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In my alarm clock collection, there are two that I consider to be special.

The first one is my Lark alarm clock. It's the one that broke me of my long-standing habit of disabling alarm clocks in my sleep (or in a brief enough wake that I didn't remember). That one has a Bluetooth wristband that vibrates at the alarm time and is controlled through an app on my phone. In my old apartment, I would place the charger in a room that wasn't my bedroom.

The other one I have that I hold somewhat dear to me contains a 100W halogen bulb that turns on dimly half an hour before the designated alarm time and gradually increases in brightness until alarm time. I can't remember that one's model.

I still have an audio alarm as backup, but I rarely have to hear it now.

tetragon wrote:......The first one is my Lark alarm clock. It's the one that broke me of my long-standing habit of disabling alarm clocks in my sleep (or in a brief enough wake that I didn't remember). That one has a Bluetooth wristband that vibrates at the alarm time and is controlled through an app on my phone. In my old apartment, I would place the charger in a room that wasn't my bedroom........

Holy crap! Another Zeo like gadget ---> http://www.amazon.com/Lark-Silent-Un-Al ... larm+clock ???

Dunno if I could justify adding this one to my collection although I like the idea of the vibrating wrist band

To Starlette: I think I tweaked some settings on my phone to improve the alarm. One thing I found in both "Sleep as Android" and "Wake Alarm" was that I had that "Increase alarm gradual... Setting ticked" I unticked that and the alarms seemed to wake me this morning despite a shortened night of sleep due to the Pirate/Braves game I attended and not getting to bed till shortly after midnight.

Oh, My girlfriend doesn't believe in "sleep debt"... That's a whole other topic though.

Edit: Interesting whilst searching out more about Lark alarm clock which seems only compatible with I-products at the moment, I found this app on the Android Market which I might try: https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... Can&rdot=1
Sleep If U Can: Android Alarm Clock App Won't Stop Ringing Until You Take A Very Specific Photo

lazer wrote:

tetragon wrote:......The first one is my Lark alarm clock. It's the one that broke me of my long-standing habit of disabling alarm clocks in my sleep (or in a brief enough wake that I didn't remember). That one has a Bluetooth wristband that vibrates at the alarm time and is controlled through an app on my phone. In my old apartment, I would place the charger in a room that wasn't my bedroom........

Holy crap! Another Zeo like gadget ---> http://www.amazon.com/Lark-Silent-Un-Al ... larm+clock ???

Dunno if I could justify adding this one to my collection although I like the idea of the vibrating wrist

It doesn't make any attempt to guess at sleep stages, just how frequently you move your arm. They have had comments about eventually making an Android version on their website for moths.

The other alarm clock I mentioned is some model of Philips Wake Up Light, the model that does dusk simulation.

What is the second graph/software you are using? Thanks

britinjapan wrote:What is the second graph/software you are using?

The one with all the sleep data stuff? That is from the Zeo.

britinjapan wrote:What is the second graph/software you are using? Thanks

The second graph in my OP is from the Zeo: http://www.myzeo.com/sleep/

Pugsy wrote:

britinjapan wrote:What is the second graph/software you are using?

The one with all the sleep data stuff? That is from the Zeo.

OMG! We think alike and post alike at the same time...

Pretty darn close huh?

lazer,

I have been reluctant to get out of bed lately. I attribute it to the changing seasons. It is cooler and less humid. Darker in the morning (well until Nov 4 th when we go back to standard time). That's my theory and I am sticking to it.

-tino

lazer,

Several things might be inhibiting you from getting deep sleep: 1. the benzos; 2. sleeping too long; 3. no exercise.

Thanks again for the responses. Makes sense, especially the change of seasons and lack of exercise. Could be the benzo's but I've been on them for quite awhile in one form or another. Lately I've seemed to been able to tweak my alarm clocks a little better to wake me up in time plus my kitten/cat has been nudging all up at my face I guess when the first alarm sounds which is annoying but helpful.

lazer wrote:Thanks again for the responses. Makes sense, especially the change of seasons and lack of exercise. Could be the benzo's but I've been on them for quite awhile in one form or another. Lately I've seemed to been able to tweak my alarm clocks a little better to wake me up in time plus my kitten/cat has been nudging all up at my face I guess when the first alarm sounds which is annoying but helpful.

I would put my money on the Klonopin. It has a half life of 20-50 hours. This could easily make you sleep through an alarm, feel tired during the day and make your deep sleep go as low as it did on your Zeo. If you're using this for insomnia, I'd take a strong look at what's contributing to your insomnia.

I look at benzodiazepines for sleep (Ambien, et al included) like the little kid with his finger in the dam.

kutastha wrote:

lazer wrote:Thanks again for the responses. Makes sense, especially the change of seasons and lack of exercise. Could be the benzo's but I've been on them for quite awhile in one form or another. Lately I've seemed to been able to tweak my alarm clocks a little better to wake me up in time plus my kitten/cat has been nudging all up at my face I guess when the first alarm sounds which is annoying but helpful.

I would put my money on the Klonopin. It has a half life of 20-50 hours. This could easily make you sleep through an alarm, feel tired during the day and make your deep sleep go as low as it did on your Zeo. If you're using this for insomnia, I'd take a strong look at what's contributing to your insomnia.

I look at benzodiazepines for sleep (Ambien, et al included) like the little kid with his finger in the dam.

I know and completely understand what you're saying. My problem is I'm dependent on the benzo's to control my anxiety. I have yet to find an alternative to that as of yet and I've tried, even withdrawing from xanax over a 30 day period on my own last year which was a disaster. Sent me straight for a "Stress test" to name one...

lazer wrote:I know and completely understand what you're saying. My problem is I'm dependent on the benzo's to control my anxiety. I have yet to find an alternative to that as of yet and I've tried, even withdrawing from xanax over a 30 day period on my own last year which was a disaster. Sent me straight for a "Stress test" to name one...

I feel similarly about the benzos for anxiety. It's kind of like continuing to put a band aid on a wound that's not healing. There are treatments that can be much more useful for anxiety than benzodiazepines. Also, since benzos disrupt sleep architecture, can you forsee that also leading to anxiety?

And as you experienced, the dependency can also be a major problem.

lazer wrote:

kutastha wrote:

lazer wrote:Thanks again for the responses. Makes sense, especially the change of seasons and lack of exercise. Could be the benzo's but I've been on them for quite awhile in one form or another. Lately I've seemed to been able to tweak my alarm clocks a little better to wake me up in time plus my kitten/cat has been nudging all up at my face I guess when the first alarm sounds which is annoying but helpful.

I would put my money on the Klonopin. It has a half life of 20-50 hours. This could easily make you sleep through an alarm, feel tired during the day and make your deep sleep go as low as it did on your Zeo. If you're using this for insomnia, I'd take a strong look at what's contributing to your insomnia.

I look at benzodiazepines for sleep (Ambien, et al included) like the little kid with his finger in the dam.

I know and completely understand what you're saying. My problem is I'm dependent on the benzo's to control my anxiety. I have yet to find an alternative to that as of yet and I've tried, even withdrawing from xanax over a 30 day period on my own last year which was a disaster. Sent me straight for a "Stress test" to name one...

Hi lazer!

So how do you score on this baby: http://www.heartofengland.nhs.uk/upload ... nnaire.pdf

Have a great week!

Todzo