Does a wake-up light really make you wake up easier? ‘Only for the average sleeper’ | Tech

A wake-up light is an alarm clock that does not wake you with sound, but with light. About twenty minutes before your set alarm time, the lamp will burn a little brighter. The device simulates a sunrise. Sometimes the light alarm clock even gradually changes the color of the light: from red to orange and finally to yellow.

Light alarm clocks simulate a sunrise. What’s the idea behind that? Karin van Rijn, somnologist at Sleep-Wake Center Sein, states that for an explanation of how wake-up lights work, we must first look at the effect of light on our body. Our biological clock adjusts itself every day through the alternation of the light-dark cycle. And it’s our biological clock that controls all the rhythms in our body,” she says.

One of the rhythms controlled by our biological clock is our sleep-wake rhythm. This happens with two important hormones: melatonin and cortisol. Van Rijn explains: ,,Light suppresses the production of melatonin, the hormone of the night. In addition, the biological clock prepares the body for waking up by producing cortisol. Light can indirectly play a role in this.” Cortisol is linked to important aspects of our wakefulness, such as alertness. And yes, these systems also work when we close our eyes and are asleep.

The reverse is also true: the dark actually makes you sleepy. To give your body a signal to start producing melatonin, some light alarm clocks can therefore also simulate a sunset. The light intensity decreases further and further in the time before going to sleep and your bedroom slowly darkens.

Because of its influence on our biological clock, light can help us wake up more easily. And a simulated sunrise, such as with the alarm clocks, can also help, confirms Van Rijn. She therefore finds it a pleasant alternative to traditional alarm clocks, but that only applies to ‘the average sleeper’.

“If you have a sleep disorder where you need light in the morning to wake up, the light intensity of a wake-up light is insufficient, namely 200 lux. In comparison: with a light therapy lamp that is 10,000 lux. And if you really suffer from sleep inertia (that deep feeling of sleepiness that is difficult to shake off when you first open your eyes, ed.), there is a good chance that you have not slept enough or that your biological clock is later. is tuned than your time of getting up.”