The Sleeptracker: The end of waking up tired?

The Sleeptracker isn't going to win any awards on the watch fashion stakes.

If you're anything like me, you wake to the loud and intrusive buzz from the alarm clock in the morning barely conscious, hazy and highly irritated. No wonder so many people are cranky as hell before their morning coffee.

That's why I was curious when I came across the Sleeptracker watch, which promised to deliver a perfect waking experience and is now available in Asia.

The Sleeptracker is an ordinary-looking digital watch. It's not fashion forward and it sure isn't going to propel anyone into the social strata of Rolex or Tag Heuer owners.

What it loses in the fashion stakes, however, it attempts to make up for with its crucial claim to being the most advanced wrist-worn alarm clock ever.

The science of sleep

But before I get into that, let me play teacher in a quick lesson on the science of sleep.

When you sleep, your body goes through a series of sleep cycles. The average adult experiences four or five full sleep cycles over an eight-hour period. Each cycle lasts about 90-110 minutes and comprises five different stages -- from the light sleep of Stage 1 to the deep REM sleep of Stage 5.

This is where the Sleeptracker comes in. When you're ready to sleep, you set a time window when you want to be awaken -- say between 7 and 7:30am, not precisely 7:15am. Then let the Sleeptracker take over.

While you sleep, the Sleeptracker works by monitoring your body with built-in sensors to detect 'almost-awake moments' that occur naturally during sleep cycles, especially in Stage 1.

Upon detecting one of those optimal moments during your time window for waking, the Sleeptracker alarm sounds. The aim is to wake you when you are in a gentle rather than deep sleep.

Almost dreamy

This all sounded great to me, so I decided to give it a try. When I first got the Sleeptracker, the watch and alarm function worked well. Just not all the time. When it did work, it was almost dreamy. I awoke feeling fresher and more energetic than usual. Some mornings, though, I still felt like I'd been hit by a bus. A fast-moving one.

Poking around online for other user accounts I found that the Sleeptracker doesn't work for everyone. Setting the time window is a general hassle, and navigating the menus takes getting used to. And few people enjoy wearing a watch to bed.

The verdict

For frequent business fliers looking for quality shuteye, or just plain old morning cranks, the Sleeptracker is worth looking into.

But at around US$140 for the Sleeptracker Standard, it can be a bit pricey for a sleep experiment with a glorified alarm clock. And it looks cheap.

The Sleeptracker Standard sells for US$140. The Elite for Men, Elite for Ladies and the Sleeptracker Pro models sell for about US$180 each.

Sleeptracker watches are available from the Sleeptracker website. https://www.sleeptracker.com

Here is Dr. Phil's review of the Sleeptracker: