiest to wake a person up.

It is worth noting that fitness bracelets or smartwatches with a heart rate monitor can more accurately recognize your condition, because even in REM sleep, the sleeper arrives in complete stillness.

When you set a scheduled wake-up time (for example, 7:30 - 8:00), the smart alarm will go off when the device on the user's arm detects increased physical activity (change of body position) or an increase in heart rate. But if this does not happen at the appointed interval, the alarm clock will work according to the last pointer of the time interval: in the case of the example, 8:00.

Sleep Tracking Apps

The quality of sleep is monitored not only by trackers, but also by programs that collect statistics for the whole night and, using accelerometer data (a motion sensor in a wearable gadget), have the ability to provide the user not only with information, but even analyze and model plans to improve rest.

Through the application installed on your smartphone, you can set the wake-up time and signal type in the smart alarm clock. Some programs have a function to record night sounds, such as snoring, conversations or rustling, in order to understand whether a person is sleeping or not.

The software allows users to view trend graphs that include total sleep time, sleep length and interruptions, and wake up time.

You can install programs on both iPhone and Android smartphone. iOS and Android sleep tracking apps and smart alarms are available for free on the App Store and Google Play. But, perhaps, some of them will require a fee for the full or premium version, which has important additional features.

Here is a list of some of the best apps:

• Sleep Time (for iOS and Android)
• Sleep as Android (Android only)
• Sleep Bot (Android only)
• Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock (iOS only)
• MotionX-24/7 (iOS only)
• Sleepmaster (Windows Phone)

Review of the best fitness tracker sleep trackers for 2019

Today, in specialized stores, there are a huge number of smart bracelets and watches with which you can track not only your active lifestyle and your sports achievements, but also your sleep, since almost every sports tracker contains a motion sensor, or accelerometer, to detect movement . The principle is simple: mobility is wakefulness, its absence is sleep. And most wearable devices are based on this principle.

Of course, the built-in heart rate monitor is the key to a more accurate determination of the user's state based on recognition of changes in heart rate and a deep understanding of the various phases of sleep.

We'll take a look at the top 5 fitness bracelets and watches that offer quality sleep monitoring, whether it's through the optional Smart Alarm app or their built-in technology.

Various Jawbone fitness trackers that support vibration based alarms include the Up, UP24, UP3 models.

While FitBit uses silent signals (vibration) as a "silent alarm" feature, Jawbone calls this feature a "smart alarm", but the principle of operation is the same. The clock will only wake you up, not your neighbor in bed or room.

The Jawbone tracker can wake you up at the most optimal time based on your sleep phases as it comes with a built-in smart alarm clock.

It is worth noting that these trackers will soon disappear from store shelves, as well as customer support and future updates, as the company announced the liquidation.

The fitness bracelets of this company are famous all over the world not only for their good work in monitoring the active activity of the user, but also for the quality of his sleep. Particularly noteworthy are the Fitbit Charge HR, and models, which continuously monitor heart rate variability along with heart rate.

The devices use the previous night's heart rate and movement data to estimate sleep cycles with this morning's metrics. Thus, the tracker compares and analyzes past and present results for complete information about the quality of your sleep.

And although Fitbit does not claim to recognize the stages of sleep, gadgets quite accurately detect how sensitively or soundly a user is sleeping.

The Misfit Shine 2 is a waterproof fitness tracker designed, like most sports bracelets, for an active lifestyle. However, the gadget offers pretty good sleep tracking capabilities.

One reason for its popularity is its low price compared to, for example, Fitbit products. Along with this fact, Shine 2 distinguishes between light and deep sleep, provides total hours of sleep, and also allows you to set a smart alarm to help you get a good rest.

Xiaomi fitness bracelets are popular among users due to their low price compared to other similar devices on the market. Although, of course, you can find other budget options from China, for example, which comes with a heart rate monitor.

Both the original Pebble and the Pebble Time (as well as their variants) have built-in vibration alarms. Vibration is the only non-visual way the Pebble can interact. When you set an alarm, the watch will vibrate violently on your wrist at the appointed time to wake you up.

