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Wakemate (YC S09) helps you kiss groggy mornings goodbye

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Re: Wakemate (YC S09) helps you kiss groggy mornings goodbye

#71

Post by flooha »

Caligula wrote: post #39

I worked at a sleep company up until 2008 and there are a lot of startups and big sleep companies getting into lowcost devices that a customer would own or rent instead of going into a sleep lab. They would do more diagnosis or pre-diagnosis rather than just wakeup timing but I think some had that feature. I know there is a watch that does this. One tip I would do if I were them were to contact all those huge sleep l…

I think this is pretty significant advice. My daughter broke her foot one day before getting on a plane to Barcelona, where we planned on doing a lot of swimming, I had a waterproof cast cover over-nighted and they sent two. One for me and a free one for the foot doctor. The product worked so well, it literally saved our vacation and I couldn't say enough good things to the doctor when we got back. I'm sure giving the free sample to the doctor was a win for them, especially considering the doctor had never heard of the product.

Re: Wakemate (YC S09) helps you kiss groggy mornings goodbye

#72

Post by codexon »

This looks like the same technology used in the ubiquitous sleeptracker. http://www.sleeptracker.com/

I've heard complaints that it doesn't accurately monitor your sleep cycles because it uses an accelerometer which obviously doesn't work if you don't move enough.

There is a product called Zeo that supposedly detects your brainwaves but then people complain about having to wear a strap on your head. http://www.myzeo.com/

Anyone want to share their experience with these sleep aids?

Re: Wakemate (YC S09) helps you kiss groggy mornings goodbye

#73

Post by blasdel »

_cbsz wrote: post #63

Does it work with iPod touch + home WiFi?

Not directly on the first-gen iPod Touch, since it doesn't have bluetooth, but the later ones do with OS 3.0 and up.

You could load the analytics app without it, but you'd need some device with bluetooth to trigger the alarm. Someone will inevitably release desktop apps to interface it, especially since all Macs ship with bluetooth and tiny USB dongles for your PC cost about a dollar.

Re: Wakemate (YC S09) helps you kiss groggy mornings goodbye

#74

Post by Psyonic »

stjarnljuset wrote: post #31
SwellJoe wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've tried polyphasic sleep a few times over the past 15 years, and always went back to normal. But I'm about to give it another try, and all of the circumstances that made it difficult in the past (live-in girlfriend, office to go to and an expectation of availability throughout normal office hours, or school+work, etc.) are no longer a factor, so I think it will go better this time. I'm also about to shake up a bun…

I learned about polyphasic sleep a couple years back, and came across stevepavlina's blog posts about his experience. I want to try it (just for the heck of it, and to see if it fits my lifestyle better) sometime in my life. If you happen to get Wakemate, I'd be interested to know if it helps or eases the transition to polyphasic.

I can't say there is any definite correlation, but Steve now believes in subjective reality and that his love is too big to be contained within a relationship, so think before you leap

Re: Wakemate (YC S09) helps you kiss groggy mornings goodbye

#75

Post by pchristensen »

icey wrote: post #43
SwellJoe wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've tried polyphasic sleep a few times over the past 15 years, and always went back to normal. But I'm about to give it another try, and all of the circumstances that made it difficult in the past (live-in girlfriend, office to go to and an expectation of availability throughout normal office hours, or school+work, etc.) are no longer a factor, so I think it will go better this time. I'm also about to shake up a bun…

Please, please, please blog your attempt at going polyphasic. There aren't a lot of rational records of people trying this; and it's a really interesting topic (to me, at least). I'd try it myself, but for now my commute prevents me from being able to do it. pchristensen did it a year or two ago, and it was really interesting to read about.

Relevant link: http://www.pchristensen.com/blog/articles/category/polyphasi...

I loved it but my life didn't accommodate it. It was much easier on work days because I could sleep both ways on the train, one nap in the middle of the day, and then make it through family duties at night before I needed another nap. My wife didn't enjoy the scheduling difficulties on the weekend and it's not something you can switch on and off on short notice (takes about 5-7 days the first time and 2-3 days to start back up). There's a couch at my new job and I'm considering starting up again.

Re: Wakemate (YC S09) helps you kiss groggy mornings goodbye

#76

Post by andrewhyde »

codexon wrote: post #72

This looks like the same technology used in the ubiquitous sleeptracker. http://www.sleeptracker.com/ I've heard complaints that it doesn't accurately monitor your sleep cycles because it uses an accelerometer which obviously doesn't work if you don't move enough. There is a product called Zeo that supposedly detects your brainwaves but then people complain about having to wear a strap on your head. http://www.myzeo.…

I've used the zeo for a while. Love it, but in the end I move the headband off my head in my sleep (active sleeper) and would wake up with no data 1/3 of the time. That is frustrating. From what I read this is true for about 10% of users.

