Can I love my alarm clock? - Yes, if he can wake up with the scent of a French bun
Welcome to our readers on the iCover Blog Pages ! Those who were lucky enough to live next door to the bakery claim that the probability of waking up from the aroma of a hot French bun is no less than from the piercing screech of an alarm clock. And although such a statement is very controversial, perhaps, finally, the time has come to part with some habits and stereotypes, and replace the usual means of awakening with something more comfortable, pleasant and natural. This is exactly the opportunity that the developers of the innovative odor alarm promise, one of the 10 Innovation Award nominees for CES 2016, promise us.
As a winged aphorism says: “Paradise is a place where there are no Mondays, the sounds of alarms and tedious bosses.” But if the first and last condition, most often, does not depend on us, then the opportunity to change the situation with the alarm clock, or rather, with its intrusive call, may be presented to us very soon.
Alarm clock is one of those few devices that can be classified as indispensable. Its task is to tear the last even from the deepest sleep in the allotted 3-10 minutes user and make it as reliable and efficient as possible. Perhaps that is why one of the most disgusting sensations that we are forced to experience with varying periodicity can be safely associated with the ringing of the alarm clock. And perhaps that is why many people wake up the signal of an ordinary alarm clock with their heads wrapped in a blanket or covered with a pillow.
Our sensations do not deceive us, the alarm clock is really extremely harmful to our health. And recent studies conducted by American scientists have made it possible to imagine the magnitude of this negative impact in the event that the alarm signal wakes us up systematically. According to the researchers, a portion of adrenaline is suddenly thrown into the blood of a person waking up from a sharp alarm ring. This becomes one of the main factors provoking unpredictable attacks of irritability and aggression throughout the day. It is noted that especially negative and far-reaching consequences for our body develop as a result of awakening from Monday calls.
Studies have led to disappointing conclusions: a loud alarm signal often provokes bouts of heart palpitations, headaches and shortness of breath, and contributes to an increase in blood pressure. For people with chronic heart disease in the later stages, ringing the alarm clock can lead to rupture of the thin head vessels and even cardiac arrest. The daily stress that the body is exposed to at the time of the call contributes to memory impairment, a decrease in the level of working capacity and quick wits.
From the foregoing, a simple and obvious conclusion can be made: the daily ring of the alarm clock is one of the simplest and most reliable ways to unbalance several body systems at once. And, no matter how melodic it sounds, the reaction to forced awakening in this way always looks very predictable. So, you can and should use alarms only in case of emergency. But what if our desires again do not coincide with our capabilities?
Probably, billions of people would continue to put up with the situation and turn a blind eye to the obvious, if not for the curious initiative of the Parisian development team led by Guillaume Rolland, who was able to develop and propose a completely new principle of an alarm clock that allows its owner to wake up with pleasure - under the aroma of a freshly baked croissant, ocean wave or, for example, espresso. And, perhaps, it was not by chance that the Sensorwake miracle alarm clock was created in Paris - a city where the enchanting aroma of a freshly baked French bun for decades has been interwoven with the business rhythm of this more than 2 millionth city.
In the two weeks allotted to the advertising company that launched this Paris startup in May last year, Kikstarter raised over $ 200,000 - almost four times the amount that was designated as the original goal. It is worth noting that in 2014 Sensorwake was awarded the Google Science Fair as an invention that “can change the world.” And now, in anticipation of CES 2016, Sensorwake has become one of the 10 nominees for the prestigious Innovation Award. The gadget was demonstrated at the exhibition, where it was expected to be in the spotlight and collected many pre-orders.
As you already understood, Sensorwake does not wake up in the morning, but through the aromatic effect. The source of aromas is replaceable capsules placed in compartments at the top of the device. According to the calculations of the developers, one capsule, costing $ 5, will effectively cope with its task within a month. And, according to Guillaume Rolland and the results of tests, three minutes of such exposure is quite enough to “comfortably pick out” from the deepest sleep 99% of people of any gender and age who do not suffer from problems with the perception of odors.
Unlike classic alarms, Sensorwake wakes up gently and unobtrusively and is not able to knock out the psyche early in the morning. At the same time, allergic reactions to irritants can become an insurmountable and objective obstacle to the use of aromatic alarm technology. Therefore, a person prone to allergies will most likely have to come to terms with the inevitability of choosing the classic option or, if possible, changing the sleep schedule and lifestyle.
In all other cases, according to the developers, this gadget is completely safe and can be used for its intended purpose an unlimited amount of time. The famous Swedish perfume concern “Givaudan” is responsible for the quality of aromatic fillers.