While Pebble doesn't have a personal smart alarm clock, it works great as a sleep optimization tool thanks to the integration of popular apps like Sleep as Android.

By default, Pebble does not have sleep quality tracking options, so you can use third-party companion apps that provide detailed graphs and the data you need.

How to choose a fitness bracelet to use a smart alarm clock

The main criteria when choosing a sleep tracker are the following:

Design. Make sure that the device fits comfortably on your wrist: not too tight, but not too loose. The gadget should not be heavy and bulky, as this may affect the quality of your sleep. The presence of a display is not the most important factor in the design of a sleep tracker, as most of the time you will be using a smartphone app to view graphs and other information collected during the night by the bracelet.

Functional. Sleep tracking is a feature found in almost every fitness tracker or sports smartwatch. Therefore, pay attention to what features a wearable device provides and whether they are necessary if, say, you only need to count steps and calories during the day and track sleep at night. The more functions, the more expensive and, most likely, the more massive device.

Compatibility. Not all watches and bracelets may fit your smartphone. It is worth paying attention to whether the device will work in tandem with the platform of your phone (unless, of course, it provides a smart alarm function independently of the mobile device). Recently, developers and manufacturers have been trying to provide support for both iOS and Android platforms.

Protection. Moisture, sweat and dust are a serious threat to a device that is constantly in use: on the skin, under clothes or in bed. Therefore, it must necessarily have an indicator of protection against water and dust.

See table of meanings for special designations.

Battery. It's always better to invest in a product with a battery life of more than two days, especially if you forget to charge your gadgets.

Price. Expensive doesn't mean what you need. The high price of the device may indicate not only its reliability, but also its various additional features. For example, these may include:

• automatic tracking of a whole range of sports activities
• multisport option
• Can be used while swimming
• increased durability and protection against damage to the case or display
• Availability of GPS/GLONASS, Wi-Fi
• long battery life
• support for third-party sensors for sports
• color display
• heart rate monitor
• additional accessories
• various sensors (compass, barometer, altimeter, thermometer, etc.)
• other

You may not need most of the above options, so choose the device according to your needs and preferences.

The duration of deep sleep seriously affects the performance and condition of the nervous system. How to increase the phase of deep sleep is a task for everyone who wants to be in time everywhere with minimal costs. Sleep planning turned out to be much more important than time management.

To control and manage sleep, fitness bracelets have appeared that can monitor, determine the hours of sleep and its value, and how much deep sleep should be per night. In addition to the training mode, the best gadgets have a sleep monitoring function. Just like with workouts, you can explore your sleep data, view trends, explore your sleep phases, and pay attention to recommendations. Improving the quality of your sleep means improving the productivity of your life in general. A well-sleep person is more active, always has fresh ideas, overall health and resistance to disease increases.

How the fitness bracelet determines sleep phases

After it turned out that fitness bracelets perfectly and almost accurately count steps, loads and measure the pulse, sleep control became a logical continuation. The pulse rate changes during sleep. Also, the heart rate in the phase of deep and REM sleep is different. Combined with data on mobility and oxygen concentration in the blood, the bracelet receives enough data for a complete analysis of sleep.

As it turned out as a result of research, controlling sleep is no more difficult than any exercise. In deep sleep, the pulse slows down, REM sleep is accompanied by faster breathing and an acceleration of the heart rate.

Sleep monitoring with the app

It will be correct to connect sleep monitoring in the smartphone application by performing preliminary synchronization with the bracelet. There are several convenient and free applications, at the same time equipped with a smart alarm function. Some apps even have the ability to record audio so you can enjoy your own snoring. Advanced versions of sleep apps can be paid, but if you like the features during the trial period, it makes sense to purchase them. Sleep Time is one of the best sleep monitoring apps for both Android and Apple.

Best sleep trackers

The best fitness bracelets with excellent heart rate control and sleep monitoring function are Xiaomi Mi Band 3 and Fitbit Alta H. Both bracelets do an excellent job of monitoring heart rate and are able to accurately determine the phases of sleep.