As far as the Zeo goes, it is a great product. Very interesting future (there are some obvious 'this is a first release' flaws) but overall, it rocks. Knowing to the minute how much you slept with REM and deep sleep markers is quite interesting and fun.

I've got an extra in Boulder if anyone wants to try it out.

Re: Wakemate (YC S09) helps you kiss groggy mornings goodbye

#77

Post by nixme »

codexon wrote: post #72

This looks like the same technology used in the ubiquitous sleeptracker. http://www.sleeptracker.com/ I've heard complaints that it doesn't accurately monitor your sleep cycles because it uses an accelerometer which obviously doesn't work if you don't move enough. There is a product called Zeo that supposedly detects your brainwaves but then people complain about having to wear a strap on your head. http://www.myzeo.…

I bought the Zeo a couple months back based on reading about here on HN.

What a huge difference in the morning! I used to be the kind of person that needed a 20 min hot shower to properly wake up. Now I wake up mostly alert and almost never groggy.

I noticed the change most this week since I flew to Philly for Thanksgiving with family and don't have my Zeo. The last few mornings without it have been hit or miss.

The pretty graphs and statistics were interesting for the first couple weeks, especially to compare how alcohol and caffeine affect my sleep, but the novelty wears off. The smart wakeup is by far the best feature and if the Wakemate can do a similar job, it'll be a cheaper solution that I can take on the road.

Re: Wakemate (YC S09) helps you kiss groggy mornings goodbye

#78

Post by zacharypinter »

I'm particularly interested in using this to help trigger lucid dreams. For the past few years, I've had a song on my playlist that I've trained myself to always ask if I'm dreaming when I hear it. The idea being that this song would play at the right time during my sleep cycle to get me to realize that I'm dreaming.

However, so far I've had trouble triggering the song at the right time. Perhaps this app will be configurable enough to play an MP3 when I'm in REM?

Re: Wakemate (YC S09) helps you kiss groggy mornings goodbye

#79

Post by aberman »

physcab wrote: post #66
aberman wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, no problem. I didn't get to use one of the new, super sleek, production quality ones. I used an early prototype that slipped inside a wrist band (like tennis players wear). It was actually still pretty comfortable to sleep with - I didnt even feel it after the first night. It definitely woke me up at the optimal time in my sleep cycle. The alarm app was a really simple web app, and the bluetooth was simple. It…

Can you elaborate more on how your sleep changed? I don't have trouble getting to sleep if I put in a full day of productive work topped off with exercise. Is this product only for people with sleep problems?

I am actually a pretty good sleeper. I naturally sleep about 8 hours a day, and if I wake up naturally, I usually wake up feeling pretty good (haha...people are going to hate me for that).

The problem is when I go to bed really late and/or need to wake up earlier than I would naturally. As it turns out, I am more affected by when I wake up in my sleep cycle than I am by how long I sleep. If I need to wake up at 7:30am for a call with east coast people, the wakemate would wake me up at "around" 7:30 (you can set a hard stop), during the point in my sleep cycle in which I am most amenable to being woken up. It's the difference between feeling like shit, and feeling like I woke up naturally.

Re: Wakemate (YC S09) helps you kiss groggy mornings goodbye

#80

Post by SwellJoe »

icey wrote: post #43
SwellJoe wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've tried polyphasic sleep a few times over the past 15 years, and always went back to normal. But I'm about to give it another try, and all of the circumstances that made it difficult in the past (live-in girlfriend, office to go to and an expectation of availability throughout normal office hours, or school+work, etc.) are no longer a factor, so I think it will go better this time. I'm also about to shake up a bun…

Please, please, please blog your attempt at going polyphasic. There aren't a lot of rational records of people trying this; and it's a really interesting topic (to me, at least). I'd try it myself, but for now my commute prevents me from being able to do it. pchristensen did it a year or two ago, and it was really interesting to read about.

I plan to. I'm shopping for an RV at the moment, and plan to hit the road on January 1st, and I'll be blogging about the process of going mostly off the grid while still running a company. Switching to polyphasic sleep will be a minor change in comparison, and so I'm cramming a number of life alterations into one bunch...since I won't have any habitual behaviors that remain unchanged, I'm going to take the opportunity for self improvement on all fronts (eating, exercise, environmental impact, getting out of my comfort zone, etc.). I've read that people have an easier time altering habits, like smoking, when they are out of their normal routine, like when they're on vacation.
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