We put the SleepTracker through three different sleep test to see how it would do (weekday, naps, weekend)

The "weekday" test was the typical 11PM-7AM cycle...give or take an hour. The SleepTracker performed the best in this test. The sleep cycles were long enough for the tracker to get some readings and do its thing. It woke me up around 6:30 with a gentle chirp. I think I heard 2 chirps before shutting the alarm off. I don't think Carolyn even heard the thing go off.

The "nap" test was a bit unfair to the SleepTracker, but we did it just to see what would happen. Since most of my naps are between 20 to 30 minutes...it hardly had time to take any samples. The timer went off 10 minutes into my nap...which was more annoying than anything else. However, I cannot blame the device...it did wake me up within the stated 20 minute window :-)

The "weekend" test was to see how the device would perform when you have plenty of time to wake up on your own. I think you all can guessed what happened... I woke up way before 10AM :-)

RESULTS: The SleepTracker did performed as advertised. I was able to get a gentle wake up at a time in my sleep cycle that did not jar me out of a deep sleep. I'm not sure whether it improved the quality of my arousal from slumber, but I can definitely see how it could work for folks that don't like to be jarred out of bed :-)

1. Weeknight: 11PM - 7AM - Excellent

2. Mid-day nap: 1PM - 1:30PM - not useful

3. Weekend: 11PM- 10AM - not necessary

Well, this little device can be too addictive (at least for me...) to put aside. I have been wearing it and tracking my sleep pattern every night and plotting the results the next morning.

The steep the slope between data points, the longer the sleep period between "almost awake" states. It's starting to show that Wan and Carolyn have different sleep/awake cycles, but I think we'll need a few weeks worth of data to be able to say anything definite.

Some patterns are beginning to emerge for me after one week... I tend to be almost awake between 2:30 and 3:30. However, I think I'll have to get more data to see if the pattern really holds. Another interesting observation was there were nights where I thought I slept very soundly only to have the data say otherwise.

I'm really interested to know if I really sleep better on nights after my Aikido classes or if eating a big dinner really does disturb my sleep pattern... now I have a way of getting some answers to those types of questions!

I also need to rethink how I am plotting this data...

We were intrigued when we first read about this device. We wondered if it would be just the thing to help us get up when we had to adapt to different time zones.

We got one from the folks at Innovative Sleep Solutions and have been playing with with for about two weeks.

The results were very interesting...mostly because the device is based on a fairly simple premise, but it actually works surprisingly well.

SleepTracker works by way of a small accelerometer that senses certain kinds of movements that are indicative of light stages of sleep.

If you use it for what it is designed to do, it will help get you out of bed in the morning without jarring you out of a deep sleep... which is more than I can say for my cat!

Carolyn will have her own thoughts on this device next week... be sure to go check in Carolyn's World for her take on the SleepTracker!

Reviews:

1. SleepTracker - First Look.

2. SleepTracker - Initial Test

3. SleepTracker - Boston WHDH TV

Review Summary:

Initial Impression- Good

Usability- Excellent

Durability- Test in progress

Price- Good

Comments: It took a few nights to get used to having something on my wrist. Some people may not have a problem with it at all, but some may never get use to it. Give some thoughts to whether it would be a problem for you if you are considering a purchase.