Fitbit Alta H is extremely accurate in training modes. Sleep control is a relatively new feature, but quite successfully mastered. It is better to use a Fitbit bracelet bundled with a special application for monitoring sleep.

Xiaomi Mi Band 3 is the undisputed leader in the fitness bracelet market. Sleep control and monitoring of physical condition at this time is one of the priority research areas of Xiaomi. At the moment, Mi Band 3 is the best sleep tracker among inexpensive models. In smart fitness watches of the latest models, sleep phase control is given great importance, we are waiting for new versions.

Daytime sleep recognition

An interesting point, Xiaomi Mi Band 3 understands that in addition to night sleep, there is also daytime sleep. For example, with a complex schedule, night shifts, flights, and so on. But the statistics of Xiaomi Mi Band 3 does not include daytime sleep. For athletes, children, the elderly, creative professions, the best hours for sleep just fall on the siesta. In order for Mi Band 3 to include daytime sleep in the general traffic, you will have to install Mi Band Master or other additional software for full sleep control. If you have a difficult sleep schedule, be sure to take this into account and specify when buying a gadget.

Why we love smart alarm clocks in fitness bracelets and smart watches

The smart sleep bracelet also has a smart alarm clock. This means that the alarm clock will not wake you up at any time, painfully tearing you out of the deep sleep phase, but will gently bring you out of the REM sleep phase, when you are most ready to wake up, and when you wake up, you will find yourself in the phase of maximum spiritual uplift and cheerfulness.

With the help of not too complicated, but very individual technical means, you can provide yourself with a great mood every day. For the best choice, set a smart alarm clock with a half-hour range. During this time, the bracelet will be able to find a convenient wake-up time.

When choosing a fitness bracelet or smart fitness watch, be sure to pay attention to the smart alarm function. Perhaps the device will cost more than inexpensive versions. But health and good mood when you wake up are worth more in any case.

Deep sleep duration

During sleep, the correct alternation of phases and the duration of deep sleep are important. It is during the period of deep sleep that the restoration of the nervous system and overall performance occurs. It can be said that the body goes through renewal and reboot. Disturbing a person in deep sleep is the same as interrupting the firmware update process. The norm of deep and light sleep is exactly what allows you to fully relax.

To increase the phase of deep sleep, you need complete comfort and the absence of anxiety in this particular phase. A smart fitness bracelet can recognize sleep phases by heartbeat and control the process. Focusing on the bracelet and the data of the heart rate sensor, you can determine what time you need to go to bed in your particular case. For example, you were worried or drank an extra cup of coffee in the evening. On the heart rate sensor, you see values ​​that do not correspond to optimal sleep. Instead of tossing and turning restlessly in bed trying to sleep, you can sit for half an hour listening to soothing music until your heart rate returns to normal.

Sleep table by the hour and its value

At one time, a sleep table by the hour was popular, according to which the most productive sleep was at 7-8 pm. Then the efficiency of sleep decreased, after 6 in the morning, according to the table, there was no point in sleeping at all. Allegedly, during the time of maximum efficiency, in 1-2 hours you can fully sleep.

Sleep efficiency by hours table:

As you can see from the table above, it is ideal for "larks" who not only like to get up early, but also tend to be didactic.

In fact, everything is easier. The most important sleep for restoring the body is deep sleep. It is in the phase of deep sleep that the nervous system is restored. But getting into deep sleep is not easy. The first half hour goes to sleep, then falling asleep. And only then follows the phase of deep sleep, which the body alternates with REM sleep. REM sleep is also important, without REM your heart and breathing can slow down enough that deep sleep becomes too deep. REM sleep forces the body to quickly check the resources and performance. If the need for rest persists, the next phase of deep sleep begins.