Currently, the choice is limited to six flavors: mint, freshly baked croissant, chocolate, espresso, tropical jungle, ocean freshness. In the future, a large-scale replenishment of the library of aromas is planned.
The cost of the Sensorwake aromatic alarm clock complete with a pair of capsules is $ 109. The product will be available for sale in the spring and summer of this year and, according to preliminary forecasts by the Guillaume team, will be sent to 30 countries. You can track current information on the official website of the developers: sensorwake.com .
Author's note: At least two questions arise: nevertheless, what to do if, due to a common cold, Sonia does not respond to an “aromatic attack” and falls into the remaining 1%? In this case, the device provides a backup classic option - waking up with a sound signal - a kind of “panic button” activated after 3 minutes of unsuccessful attempts to wake the sleeping person.
No less relevant is the question: how does the technology implemented in Sensorwake affect olfactory receptors, which are known to be practically inactive during the deep sleep phase ?!
In 2004, scientists from American Brown University in the course of experiments proved that people do not wake up even from sharp unpleasant odors, including some combustion products. “The human sense of smell was not sensitive enough and reliable as a watchdog system,” explained Rachel S. Herz, assistant professor of psychology at the university. And such conclusions were made on the basis of research data, a report on which appeared on the pages of one of the issues of the journal Sleep.
The study involved six people, a little older than 20 years. For two nights they were tested for the perception of odors during the initial phase of sleep, phase II - moderately deep sleep, phase IV deep sleep, as well as the phase of rapid movements of the eyeballs. There were two smells - a pleasant smell of mint and an irritating smell of pyridine.
Despite the fact that the volunteers felt good smells during wakefulness and during the transitional phase of falling asleep, during sleep, the response to odors was significantly reduced. The smell of mint did not wake anyone, and pyridine was very rare, and that only during a shallow sleep.
At the same time, to the direct question of PCWorld magazine chief editor John Phillips techhive.comGuillaume Rolland answered in the affirmative regarding the effectiveness of the author’s method, assuring that the effectiveness of the developed method, which allows producing an extremely concentrated stream of dry flavored air, was repeatedly confirmed during experiments with people of different ages (at the level of 99%). Of course, whether it is true or not, it’s difficult for us to check, it remains to hope that the efforts, time and money of the authors of the development, investors and our readers were not wasted, and the opinion of Google experts and the jury of CES 2016 turned out to be competent enough to make an objective assessment.
Source 1: bloomberg.com
Source 2: techhive.com
Our other articles and events
As a winged aphorism says: “Paradise is a place where there are no Mondays, the sounds of alarms and tedious bosses.” But if the first and last condition, most often, does not depend on us, then the opportunity to change the situation with the alarm clock, or rather, with its intrusive call, may be presented to us very soon.
Alarm clock is one of those few devices that can be classified as indispensable. Its task is to tear the last even from the deepest sleep in the allotted 3-10 minutes user and make it as reliable and efficient as possible. Perhaps that is why one of the most disgusting sensations that we are forced to experience with varying periodicity can be safely associated with the ringing of the alarm clock. And perhaps that is why many people wake up the signal of an ordinary alarm clock with their heads wrapped in a blanket or covered with a pillow.
Our sensations do not deceive us, the alarm clock is really extremely harmful to our health. And recent studies conducted by American scientists have made it possible to imagine the magnitude of this negative impact in the event that the alarm signal wakes us up systematically. According to the researchers, a portion of adrenaline is suddenly thrown into the blood of a person waking up from a sharp alarm ring. This becomes one of the main factors provoking unpredictable attacks of irritability and aggression throughout the day. It is noted that especially negative and far-reaching consequences for our body develop as a result of awakening from Monday calls.
Studies have led to disappointing conclusions: a loud alarm signal often provokes bouts of heart palpitations, headaches and shortness of breath, and contributes to an increase in blood pressure. For people with chronic heart disease in the later stages, ringing the alarm clock can lead to rupture of the thin head vessels and even cardiac arrest. The daily stress that the body is exposed to at the time of the call contributes to memory impairment, a decrease in the level of working capacity and quick wits.
From the foregoing, a simple and obvious conclusion can be made: the daily ring of the alarm clock is one of the simplest and most reliable ways to unbalance several body systems at once. And, no matter how melodic it sounds, the reaction to forced awakening in this way always looks very predictable. So, you can and should use alarms only in case of emergency. But what if our desires again do not coincide with our capabilities?
