Wake up! The whole concept of waking up is one I’m not particularly fond of. As a repeat snooze offender and renowned deep sleeper, the world could be crashing around me and I wouldn’t even stir. Yes, waking up is a tiresome process, one that I can’t help but blame myself for, but with smartphones, pulling yourself up from under the warm and inviting comforts of the covers is starting to get easier and dare I say, even more fun. Here are just some of the weird and perhaps slightly sadistic apps created to help people arise from their slumber.
Wake N Shake
Think you can’t fit in your daily exercise before work? Wake N Shake hopes to challenge that – well depending on what you define as exercise. The merciless Wake N Shake requires you to shake your phone until all the colours have disappeared from your screen. Two things could happen from doing this, one: Your blood will be pumping making it hard to return to sleep or two: In your sleepy and uncoordinated state you’ve thrown your phone into the wall mid shake. Wake N Shake has twenty-four different alarm sounds to get you moving as well as a cruel strobe light for added disturbance value. It also features a single-tap function for quick naps, and music to guide you into peaceful slumber.
CARROT Alarm
While we are on the subject of sadistic style apps, let me introduce you to CARROT alarm. It’s target market? Anyone who loves to give the snooze button a daily workout, and those who like to be managed by an authoritative figure. In a nutshell, CARROT is a talking alarm speaking to you in a woman’s voice. She will coax you out of your sleep with a series of songs, witty dialogue or bribery of sweet treats. In exchange for waking you up on time, all CARROT asks for in return is that you complete her small yet bizarre chores including shaking your phone to clean out the pet monkey cage or flip to mix a deadly neurotoxin. You’ll get points for each task you complete, unlocking different levels and upgrades including bed time stories. But (and there’s always a but) CARROT has a nasty side. If you disobey her by hitting the snooze, you will be punished.
Sleep Cycle
Now for a kinder approach. Sleep Cycle isn’t as ruthless as the aforementioned apps, helping to regulate your sleep patterns by waking you up at your lightest stage of sleep. In order to set this alarm, you must place your iPhone on the bed and choose a time period in which you would like to wake. Using your phones accelerometer, Sleep Cycle will monitor your different sleep patterns and phases, setting off an alarm within your designated time when you are in your lightest slumbering stage. After using this app for a few days, Sleep Cycle will collate data from the periods you are asleep, and present you with statistics and graphs on your bedtime habits. The solution to your restless sleep issues might not just be from snoozing, but perhaps the need for a new Latex Mattress.
Do you own one of these apps? How effective are they in getting you out from under the covers? Let us know in the comments below.
