My instruction manual is fairly simple but there is 1 golden rule:NEVER, and I do mean NEVER, talk to me before I've had my breakfast.
I am not a morning person. For the first 30 minutes of every day I am in fact barely a person. When the golden rule is broken I turn into a Gremlin as a poor flatmate of mine once experienced after an accidental early morning wake-up call. I think she still has nightmares of the death threats I snarled at her. Don't ask me how I slept; don't tell me what the weather looks like; just DON'T talk to me. Then, if I am left in peace and quiet, I usually become human again within an hour or so.
In winter time it's worse. Waking up in the dark is insufferable. It takes sunlight to drive out my gremlin. But now I have a new toy. This weekend I got an alarm clock that works with light. Over a period of 30 minutes it slowly increases its light emission to gently wane me off my sleep. Apparently this decreases the levels of sleep-inducing melatonin and increases cortison production. Naturally, as a (ex-)biochemist this concept instinctively appeals to me. The product specifications promise me I will wake up a brighter, nicer, more energetic person. More Gizmo than Stripe.
So, does it work? Well, it's only been one night so far and as all you scientists know the validity of a result is in the reproducibility of the experiment. It was definitely a smoother waking up this morning though. Of course that might also have had something to do with the fact I have been working from home today and could sleep in for an additional half hour. It will take some more time before I can tell you if the days of the Gremlin are gone. Until then best not to feed me after midnight.
5 comments:
Oooooh!! Keep us updated! I've looked at those things last year, because, although not a biochemist, the concept appealed to me too, but I decided not to buy one because they are so expensive, and I didn't know whether it would do anything at all.
Curious to hear your experiences with the gizmo.
Does it help to improve your morning temper? I really hate alarm clocks. Fortunately, it is usually a cute little girl that wakes me up in the mornings.
Well, it's obviously not a miracle solution. I don't jump out of bed singing and dancing all of a sudden but I do appreciate being halfway awake by the time the alarm goes off. So Gizmo vs Gremlin: 1-0 I would say. :-)
They are still a bit pricy, true. I anticipate the prices to come down quite quickly though after the novelty wears off and Philips is done market skimming. I would expect to see them at half these prices at Blokker/Argos within a year!
P.S.: or if you want it for free you can of course always change your health care insurance to Menzis, they are giving them out as goodies! ;-)
Well, I can manage waiting for the prices to drop. I expect to need an alarm clock again when both cute little girls will go to school, so that is still some years in the future.
Btw, did you enjoy the Sunday concert day?
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