Well hello friends! Here we are again… bright and early. It’s not quite 6am here and I am dressed, bed made, munching on a gingerbread bar in the office and ready to blog. Today I’ll be sharing how I changed my sleep schedule to be more productive in the mornings and the benefits of a wakeup light.
I actually heard about wakeup lights for the first time on a holistic health blog I used to follow. It was five or so years ago, so whilst I loved the idea, I was still in college and not in the market for the expense (or frankly, keeping a regular schedule!). But I kept it on my list of “things to buy once I’m an adult with an income and a morning routine.”
Benefits of a Wakeup Light
The main benefits of a wakeup light are:
- It helps regulate hormone levels, including cortisol and melatonin, that regulate feelings of sleepiness and wakefulness (see the link above and also here).
- It’s more pleasant to wake up slowly to light than suddenly waking up to loud noise!
When I bought my Hatch Restore a few weeks ago, I was moreso interested in the second benefit. Prior to using the Hatch, my mornings generally looked like waking up to noise from the kids–maybe a few minutes before–and groggily eating oatmeal, getting ready for the day and making the bed. All while Eric and I juggled the baby and tried not to trip over the toddler.
It wasn’t a very pleasant routine and it certainly did not make me want to jump out of bed in the morning.
Hatch Restore Review
When looking at wakeup lights, I ultimately went with the Hatch Restore. I liked that the clock display can be turned off overnight (I need complete darkness to fall asleep) and let’s face it, it looks better on a nightstand than many of the other options.
The setup was quite easy and I fell asleep the first night excited to wake up to a light the following morning. Amazingly I did wake up to the light at 6:25am, about five minutes before the bird noises–my selected alarm noise–started. And I felt significantly less groggy than usual.
I continued using my 6:30am alarm for about a week before I noticed something else start to happen. Not only was I waking up earlier, I was getting tired earlier in the evenings. This had never happened when I tried to use a phone alarm for 6/6:30am previously.
So I slowly moved my bedtime back from 10:30/11pm to 10pm… and then to 9:30pm… and now around 9:15pm. And as my bedtime moved, so did my wakeup time naturally. Funnily, I don’t need my wakeup light often anymore because I’m naturally awake between 4 and 5am, 7 hours after I fall asleep.
For me this is life-changing as I’m naturally a morning person. I accomplish so much more between 5am and 7am than I ever do in the evenings!
So, 5/5 stars for the Hatch Restore. It managed to reset my sleep schedule–something I’ve been trying to do for years–in two weeks with barely any effort from me.
Do you use a wakeup light? What does your morning routine look like at the moment?
xx Claire