Probably, billions of people would continue to put up with the situation and turn a blind eye to the obvious, if not for the curious initiative of the Parisian development team led by Guillaume Rolland, who was able to develop and propose a completely new principle of an alarm clock that allows its owner to wake up with pleasure - under the aroma of a freshly baked croissant, ocean wave or, for example, espresso. And, perhaps, it was not by chance that the Sensorwake miracle alarm clock was created in Paris - a city where the enchanting aroma of a freshly baked French bun for decades has been interwoven with the business rhythm of this more than 2 millionth city.
What is Sensorwake?
In the two weeks allotted to the advertising company that launched this Paris startup in May last year, Kikstarter raised over $ 200,000 - almost four times the amount that was designated as the original goal. It is worth noting that in 2014 Sensorwake was awarded the Google Science Fair as an invention that “can change the world.” And now, in anticipation of CES 2016, Sensorwake has become one of the 10 nominees for the prestigious Innovation Award. The gadget was demonstrated at the exhibition, where it was expected to be in the spotlight and collected many pre-orders.
As you already understood, Sensorwake does not wake up in the morning, but through the aromatic effect. The source of aromas is replaceable capsules placed in compartments at the top of the device. According to the calculations of the developers, one capsule, costing $ 5, will effectively cope with its task within a month. And, according to Guillaume Rolland and the results of tests, three minutes of such exposure is quite enough to “comfortably pick out” from the deepest sleep 99% of people of any gender and age who do not suffer from problems with the perception of odors.
How Safe is Sensorwake
Unlike classic alarms, Sensorwake wakes up gently and unobtrusively and is not able to knock out the psyche early in the morning. At the same time, allergic reactions to irritants can become an insurmountable and objective obstacle to the use of aromatic alarm technology. Therefore, a person prone to allergies will most likely have to come to terms with the inevitability of choosing the classic option or, if possible, changing the sleep schedule and lifestyle.
In all other cases, according to the developers, this gadget is completely safe and can be used for its intended purpose an unlimited amount of time. The famous Swedish perfume concern “Givaudan” is responsible for the quality of aromatic fillers.
Currently, the choice is limited to six flavors: mint, freshly baked croissant, chocolate, espresso, tropical jungle, ocean freshness. In the future, a large-scale replenishment of the library of aromas is planned.
The cost of the Sensorwake aromatic alarm clock complete with a pair of capsules is $ 109. The product will be available for sale in the spring and summer of this year and, according to preliminary forecasts by the Guillaume team, will be sent to 30 countries. You can track current information on the official website of the developers: sensorwake.com .
Author's note: At least two questions arise: nevertheless, what to do if, due to a common cold, Sonia does not respond to an “aromatic attack” and falls into the remaining 1%? In this case, the device provides a backup classic option - waking up with a sound signal - a kind of “panic button” activated after 3 minutes of unsuccessful attempts to wake the sleeping person.
No less relevant is the question: how does the technology implemented in Sensorwake affect olfactory receptors, which are known to be practically inactive during the deep sleep phase ?!
In 2004, scientists from American Brown University in the course of experiments proved that people do not wake up even from sharp unpleasant odors, including some combustion products. “The human sense of smell was not sensitive enough and reliable as a watchdog system,” explained Rachel S. Herz, assistant professor of psychology at the university. And such conclusions were made on the basis of research data, a report on which appeared on the pages of one of the issues of the journal Sleep.
The study involved six people, a little older than 20 years. For two nights they were tested for the perception of odors during the initial phase of sleep, phase II - moderately deep sleep, phase IV deep sleep, as well as the phase of rapid movements of the eyeballs. There were two smells - a pleasant smell of mint and an irritating smell of pyridine.
Despite the fact that the volunteers felt good smells during wakefulness and during the transitional phase of falling asleep, during sleep, the response to odors was significantly reduced. The smell of mint did not wake anyone, and pyridine was very rare, and that only during a shallow sleep.
At the same time, to the direct question of PCWorld magazine chief editor John Phillips techhive.comGuillaume Rolland answered in the affirmative regarding the effectiveness of the author’s method, assuring that the effectiveness of the developed method, which allows producing an extremely concentrated stream of dry flavored air, was repeatedly confirmed during experiments with people of different ages (at the level of 99%). Of course, whether it is true or not, it’s difficult for us to check, it remains to hope that the efforts, time and money of the authors of the development, investors and our readers were not wasted, and the opinion of Google experts and the jury of CES 2016 turned out to be competent enough to make an objective assessment.
Source 1: bloomberg.com
Source 2: techhive.com
Our other articles and events