Philips Lamp/Alarm clock

The new Wake-Up alarm clock from Philips has some very bold claims about improving not only your quality of sleep, but your "quality of wakening". If you're the type that hits the snooze button endlessly until finally shrugging off the duvet when your snooze allowance is up, then this clock promises a more natural way to get you out of bed. Not a new concept, but following the theory that nature intended us to be woken by gently increasing sunlight, the Wake-Up Light emits just that - light that gets gradually brighter simulating the sun rising in your bedroom. Here comes the science: as the light falls on your eyes, a message is sent to your brain that positively affects the production of cortisol, the energy hormone. This apparently means that at your required wake-up time your hormones are better balanced and you’ll feel more energetic right from the start of the day. Philips researched this product and found that 87% of us regularly hit the snooze button but in trials, only 20% of users of the Philips Wake-Up Light continued to use the snooze button. The Philips Wake-Up Light is available from Argos and Boots from September for £100.
http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/8836/9860/Philips-launches-Wake-Up-Light-alarmclock.phtml

Philips Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock: Fade Up to Harsh Reality
You may still be reeling from that jarring alarm that scared you out of bed this morning, so here's a concept from Philips that could change all that, an alarm clock with a soft light that fades up over a half an hour. You can adjust its ultimate brightness, and we're assuming there's some kind of alarm at the end of that cycle, just to make sure you're awake.
Philips says this simulates a natural wakeup with the sunrise, when sunlight gradually begins to peek through your closed eyelids. That sends signals to your brain to stop producing melatonin, that sleep-inducing hormone that sometimes seems to kick in at the most inopportune times. The clock will be available in France this month, and everywhere else in 2007.
This is not the first time we've seen this idea; the Progressive Wakeup Alarm Clock you've seen here on the Giz does basically the same thing with light, aromatherapy and sound effects. Both clocks sound good to me, one who's always looking for the best way to gradually make that transition from sweet slumber to harsh reality. – Charlie White
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/philips-wakeup-light-alarm-clock-fade-up-to-harsh-reality-205415.php

Update on the Philips HF3461 Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock
Published by neil on December 15th, 2007
It has been two weeks now since first using the Philips HF3461 Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock mentioned in this recent post, so I thought I would post a quick update.
So far, this device has changed my life.
Still waking with relative ease at 6-6.30 am each morning - including weekends. I’m coherent and productive within an hour of waking, much less sleepy during the day, and noticeably less drowsy in the early afternoon - I used to really struggle around 3pm each day. I get more stuff done.
I had to double check myself, however, as midweek this week I realised I was slipping into a self-imposed wakeup routine: I would be partly awake just before the audio part of the alarm kicked in and when it did, I would immediately press snooze. Twelve minutes of almost returning to sleep before the birds started singing once again, and it was tougher to drag myself out of bed. Bad boy. Always amazes me the way in which our brains encourage us to stumble into routine. So the lesson is, the dawn simulation most certainly works, but you still have to take responsibility and get up. I suppose it’s similar to those Kellogg’s Special-K ads which help you lose wait but only as part of a balanced, calorie controlled diet. Or not. It’s still down to you to make the most of it.
If you struggle to get out of bed in the morning, I wholeheartedly recommend a dawn simulator alarm.
http://neildixon.com/update-on-the-philips-hf3461-wake-up-light-alarm-clock/

With a recommended price of around £100, this has to be one of the most expensive alarm clocks we’ve ever seen.It’s also unique in that it looks a little like a giant upturned tooth. There’s a reason for this strange (and not particularly attractive) design, though: the white plastic shell contains an extremely bright light. The idea is that, rather than shocking you from your slumbers with a piercing noise, the Wake-up Light rouses you gently with a slow artificial sunrise.Being sceptical types, we also chose to also set an audible alarm to sound at the end of this sunrise – the HF3461 gives a choice of a traditional bleep, an FM radio station or an assortment of rather silly sounding nature noises. On the first morning, however, we found ourselves wide awake a good ten minutes before usual.And, although these things are hard to measure, we didn’t feel as grumpy and cloth-headed as usual. We had a few complaints. For one, several buttons are located on the top of the device – this makes them hard to find without actually getting up and looking down at the clock. Also, at one point our test unit stopped working and had to be unplugged for several hours to reset itself.Nonetheless, we’d recommend the Wake-up Light to anyone who doesn’t feel properly alive in the mornings.

http://techtaxi.blogspot.com/2008/04/philips-wake-up-light-hf3461-review.html

The Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock from the Philips is an awesome gadget and this is a must in every household. My uncle gifted me this when I was moving to college hostel during the final year of graduation and this has helped me a lot to wake up in time. I would highly recommend this alarm clock to all the students who are eager to wake up in the morning to study but for some reason cannot materialize it. Not just for students, it is a blessing for working housewife who needs to get up early in the morning to do chores and all the office goers who are late to wake up. Philips has revolutionized the concept of the alarm bells and it is really a practical innovation that should be applauded. There is no rocket science involved in this and I am just wondering why none thought about it earlier. It works on a very simple concept and is a user friendly alarm clock with no technical complexities. Basically this comes with an incandescent lamp and all you have to do is to preset the time and light and intensity before going to bed. Most of you would be wondering the role of light and that is what makes the Philips HF3461 Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock unique and different from other alarm clocks. It is not just the sound but also the light that wakes you up and this couple effect is reliable. This is based on the principle that energy hormone, cortisol should be activated to wake up without any fuss. We are not aware of the fact that it is not that we are purposefully lazy to wake up after hearing the bell go, but the brain the energy hormone is not triggered. So the Philips bulb glows along with the bell and recreate the effect of sunlight to brightly light the room just like a sunny day outside and this makes you wake up.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/739609/a_review_of_philips_hf3461_wakeup_light.html