Should I trust the sleep efficiency table by the hour

Let's be honest, the table is controversial and absolutely not suitable for people with a ragged sleep rhythm or people with evening and night activity. Options are possible. Leonardo, for example, believed that it was enough to sleep 15 minutes every hour, and this was also a very popular theory, which we can be grateful for the geniuses of the Renaissance. Many great people slept for 4 hours at night and 4 hours during the day in the same period of time. Einstein and Rasputin had their own sleep systems. The legendary Chinese commanders and sages were sure that you need to sleep at any time - for complete harmony. There are hundreds of options, but the most important thing is to learn how to get enough sleep and choose your own convenient mode.

Tracking data from a fitness bracelet with sleep control, you can choose the optimal time for your sleep. In the sleep application, you can include recommendations based on medical data and fairly extensive statistical data. A fitness bracelet or watch with sleep control will help you organize your optimal regimen correctly.

Currently available, but also a great alarm clock: it tracks sleep cycles and gently wakes you up at the most optimal time.

But the useful features of the application do not end there. It integrates with Pebble, Android Wear and other wearables, as well as popular health and S Health apps. It monitors whether you snore at night (there is even an anti-snoring function), records the sound if you talk in your sleep, helps you cope with jet lag when changing time zones.

2.Sleep Cycle

The principle of the application is quite simple: it tracks sleep cycles and wakes you up during the easiest stage. Or within a 30-minute window before your desired wake-up time. If during this interval you have not fallen into a light sleep cycle, it will still wake you up, and you will not be late for anything.

3. Good Morning

Good Morning is essentially the same as Sleep Cycle, only free. Before going to bed, you need to put your smartphone next to you. The device will track your sleep phases and wake you up at the optimal time. And every morning he will send statistics on the quality of sleep and recommendations for improving it.

The Good Morning app not only monitors your sleep, but also helps you achieve a specific goal: develop an optimal regimen and not sleep less than your body needs.

4. Sleep Better

In addition to sleep tracking, Sleep Better has other interesting features. For example, you can introduce additional variables (caffeine or alcohol intake) and see how these things affect the quality of your sleep. The paid version has additional features: a smart alarm clock, sleep history and detailed analytics of sleep changes on different days.

5.Sleep Time

As you already understood, all sleep trackers work on the same principle: you sleep, they track, you learn about how you sleep. Therefore, when choosing, you should rather consider which application is most convenient for you personally to use.

Sleep Time has the most simple, neat interface, nothing more. Therefore, it is very comfortable to use it. It probably has no other differences from the trackers presented above.

6. Twilight

The Twilight app must be installed on every Android user. In the application, you just need to specify your location, and during the day Twilight will make your screen "warmer". The bottom line is that this way, closer to the night, it eliminates the blue glow of the screen, which negatively affects circadian rhythms.

There is also a similar program for the computer -. Screens with a warm glow seem rather strange in the early days, but you quickly get used to them and soon stop noticing them.

7. Pizza

The feature of the Pzizz application is that to fall asleep, you just need to press a button. Perhaps the developers exaggerated a little, but the concept of the application really works. Pzizz helps people who sleep restlessly at night or feel sick when they go to bed for a couple of hours.

You just need to set a limit on the time you want to sleep - from 10 minutes to 12 hours. All this time, Pzizz will play music and sounds that will help you sleep better. It is recommended to listen to them with headphones, but a smartphone speaker will also work.

Sleep trackers, a sleep tracker is a device (or a special application for Android) that determines the phases of slow (or deep) and fast (or paradoxical) sleep, measures the heartbeat and motor activity of a sleeping person, and, based on these data, gives a command to wake up - when the person is most rested.

These devices can rightly be called "sleep guardians" And by and large - the guardians of our mental health. For what is a sleepy person, and even more so when this condition has become chronic? A twitchy, irritable individual with a cloudy look, which is not nice to those around him and the whole wide world to boot. And the pace of modern life is often such that keeping oneself in a hierarchical “cage”, the ability to keep pace is often accompanied by a lack of time for proper rest, an important part of which is a sound, healthy sleep.

Benefits of a sleep phase monitor

For a better understanding of the benefits of the gadget, you need to understand the physiological mechanism of the processes that occur in our brain during sleep. And in general, in the state when processes are taking place in the body that contribute to the restoration of strength.

