How the SleepTracker Alarm Works

Why is it so hard to wake up to a normal alarm clock? Because a normal alarm clock can't detect where you are in your sleep cycle — a continuous cycle from deep sleep, to brief almost-awake moments, and back to deep sleep again. Occasionally, your alarm may catch you at an optimal, almost-awake moment and you wake up feeling refreshed, but usually you grope for the snooze button waking up tired and groggy.

SleepTracker continuously monitors signals from your body that indicate where you are in the sleep cycle. Because you wear SleepTracker on your wrist like a watch, its internal sensors can detect even the most subtle physical signals from your body. SleepTracker finds your best waking moments, so that waking up has never been easier. In this article you will learn:

• About sleep cycles
• How to use the SleepTracker
• How to track your sleep data
• Features of the SleepTracker
• Frequently asked questions

Sleep Cycles

When you sleep, your body goes through a series of sleep cycles. The average adult experiences 4-5 full sleep cycles over an 8-hour period. Each cycle lasts about 90-110 minutes and comprises five different stages, as illustrated by this chart.

No two people have the same sleep cycles, and nobody has the same cycle twice. Many factors can influence sleep cycles, including diet, exercise, medications, drugs or alcohol, stress, sleep disorders, and sleep deprivation. Age and gender can play a role, too: women tend to sleep more soundly than men, and as we age, we sleep more restlessly.

A typical sleep cycle has five stages. During Stage 1 of your sleep cycle, you sleep lightly. At Stage 2, your sleep gets progressively deeper. At Stages 3 and 4, also known as "Delta Sleep," you sleep most heavily; this is when your body rebuilds itself.

Stage 5 of sleep, also known as REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, is marked by extensive physiological changes, such as accelerated respiration, increased brain activity, rapid eye movement, and muscle relaxation. REM sleep is when dreams occur.

In the first third of the night, Delta sleep stages last longer than REM stages. As the night progresses, Delta sleep diminishes in length. By the last third of the night, Delta sleep usually ceases, while REM stages lengthen.

SleepTracker may find multiple almost-awake moments within the sleep cycle. Almost-awake moments may also vary in frequency throughout the night.

By monitoring your sleep cycles for optimal waking moments during the preset alarm window, SleepTracker finds those almost awake-moments and gently wakes you when you're most alert. The result? You wake up refreshed instead of groggy.

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How to use SleepTracker

Wear SleepTracker ® with the face on top of your wrist and with the band tight enough to maintain contact with your wrist. Set SleepTracker ®'s alarm for the normal time you start your day, then adjust the alarm window to allow SleepTracker ® to wake you at your body's optimum time, if SleepTracker ® detects an almost-awake moment within the window before your alarm.

To set the ALARM mode:

1. Press the MODE button until you reach the ALARM screen, and then press and hold SET until the hour digit blinks.
2. Adjust to the desired hour by pressing the buttons on the left.
3. Press SET to adjust the minutes using the same buttons.
4. Press SET again to adjust among AM/PM/24-hour.
5. Store these settings by pressing MODE until the screen stops blinking.
6. Press and hold the top left button (GLO) until the soundwave logo appears. The soundwave logo must be on for SleepTracker ® to record data or for the alarm to be activated.

Setting the Alarm Window

1. Press MODE to go to the ALARM WINDOW.
2. Press and hold SET until the time blinks.
3. Adjust the window setting by pressing the buttons on the left.
4. Press and hold MODE until the screen stops blinking to save your new setting.

Setting the "To Bed" Time

Setting the "To Bed" feature on your SleepTracker ® lets SleepTracker ® record your sleep data during the night so you can learn about your unique sleep patterns. To accurately record your data, set "To Bed" at 30 minutes after you anticipate being asleep. If you stay awake later than the time set in "To Bed", the data recorded will not be accurate until you are fully asleep. SleepTracker ® can collect data for a maximum of 8 hours. Going to sleep after your anticipated "To Bed" time will not affect SleepTracker ®'s ability to find your optimal waking moments within the alarm window.

Setting the "To Bed" Mode

Press MODE until it reaches the "To Bed" mode. Then press and hold SET until the hour digit blinks. Press the top or bottom buttons on the left to reach the desired hour. Then press SET to go to minutes, then AM/PM/24-hour, and adjust accordingly. To store your new settings, press MODE until the screen stops blinking.

SleepTracker ®'s four simple, easy-to-read buttons allow you to read this alarm in the dark, to set it to wake you at the best time, to record your sleeping cycles, and to tell the time, day, and date. Please note: If no button is pushed for 60 seconds, SleepTracker ® will default to the time/day/date screen.

Press the GLO button to backlight the screen. This button is also used to adjust SleepTracker ®'s settings. (Please note: Excessive use of the GLO backlight reduces battery life. Pressing GLO also prevents SleepTracker ® from beeping, due to the demand on the battery.)

Press MODE to scroll through SleepTracker ®'s functions: Time, Alarm, Alarm Window, To Bed, and Data Review. (Use the buttons on the left to change the settings in each function.) Press MODE until the screen stops blinking to save your updated settings.

Press SET until the screen blinks to adjust SleepTracker ®, then use the buttons on the left to change the settings. Press SET again to move from hours to minutes to seconds.

Please note: The SET button may seem slow to activate. That is by design so it will be more difficult to inadvertently depress while you are sleeping.

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Tracking Sleep Data

To review your sleep data, press MODE to go to DATA REVIEW.

