During winter times, when the hours of darkness are long, we would need to wake up in the morning when the sun has not yet risen. At these moments of darkness our brains are still producing melatonin and as such, our waking is sudden, causing us to be disoriented and drowsy at the time of waking and tired the rest of the day.
Instead of relying on sleep medications, which could harm our health in the long run, a possible solution to deal with this problem could be the use of a dawn simulator. This device, sometimes called a natural alarm clock, helps to reduce this sudden awakening by simulating sunrise. A light source mimics an artificial sunrise by gradually increasing in intensity at a specified time, usually about 30 to 60 minutes before your scheduled wake up time.
This artificial sunrise prepares your body to wake up in a more natural way by slowing down the melatonin production from your brain.
Dawn simulators can also be programmed to work in the reverse. That is, you can set it to progressively lower its light intensity to simulate a sunset into darkness. This will promote melatonin production in the brain and make you feel sleepy at night.
What are the benefits of Dawn Simulators?
Dawn simulators are helpful for people trying to wake up during the winter mornings when it is still dark outside. In fact it is helpful for anyone who typically wakes up before sunrise. You don't need to be living in a country with seasonal changes to enjoy the benefits of a dawn simulator.
However, in countries with seasonal changes, dawn simulators are especially useful in treating people with Seasonal Affective Disorders (SAD). SAD patients suffer from a chemical imbalance in the brain due to the shortening of daylight hours during winter. This imbalance impairs normal functioning and causes depression during the winter months.
As the simulated sunrise and sunset of dawn simulators help to align and regulate melatonin and serotonin production, it is also helpful for sufferers of depression, anxiety, fatigue and insomnia, as these sufferers have been known to have imbalances of these two chemicals. Dawn simulators are also a great help for night shift workers, in helping them adjust and get the necessary rest during the day. Those traveling across time zones will also enjoy the benefits of a dawn simulator as it helps them overcome the effects of jet lag. Useful as it may be at regulating sleep, a dawn simulator is not simply a boring looking device with a light bulb attached to it; many of them come in sleek shapes and also have other built in functions like a digital clock and radio. Some dawn simulators also come with pre-recorded nature sounds so that you can be gently woken up to the soothing sounds of the rain forest or the waterfall, instead of a deafening alarm bell.