Sleep should be considered as alternating phases of REM and non-REM sleep. Physical rest depends on the duration of slow, deep sleep, only during this phase of sleep, the volumes of lactic acid accumulated during the day burn out in the muscles. But a person feels physical fatigue precisely when this acid has accumulated in the muscles.

In the fast phase, the psychological oppression from the events preceding the time when the person went to rest is removed. It is this phase that is characterized by dreams in which the psychological stress accumulated the day before is splashed out.

How the sleep tracker works

The alternation of the phases of fast and slow sleep allows you to remove both physical and psychological fatigue. Trackers, these smart sleep bracelets, worn on the wrist with its active points, allow using a heart rate monitor to track changes in the heart rate and electrical conductivity of the skin, detect microdoses of sweating, and the accelerometer will record in memory all unnecessary, fussy movements characteristic of REM sleep phases . And a special voice recorder program will record all the sounds made in a dream and analyze the frequency of their publication, volume, quality.

The natural awakening of a person is always associated with REM sleep: it is this state that allows you to “emerge” from dreams without harming the psyche. If a person is forced to wake up when he is in the phase of slow, deep sleep, the entire night's rest goes down the drain.

One of the tasks of sleep trackers is to turn on the alarm clock in the phase of superficial, REM sleep. The device can be programmed to wake up in this “plus or minus” phase for several minutes to get into the REM sleep phase so that the awakening is easy and pleasant, and the person gets out of bed as rested as possible.

So - smart alarm clock

To keep yourself in the best shape, for the most complete recovery of strength as a result of sleep, the most popular option will be the “smart alarm clock”.

This option can either be present among the gadget programs (and reflected on its screen), or exist as a mobile application with a smartphone synchronized with the device.

Let's start with the contactless "Big Three" of the most preferred devices for 2018.

Runtastic Sleep Better

An application installed on a smartphone. In addition to the “smart alarm clock” function, which will wake you up gently, like a mother in childhood, and not like a sergeant in a training unit yelling “Wake up!”, The application will track the consequences of coffee or alcohol taken the day before, give recommendations on how not to do it, and help you create a table sleep by the hour according to the lunar calendar. A nice bonus for those who are upset that the memory of a dream they just had is melting like snow in the sun, there is the Dream Diary program.

The device is able to track the most useful information regarding the duration of deep sleep, with measurements at this time of breathing rate and possible physical activity - which is evidence of sleep problems. After all, in this phase, sleep should be the calmest for all the time of this passive rest.

Sleep As Android

Have you often been tempted to “shut up” the alarm melody in order to sleep “well, just a little more”? Do you think this number will work with Sleep As Android? Nope! To turn off the bell, you will either have to solve a simple mathematical problem, or take a close picture of a special QR code, which (that's bad luck!) You, when you were cheerful and sane, were attached away from the bed. Or the application will require you to control a dozen sheep running around the screen. Only after that the bell will graciously stop.

Among sleep sensors: a sensitive accelerometer will record all rotations, tossing and burrowing into the pillow during sleep, and no less sensitive voice recorder will record both the slightest breath and a powerful single snoring. Not to mention the roulades of constant snoring - in order to later shame the person who makes these non-musical sounds after waking up.

Sleep cycle

It is held in the most popular, especially among lovers and connoisseurs of savings in everything: after all, the cost of a downloaded application is only $ 1. The application is able to differentiate night sounds well, distinguishing not only the purring of a garbage truck outside the window in the early morning from the demanding purring of a cat, but also tracks the reaction of sleepy hearing to these two different stimuli. A dream diary (perhaps without their interpretation, but this option can also be downloaded separately), the influence of what you eat and drink the day before, involuntary reactions to external stimuli during sleep - that is, everything is the same as in the twin models. Is that the phases of the moon, like theirs, does not take into account.

But it will help to compile a table of sleep by the hour and their value in each specific period of time.

