Dreading the alarm? – could a dawn simulator help?
Millions will be struggling to get up and off to work after the break today.
It’s even harder for those juggling their own desire to hit the snooze button with getting the kids off to school.
Could a ‘dawn simulator’ help?
A dawn simulator is a lamp that gradually increases levels over the course of 30 minutes or so, from a soft warm glow to a bright, cool light, some integrating gentle sounds, such as birdsong or waves.
There are lots on the market, with a broad scientific consensus that these approaches are likely to help with sleep inertia- or feeling groggy when you wake up. But a tech fix is not a silver bullet – chronotype, stress and other lifestyle factors – like irregular bedtimes and using your phone or computer before bed can cancel those benefits out – A systematic literature review on the rationale for and effects of dynamic light scenarios. Daytime light exposure is the single biggest predictor of sleep at night, even during the winter months. And, as this article points out, low light at dusk is just as important as the dawn sequence if you want to wake up feeling refreshed – The importance of residential dusk and dawn light exposure for sleep quality, health, and well-being.
This article from the Guardian gives an excellent overview from an adult perspective, noting the difference between those that simply deliver a gentle transition and those that deliver a level of brightness likely to contribute to improved mood (‘the SAD lamp’effect) – Rise and shine with the seven best sunrise alarm clocks, tried and tested.
This Master’s Thesis from Lund University noted promising results from dawn-dusk simulation for children, too. While the group size and measured results were small, interviews with parents suggested significant benefits: calming and soothing bedtime routines, easing morning transitions and supporting independence and emotional regulation – GUIDED BY DAWN AND DUSK.
One study installed a dawn-dusk simulation lamp over the headboard of a small group of older adults living with dementia in an institutional setting and found significant improvements in quality of life, alertness and circadian entrainment in the participants compared to the controls – Effects of a dawn-dusk simulation on circadian rest-activity cycles, sleep, mood and well-being in dementia patients.
Bottom line
A dawn simulator could help you cope with these dark Monday mornings.
But, just like a gym membership, if you really want to get value for money, you have to put some effort in, too:
Take a quick walk outside during the day, get to bed at roughly the same time every day – including weekends – and switch off as early as you can before getting into bed.
Sticky resolutions
By now, you (like me), will probably have broken at least one of your New Year’s resolutions.
As this paper points out, that’s not surprising – we’re not that great at sticking to our resolutions, even when those goals are flexible -and when we think of ourselves as tenacious – Self-Regulatory Goal Motivational Processes in Sustained New Year Resolution Pursuit and Mental Wellbeing.
That doesn’t mean they’re a waste of time. Perhaps unsurprisingly, you’re ten times more likely to achieve a goal if you make a resolution than if you don’t.
Here are five tips that just might help:
- Project – imagining yourself in the future as the person who has achieved the goal- technically called episodic future thinking – Are New Year’s resolutions a waste of time? The future is now: Comparing the effect of episodic future thinking on impulsivity in lean and obese individuals.
This piece from Forbes explains the power of the mood board in building confidence, maintaining effort and ‘rewiring the brain’ – A Psychologist Explains The Power Of ‘Vision Boarding’ For Success. - Track – We’re more likely to sustain commitment and effort when we perceive the goal to be closer and ‘see the end in sight’ – simply using progress bars increases motivation – The Effect of Goal Visualization on Goal Pursuit: Implications for Consumers and Managers.
- Friendly peer pressure – your performance is enhanced – or undermined – by the presence of others (real or imagined). This study noted that friendly peers will increase activation in the reward networks in the brain and you’re likely to do easy things quickly in company – but social inhibition will slow you down on more complex tasks, especially when the spectators are strangers – Peer Presence Effects on Eye Movements and Attentional Performance.
- Post pictures of yourself getting on with the job – sharing photos linked to your goals is likely to increase motivation and achievement. But only images linked to enactment count – running, singing, eating healthily et al. just posting a plan doesn’t help – Posting about Goals on Social Media: The Unexpected Effect of Posting Goal-Intention Photos Rather than Goal-Pursuit Photos on Goal Attainment.
- Focus – Shining a spotlight on that visual wish list will harness the powerful spatial visual attention mechanism that directs mental resources towards objects with higher contrast and centred in your field of view. Keeping your eyes on the prize will help you won’t be writing the same resolutions next year – Studying Spatial Visual Attention: The Attention-Window Task as a Measurement Tool for the Shape and Maximum Spread of the Attention Window.