Use the left buttons to review your almost-awake moments. SleepTracker ® records and stores your almost-awake moments for one day, so in the DATA REVIEW mode you can discover how many times you were almost awake during a night and the average time between those moments. Each almost-awake moment is displayed in chronological order as "Data 1," "Data 2," etc. At the end of this series of times, SleepTracker ® displays "Data A," the average time between your almost-awake moments.

Data A can help you know how soundly you're sleeping. If the average time between your almost-awake moments is relatively long compared to other nights, you've probably slept more restfully than usual. If you go to bed and get up at the same times most days, your sleep patterns are likely to be consistent, and Data A will remain fairly consistent, too.

Remember that everyone's sleep patterns are different, and everyone's Data A is different. Almost-awake moments may be frequent or occasional, sporadic or regular. A 20- to 30-minute Data A is not uncommon. Moreover, multiple almost-awake moments can occur within one sleep cycle. To best assess your sleep, look to see whether your Data A lengthens as you continue to use the SleepTracker ®. An increasing Data A means you're getting more consistent sleep. Also, look at your sleep data to make sure you have extended periods of sleep without almost-awake moments. If that's the case, a short Data A is no cause for worry, since you're getting sufficient periods of deep sleep.

To establish your personal baseline, keep track of Data A for 7-10 nights so you can find out how restless each night's sleep was relative to the others. The more almost-awake moments you have (based on your individual norm), the less restful your night's sleep. If your sleep is consistent, Data A will probably only vary by a few minutes from one night to the next. If Data A deviates significantly from your normal baseline one night, think about what you did before going to sleep that might have affected your sleep cycle. Factors like alcohol, cigarettes, late evening exercise, eating late, and spicy foods can all affect your Data A.

After SleepTracker ® records an almost awake-moment, it will not record another one for 8 minutes. This is to keep SleepTracker ® from recording multiple almost-awake moments because you get up in the middle of the night. If you stay up for more than 8 minutes, SleepTracker ® will record an awake moment every 8 minutes until you go back to sleep. Within the ALARM WINDOW, however, SleepTracker ® triggers the alarm at your first almost-awake moment.

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More SleepTracker Features

• Shows time and date
• GLO backlight
• Water-resistant
• Monitors sleep for "Almost Awake" moments
• 60 minute max. adjustable alarm window
• Collects sleep data for 12 hours
• Select vibrating alarm, ringing alarm, or both
• Download sleep data to PC
• Review sleep history with included software

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is an "almost-awake" moment?

Almost-awake moments occur throughout a night's sleep. Sometimes an almost-awake moment is triggered by an outside influence like a loud noise or a dog jumping on the bed, but usually these moments happen around REM sleep. When you are almost awake, you may move around, or sit up to look at the clock, but then you usually drift quickly back to sleep. You probably won't even remember having been awake. Almost-awake moments are very brief, usually lasting less than 20 seconds.

On average, how many almost-awake moments do most people experience per night?

There really is no average, because everybody sleeps differently. Factors that can affect your number of almost-awake moments include age, diet, medication, exercise, the amount of sleep you got during previous nights, stress, and other factors. The best way to determine how soundly you've slept on a given night is by establishing a baseline. Using SleepTracker ®, track each night's sleep and the number of almost-awake moments you experience. Eventually you'll learn how many almost-awake moments you can experience and still feel like you've had a good night's sleep. Once you've figured that out, you can adjust the factors that may affect your sleep until you attain the optimum number of almost-awake moments for a good night's sleep.

How can I review my sleep patterns using SleepTracker ®?

In SleepTracker ®'s DATA REVIEW mode, you can see all of your almost-awake moments and the average time between them. If you track these moments for a few nights, you can find out how restless each night's sleep was relative to the others.

To review your sleep data, press MODE until you reach DATA REVIEW. On the screen will appear "Data 1" and the time of your first "almost-awake" moment during the previous night's sleep. Press the left buttons to scroll through all of your almost-awake moments ("Data 2," "Data 3," etc.). As you reach the end of this series of times, SleepTracker ® displays "Data A," which stands for "Data Average": the average time period between your almost-awake moments.

How will my sleep data be affected if I get up to use the restroom or to check something in the middle of the night?

Because many of us wake up or get up during the night, SleepTracker ® is designed to record data only when you are asleep. Its internal sensors can detect when you are up and moving around. Therefore, if you get up at 2 a.m. and go back to bed at 3 a.m., that hour when you were up will be recorded as a single "almost-awake" event at 2 a.m. Similarly, if you toss and turn for a while during the night, that tossing-and-turning period will be recorded as a single event, and SleepTracker ® will stop recording your data as long as you are awake. Once you have settled back to sleep, SleepTracker ® automatically returns to data-acquisition mode.

How tightly should I wear my SleepTracker ®?

Wear SleepTracker ® as you would a regular wristwatch. It should be snug enough to allow adequate contact with your wrist (not so loose that it moves around), but not tight enough to be uncomfortable.

Will SleepTracker ® make me sleep better?

No. SleepTracker ® can be used to track your sleep patterns to see how soundly you sleep, but it cannot control the factors that affect your sleep. It is the user's responsibility to control or change those factors.

Is SleepTracker ® a medical device?

No, SleepTracker ® is not a medical device and should not be used to treat sleep disorders. Anyone who suspects that he/she has a medically diagnosable sleep disorder should consult a physician.

Can I use SleepTracker ® to shorten the amount of sleep I get?

No, you should not use SleepTracker ® to shorten your regular night's sleep. Physicians recommend getting an average of 8 hours of sleep per night.

How long will the SleepTracker ® battery last?

While SleepTracker ®'s battery life will vary depending on how often you use the GLO feature, with normal use the battery should last at least 12 months.

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