However, the “Big Three” has a significant drawback: if your wife / girlfriend / lover is next to you, the devices will begin to take into account their readings! Or, at the very least, an extraneous biofield will confuse the measurements taken during sleep. What a woman! A cat crawling under the side will also contribute to the tracker readings. So these gadgets are for lone wolves. Well, or for those who locked the cat in the bathroom, and survived the wife to sleep on the bedside rug (by the way, show me this daredevil?)

Only smart watches or fitness bracelets worn on the wrist and taking into account only the purely physiological data of the wearer are free from these vices.

Do you know what a polysomnograph is? This is such a rather complex medical device for tracking the phases of fast and slow sleep with the fixation of all its parameters in the form of motor activity, sounds, breathing, heart rate, sweating, and even intestinal activity during sleep. And now imagine that you have fastened the same device, only ten times smaller, on your wrist? Then buy: at your service "smart watch"

Fitbit Ionic

Detailing and controlling sleep, subdividing it not into two, but into three phases - deep, light and giving us dreams of REM sleep, this smart watch will track

• noise level,
• illumination
• already traditional heart rhythms and breathing.

The alarm clock here is also "smart" - without which this smart watch could not claim the title of a full-fledged sleep fitness bracelet.

The undoubted advantages of the device include the ability to work without recharging for four days and communication with one of the most advanced user bases. Comparison is everything, and that's what Fitbit Ionic does by offering you the ability to compare your sleep quality with that of other people in your age group and your gender.

Fitbit can help you optimize your sleep by gently reminding you to stop staring at the TV and go to bed. It will also calculate the optimal time for going to bed in accordance with the work schedule and future tasks. To do this, it will help to monitor your night's sleep.

Attention!

Vibration at the right moment is a useful option for those who suffer from sleep apnea. And such people will be typed up to 8% of the world's population. Apnone is the cessation of breathing during sleep. With age, it can become not only critical (especially if a person lives alone and there is no one to wake him up after the breaths stop in the silence of the night), but also deadly!

Xiaomi Mi Band 2

The last in the review, but the first in sales. And not only because this fitness bracelet is obscenely cheap, but also because it contains in its menu all the full-fledged functions inherent in expensive gadgets:

1. sleep phase recognition
2. accelerometer
3. heart rate monitor
4. pedometer - with the ability to convert steps to kilometers
5. calculates the calories spent on physical activity

If we also take into account that the weight of the model (only 7 g) and complete imperceptibility on the hand with its soft, adjustable silicone strap, we learn an almost perfect machine that is synchronized via Bluetooth with smartphone applications.

Unlike the previous and very cheap Xiaomi models, this one has already acquired a simple but quite informative shockproof display.

But today we will talk about a very unusual application of this kind, which is a real combine that can quietly send a person to the "kingdom of Morpheus" and gently pick up a person from there, that is, wake him up. Yes Yes, Smart alarm clock or smart alarm uses the well-known wake-up principle when a person is in the phase of light sleep, that is, the application is able to track these very phases. But the attitude to such decisions is usually very skeptical among people, as was the case with the author until recently. But the hero of the review was able, if not to surprise, then at least not to disappoint. Well, let's start a night-long experiment and see what happens.

It is worth noting that the “Smart Alarm Clock” site is already on the pages, but it was almost two years ago, and the story was told on behalf of the developer, who obviously would not scold his product. In addition, since then, the application has managed to seriously update several times and it has acquired separate version for iPad[iTunes link]. Although there was an ambiguous moment in the form of In-App and the mass of paid offers with a total amount of more than $20 (alarm modes, statistics, graphics and ringtones), but the program successfully got rid of this scourge. Now, having paid 66 rubles, a person gets all the features of Smart Alarm without any future surcharges.

Also, in 2011, I used an older version of Smart Alarm for a while (inspired by the idea of ​​sleeping little but feeling good) and wasn't particularly impressed with the program for several reasons. Firstly, she was very voracious and without an external power source she could easily drop the phone to zero. Secondly, sleep phases were somehow very tightly tracked, and out of half a dozen times the program successfully did this only a couple. Moreover, I tested it in different conditions, set everything up according to the instructions, etc. In general, in the end I worked with it for some time as with an ordinary alarm clock (I really liked one of the wake-up tunes), and then refused altogether. But after almost two years, the experience of using Smart Alarm turned out to be much better.

Let's start with a little theory. Human sleep is cyclical and consists of phases of deep sleep and light sleep. The main recovery processes occur in the first case, in the second the body tests the internal systems and also rests. It is important that it is in the phase of light sleep that a person is closest to awakening, he tosses and turns, his eyeballs move, he can even mutter something, and the process of getting up at this time is the easiest and most pleasant for the body.

By the way, it is very easy for men to understand that they woke up in the phase of light sleep due to, excuse me, sexual arousal. Ready for exploits in bed - so everything is OK, woke up at the right time. As I mentioned above, the body checks all systems in this phase, including the sexual one, which is expressed in the same excitement.

Despite the mass of functions, "Smart Alarm Clock" is very easy to use, and the brief instructions that appear at the first start quickly dot the "i". For more information about how the application works, see the " Help" on the menu " settings».

So, with the help of the usual wheels, we set the alarm time and the arrows on the top control panel - its mode. For the experiment, I chose " Full” when sleep phases are monitored, sounds are recorded(a useful feature to find out about possible distractions or what happened at night) and the awakening does not occur at the exact time, but within half an hour before it at the moment of light sleep. In addition, you can set a strict wake-up time, but leave all monitoring tools active, or, conversely, wake up at the optimal time and not engage in surveillance. It is possible to track the quality of sleep without activating the alarm, or assign the necessary options yourself. Everything is done in a couple of clicks - it's convenient.

Of the interesting chips I want to note big set of melodies(more than 150) for falling asleep and waking up, including the so-called binaural beats (in theory, these are sounds that affect brain waves in a certain way and allow you to achieve the desired psychological effect).

Also liked having weather forecast, which can be called by one click on the corresponding icon when the alarm is activated (the location is determined automatically).

Well, now the most interesting - direct testing of the alarm clock. For the sake of this, I even sacrificed a couple of extra hours of sleep in order to understand from the basic sensations, did the wake-up theory work in the REM phase? In the past, somehow it was not very noticeable.

Before launching the full mode with all monitoring systems, it was necessary to test the device and its response to the movements of the sleepy body. A test is required before each launch to make sure everything works as it should:

My wife and I sleep on a rather hard folding sofa (the base is foam rubber, as I understand it), respectively, there are no problems with the device triggering on the movements of our beloved. I placed the phone, connected to a portable battery, just above shoulder level to my left, moved, heard confirmation sounds that the phone was detecting my movements and set the alarm.

The night flew by quickly, the signal worked, I didn’t really want to get up, so a couple of times I clicked on the button “ Later” to delay the signal and lie around for a few more minutes. Nevertheless, I drew attention to the fact that the program really woke me up in the REM phase (felt a clear excitement, which I wrote about above). Well, it's time to get up

I slept quite a bit, but I got up easily, my head was not buzzing and not spinning, and now, when I write these lines, I feel good, I do not tend to sleep. For the purity of the experiment, I didn’t drink coffee, although I took the usual cocktail of 100 g of oatmeal, raisins, ground in a blender and soaked in milk, plus 30 grams of protein. They say that oatmeal in the morning invigorates no worse than coffee. There is something in this, but don't expect a miracle - a strong black drink still works better.

Most importantly, Smart Alarm really tracked my sleep phases and woke me up on time (15 minutes before the set time, but I then napped for 10 minutes) in the light phase. Naturally, all the necessary statistics were collected:

In addition, I was surprised by the rather economical battery consumption. I expected that half of the external battery would definitely go away (this was the case with the old version), but none of the four indicator LEDs went out. The application worked for about five hours, but the result is still very good. At a minimum, the phone will not be discharged to zero if you decide to use the "Smart Alarm Clock" without an external power source connected. Although it is desirable to recharge the device beforehand.

How the application works live, I propose to see in the video review below: