This post is a little off the beaten track, but this is I’ve Tried That and I am trying something new. But first, I have a confession.
- Inbox Dollars - Get paid to check your email. $5 bonus just for signing up!
- Survey Junkie - The #1 survey site that doesn't suck. Short surveys, high payouts, simply the best.
- Nielsen - Download their app and get paid $50!
I hate winter.
I don’t do winter. The cold. The snow. The constant gray skies. Gah, I want no parts of it. So much so, that I spent an entire day last month planning to move to Australia for the next few months. I looked into plane tickets, dual citizenship and even picked out some nice looking real estate near a beach.
Pipe dreams of course, but man do I hate winter. It doesn’t help that I live in Pittsburgh either. It snows often and the overcast is relentless. I wish I could hibernate to be quite honest.
The mornings are the worst. My bed is fitted with a heated mattress cover and an incredibly heavy down comforter. It’s my own little cocoon that I try to spend as much time in as possible. As you can imagine, getting out of bed each morning is quite the struggle and I wanted a solution.
A few weeks ago I was reading an article on light therapy and how you can use certain lights to simulate sunlight and improve your mood. These lights are widely used to help treat Seasonal Affective Disorder and help regulate sleeping patterns. The article had briefly mentioned “wake up lights” and how they can be effective in helping people wake up in the morning.
Basically, there are alarm clocks which feature bright lights to help ease the wake-up process. The alarm clocks gradually get brighter as they near your set alarm time effectively simulating a sunrise. Your alarm goes off and you wake up to a fully lit bedroom and an energized body.
This piqued my interest since I refuse to do winter and I set out to try one of these wake-up lights. If there’s a light out there that could help me deal with winter mornings, I am going to use it.
Enter the Philips HF3470 Wake-up Light
I started shopping around, comparing different models, and reading customer reviews. The model I ultimately settled on is a Philips HF3470 Wake-up Light.
It is an alarm clock. You set a time for an alarm to go off; however, about 30 minutes before the alarm sounds, the light kicks on and gradually gets brighter. It reaches its full brightness just as your alarm sounds. You have three options to wake up to: music, chirping birds, or a more traditional, albeit less annoying, alarm tone. Your body is subconsciously adjusting to “rising sun” providing you with a much better wake up experience.
I chose this model largely due to the reviews and the price. One feature that really stood out was the user replaceable light bulb. A lot of other models required you to send the alarm clock in to replace the bulb if it ever burnt out. That sounded completely unacceptable. It’s changing a light bulb for crying out loud. I shouldn’t have to send the alarm clock away to change a bulb. The fact that I could service this model myself sealed the deal for me.
I placed my order and said goodbye to my old alarm clock. That night, I went to bed skeptical, but woke up energized. It was quite amazing. I didn’t have to struggle to get out of bed or bargain with the clock for more time. The birds chirped, I woke up to a completely lit room, and I sat up ready to go.
It’s just such a better and more pleasant way to wake up each morning. My typical morning used to consist of a god awful high-pitched beeping to scare the hell out of me in hopes of waking up. This usually followed by at least 45 minutes of pressing the snooze button and hearing the siren go off every five minutes. After I finally convinced myself to get out of bed, I’d plod my way over to the coffee pot and contemplate going back to sleep for a few more hours. It was a struggle each and every morning.
Now my wake up process is awesome. I wake up to a fully light room and birds chirping. My eyes pop right open and I’m able to get out of bed without having to feign sleep for nearly an hour. I still make my way to the coffee pot, but with a spring in my step and a song in my heart.
Okay, that’s a bit much.
But in all honesty, I feel much more awake when I use the wake-up light and have a much more positive mood throughout the day. You know that super heavy eyelid feeling you get each morning? Well, I haven’t felt that at all since using the wake-up light.
Winter mornings have finally become bearable.
The biggest downside is the price. I spent $90 on my Philips Wake up Light. That’s a tad expensive for an alarm clock. However, this is going to be something that I use on a daily basis for years to come. It helps me wake up better each morning, helps me focus on work easier, and has generally improved my mood. For me, it is well worth the price. I would gladly buy it again and am completely satisfied with my purchase.
If you’re like me and struggle with the mornings, I highly recommend trying out the Philips HF3470 Wake-Up Light. You can check it out at Amazon.com by clicking here. It comes with a 45-day money-back guarantee. If you try it and don’t see any results, return it! I started seeing results after my first night with it. This baby isn’t going anywhere. It might not be Australia for the winter, but it sure does help.
So I’ve had the Philips Wake-Up Light for about 6 years now and I find that it makes a huge difference to my mornings! I must warn you, though, that it has become really difficult to find the replacement halogen light bulbs for this lamp as they are not sold on the Philips website in Canada any longer. Philips helped me find a distibuter but the new bulb that I bought only lasted 2 months! Given the difficulty in obtaining new bulbs this is completely unacceptable! So here is a great product that does what it is supposed to do but now I can’t get replacement bulbs and the bulbs don’t last. Really?!!!
I use a cheaper alternative.
If you have one of those tall torchiere lamps with a dimmer switch, connect it to a timer that plugs into the wall. Set the timer to 1/2 hour before you the time you want to wake up. Adjust the dimmer switch on the lamp for lighting that works best for you.
It sure beats waking up in the dark! :-)
Hi Steve,
I live in Pittsburgh too and I completely understand how you feel! I actually just started researching a lighting option to help me wake up for work and get through the dark and grey winters we have here. I’ve never been a morning person (thank goodness for coffee), but it’s always worse in the Pittsburgh winter. Will definitely give this a try!
Thanks for your review!
I hate winter too! Great review and I’m looking forward to trying out one of these light therapy gadgets as well. It’s amazing what a few colored lights at the right time of day (especially morning) can do for you both physically and mentally. Thanks for the review.
Light therapy has long been used for the depressed, but I have never heard of it being used this way! I have no trouble getting up, as I don’t sleep, but this would have been great years ago. Now I am lucky if I get to bed!
Hi there Steve the lamp sounds great I don’t have problems waking up in the morning, and when I do go to sleep I just knock out, so thats me. However, I do find the help advice and knowledge you share with us makes a lot of sense. So I will be taking my first step very soon to learn more about joining a good online business that does not rip people off thanks to your help.
Rita
This may or maybe work for me. Believe it or not I’m day-blind, for some people your know it as snow-blindness. This may not only help in the winter morning but in the summer to. By the way I really like the review it was well written.
I know this light would be very helpful for many people, not only during the winter but the summer as well, especially for people that think the sun is bad for them. Because they dont get enough sun light reaching the back of their retina, light must hit the retina for at least thirty seconds a day for a person to maintain healthy mental well-being. Of course looking directly into the sun or a very bright light could cause damage to eyes, but letting the sun or bright enter the eye from an angle is safe, or to look into a sunset almost directly. A person should understand the other health benefits of allowing the sun to reach the retina. some people get S.A.D during the winter due to a lack of sunlight on the skin and the retina.
You review of the Wake Up Light makes me want to own one. I will give it a try one day. I wish I knew about it when my former job required me to wake up at 3:30am for work. Great review Steve.
Fantastic review of a worthy product. A real eye opener…every morning.
T hat is a nice light, it would very useful.
Well well well … a very cool product review … about a very cool product! It’s something I might even want to purchase once I’ve earned a few $$$ from your excellent 7-Day course, there. Way to go!!
Hi Steve, The wake-up light is an awesome product review. I will try it sometime, the comments here are interesting. I’m BMing this page for future reference…Thx
Interesting, well written review of the light alarm. Should I succeed in my endeavors, I should be sure to buy one. -Guy Whitson
You know, I was wondering why I have always been a night person, and I think I might have finally figured it out thanks to your review. I like it really dark when I sleep so I have blackout curtains on my window, which means the light never reaches my eyes. When I wake up, I’m extremely groggy, body aches (that’s probably age though), don’t want to wake up and just wish I could crawl back into bed. It seems that something like this might actually help me. Unfortunatly I don’t have the money right now but thanks to your review I will definatly be getting one of these when I do get the money. Thanks for the information.
I also wanted to thank you for the information on all the online scammers. I haven’t actually lost money to any of them, but there have been many times that I was extremely temped. So thanks again, the world needs more people like you in it. Also, thank you for the work from home information, hopefully it really works.
What an interesting idea. I have *never* in my life been a morning person, and I don’t know if just a light would have any chance of changing that but it would be something to try
I had personally never heard of a wake-up light more so seen one. But its clear description in your review gives me a morning in africa with birds singing in the trees kind of feeling. Its only that in this case you would not wake up voluntarily, the wake up light would have to wake you moments later. Its a good product but man is it expensive.
That aside i am very grateful to you for setting up a website like this which gives people ideas and sensitizes them on where to invest and where not to. you saved me money that was going to fall prey to scams since I had started searching for online marketing jobs. Oh by the way, I started the search this month and my inbox is overflowing with emails from individuals begging me to sign up to get jobs. Thank you .
I have to say, I like your casual way of writing, even as a review of a lamp light. (And although I cannot afford a lamp of 90 bucks yet, I’m tempted to buy one, since I’m not a morning person AT ALL!)
Looking forward to learn more from your site and emails.
I like to keep it short .I read your review and i need to tell you
i have learned more from you already in just this short time than
i have in all the research i have done
thanks
This message is for Maureen, who was trying to get into writing. First, Steve had a guest blogger who wrote about writing for content mills. Go read it. Even if those sites don’t make a writer as much money as they once did, they still are an avenue for having your name next to something you wrote. Furthermore, they will teach you some tips, such as formatting, SEO and AP style writing.
Second, use the Writing jobs tab on Craigslist. Steve also had a post about this…Even if you can’t find an entry-level writing position, you will be able to find internships or websites/online magazines/etc. that are looking for content and willing to give you a byline in trade. This allows you to have info to put on a resume and places where your witing is published. Then, over time, the sky is the limit!
I Found your web site to bevery informative and i the thing i like about it
it easy the reader in to a buying frame of mind without trying to sell
anything it is very cleverly written great article.
That is a interesting Artical Light is faster than coffee Makes a lot of sense I am very interested in a online venture Thank you
Steve: I read your article promoting the Philips Wake-up Light and found it well-written, informative, and yes, even humorous and entertaining, which was a bit of a surprise. I am going crazy trying to find some LEGIT work-from-home opportunity, as last year, I got unexpectedly sick (in some part, due to job stress, so I took “early” retirement earlier this year). However, like MOST others out there, I still need to work and earn a living. I look forward to finding out more about you and some of your online money-generating ideas. I sure hope you ARE LEGIT, as there are SO SO many scams out there, and I refuse to pay anyone anything without knowing first if: 1. it is legitimate and 2. you will actually MAKE some real money and 3. you won’t have to cancel your credit card, b/c it IS a scam, and they’ll keep trying to ding you for extra monthly fees. So, sorry to go on for so long, but I am an English major, and really want to be able to work for myself from home, as there are SO many advantages to working for yourself and not for someone else, as you had so accurately pointed out. So, anyway, I always like to recognize well-written and well-formulated articles, and you seem to have quite a following. Any tips or extra advice you may be able to give someone like me IS truly appreciated. I had looked into some type of “Adsense” ideas for writing blogs, etc., and then having people click on ads on your blogs, but it seems like it might be too challenging for someone like me who only has basic computer skills, so I haven’t actively pursued this potential income source. I wasn’t sure if this was what your program(s) are about?
PS: I also have tried to see IF I could make ANY $$$ on these so-called PAID surveys, and found out you CANNOT! So far, I can’t or don’t want to tell you the ” hours” I have spent trying to figure out HOW to actually make any $$$ doing these surveys – I don’t want to waste anymore time trying to figure it out, b/c I think only a very few have the ideal target demographics they are looking for, and then it is very questionable how much actual income they do eventually make. Even though I have great writing skills, I have no previous work experience doing free-lance writing, so so far I have been unable to land any writing gigsand/or proofreading jobs, as they only want people with actual work experience or portfolio examples. My computer/internet skills ARE pretty basic, so I am REALLY hoping that I will be able to generate some type of income from one of your ideas. THANK YOU for helping people like me – there are THOUSANDS of us out there!
Sincere regards,
Maureen M-McGregor
Nice idea and effective it sounds like. Your quite the salesman, Steve. I’m pretty happy with me sleep routine but I might just invest in this Philips HF3470 because I like waking up happy.
I just read your review and it was very informative and kept my attention all the way down. It makes me want to go buy one. I look forward to the next few days with the course. I cant wait to get things going. Thanks Steve.
What a fantastic, thorough and well written review! It makes me want to run out and purchase a Philips HF3470 Wake-up Light for myself. When I get back on my feet, this will be one of the first purchases that I’ll make.
Great article! This is a good example of product review with a very personal and emotional touch. Had I not purchased an alarm clock recently, I would have felt compelled to get the one you reviewed. :-)
Hello steve
I read your review of the Philips HF34 Wake-up Light and it was an eyes opener on me, It very dam good and thanks for sharing your review with us and I’m looking foward to read another reviews of yours,Thanks very much and keepup helping us and God may blessed you in joyfull.
it’s good story, my english is not good, but I understand with this story, I am lazy girl, becouse I don’t like wake up in the morning, and I don’t like monday, maybe I will try product from philips there is Philips HF3470. I hope when I try PHILIPS HF3470 I will like wake up in the morning.
Steve, I read your review of the Philips HF34 Wake-up Light and it was an eye opener. My understanding is to promote the product. Your review was very helpful to understand the objective. Thanks again for taking your time to help me get started. GOD bless you and your family.
I live in Delaware where we get our share of snow and god-awful wind. However, I have a problem waking up all year round, and my bedroom has an eastern exposure. So, when the sun rises, it’s like an atomic blast of sunlight every morning. To combat premature waking, I wear a sleep mask. However, again, a sleep mask rather negates the business of waking up to sunshine, which I know helps to regulate circadian rhythms. Ergo….this sounds like a great alternative, with it’s gentle, siren song. Talk about your totally artificial walk around the block, but I’m thinking: Black-out curtains, and some gentle, ersatz sunlight — which sounds really lovely. Thanks, Steve. I’m going to try out the Wake-Up Clock, and see if I can readjust my biological one. And, thanks for thinking around corners for some new ideas. People who work from home *really* need the help.
I’ve never even heard of one of these, but it looks awesome. I always have a lot of trouble waking up in the morning (don’t we all?) and I’m sure this would be a great help. I wish they weren’t so expensive, but I’m sure it’s an investment worth making especially in the winter months. Thanks for sharing your review of this seemingly great product!