The first week is over

The first week with Philips wake-up light is now over. The real dark season hasn't properly yet started in Longyearbyen, but I'm really happy to start to use the light all the way from start of the season. It has still been kind of process to get out of the bed, but I can still say, I'm happy to have that light. And I'm having a big expectations for it over the dark season!

The biggest point for me seems to be, that I'm getting ready for a new day  quicker than I'm doing that normally. Often my mornings are kind of survival battles, whereafter I'm still half sleeping when I go to work. Now, on this week, I have had really cosy mornings. I have been waking up - or at least having alarm on - every morning about the same time, at nine o´clock. I have been having my breakfast in the kitchen, enjoying a beautiful view to Sukkertoppen. Now on one weeks time I can see already difference in light intensity: a week ago it was kind of light, when I was having my breakfast, now it just a twilight. But it looks beatiful with pale blue sky behind the mountain and a half moon over the Platå mountain. I'm counting for, that this dark season will be a nice one :)

The sixth morning

The alarm sound seems to be working on me. I think I will forget the radio now for a while, even though it might be cosy to be waking up on it. So, I'm now using that "traditional" sound. I saw an advertisement where you were able to dock an iPod on a wake-up light. That sounds actually a really nice idea. I would like to have that :)

It has been still a kind of process to get out of bed. I can't say that I'm full of energy when I wake up. But, when I get out of bed, and have a cup of tea with my energy-light, I get on normal day-modus really quickly. That is actually really nice :) I remember last year, that I was having days, where I was feeling that I actually never woke up properly. So, I'm hoping really much, that Philips wake-up light will help me to wake up for a day.

Good bye Sun!

We said good bye for Sun on the 26. of October. Actually, I haven't seen it anymore for a while, because our valley is facing to north and even though the sun has been over the horizon, it has been hiding behind the mountains. Earlier years we have went to see the last sun or sunset somewhere outside of the town, on on mountain or in Bjørndalen to say farewell for him. This year I didn't had a change...

It's still couple of weeks kind of twilight at midday, but then we're getting toward to real dark season. On cloudy days it's totally impossible to say, where is south. But, in clear days it's nice to go to have a trip to valleys which are facing to south - then you can see the sky being little bit lighter even in the darkest time of the year, around Christmas. That's so beautiful, and it keeps you a hope of that the Sun will return back on one day.

The sun is rising next time at the 14. February. Again, our valley is facing to north, so it takes couple of more weeks before we can see it from our town. Before that we need to go to greet him back in some mountain. It's always so nice to get him back!  There is a big celebration, when the Sun is shining first time on the steps of our destroyed hospital. If the weather if good, you can see him shining couple of minutes over a glacier - and then he hides again behind the mountain. That's the actual Sun-celebration day. Now days that is a big day for kids in the town, which haven't seen the Sun for a while now. Traditionally it was giving a hope for those people, which was laying sick on that hospital. The Sun is back - they will survive!

The fifth morning

Now I decided to try that alarm-sound for a wake up instead of radio. And that was successful. I woke up for sound and was right ready to get up from the bed. To be honest, I can't say that I was fresh (I don't know if that's possible on my case...), but I was feeling pretty reasonable. And that was good, because soon after I got a telephone call, which make me to run for action almost straight after - without having time to drink my morning tea. But I was ready for that :)

The fourth morning

I woke up before alarm :) This morning I decided that I want to try birds singing, but I woke up already couple of minutes before that. That was really nice :) But I just wanted to stay couple of minutes more in that nice soft bed, took light off... and fall asleep. Woke up ten minutes later for back-up alarm. But anyhow, I was feeling pretty fresh :) I guess I'm getting over the lack off sleep now.

Morning continued with little extra light beside the breakfast table. Time is now about half past nine in the morning, and it's twilight outside. As our valley is facing to north, we lost straight sun light little bit before it really disappears under the horizon. It keeps hiding behind the mountains. So I'm happy to start to use my morning-saviour-energy-light.

I think my mornings will be much easier in this year than they were last year :)

The third morning

New morning with Philips wake-up light... On some point I realised that it was lighter at the room, but I was far to tired to want to wake up. Instead I just turned around and tried to ignore light - and fall asleep again. I think I need to change my radio channel or turn volume up, because I didn't wake up for it today either. I guess I'm far too used to sleep while my iPod is on... So I woke up for my back-up alarm ten minutes later after planned waking point. I should be already quit the biggest lack off sleep, but I was still feeling kind of dead in morning.

I took yesterday my energy-light out of storage - I'm starting to get ready for dark season :) So, I was enjoying my cup of tea beside that energy-light and after a little while I was already feeling like I was ready for a new day.

The second morning

New try with the light. As I didn't wake up for light on the first morning, I set the light level at 20 again. I went to bed around 1am and was planning to wake up again 9 am. I didn't wake up for light, but when radio went off, I thought I woke up. At least I was thinking that I was already waken, but I didn't opened my eyes, was just laying in the bed. Ten minutes later my back-up mobile went off, and it was actually then, when I woke up - from sleep. I needed again a good cup of tea before I was able to say I was feeling my somehow refreshed. But, as I had had bit short nights earlier, it can take some days before I'm somehow back in normal rhythm again. The light can't be replacing the lack of sleep, I guess :)

The first morning

I have been lacking some sleep lately, so I was pretty tired. I went to sleep around 12 pm, and was planning to wake up 8:15 am. But, I wake up some hours earlier, and decided, I would like to sleep until 9 am instead. I got some light from my mobile telephone and started to change the time. Without glasses I was able to see what there was in the screen, but I couldn't see buttons as they are same colour as surrounding. They had same structure as light otherwise, so it was difficult to change time. I needed to try to feel, where were gaps between the buttons, and then I was able to use them. My expectations about difficulties to use buttons got verified... The different material or little knob on them would make it easier.

I had light at the level 20. I didn't wake up for light. I'm used to listen podcast before I fall asleep, so actually I started to wonder, how my iPod can be still on when I started to hear somebody talking. I was listening that talking for a while before I remembered, that I had radio for waking me up. I opened my eyes and it was light on the room. The first reaction was to shut it down. It was easy to hit that stick and it came dark again. But then I started to think, that wasn't it exactly light I needed on mornings. So I turned it on again - and it was painful! Level 20 was pretty sharp that early :/ It wasn't easy to wake up, but after a cup of tea I started to feel to be ready for a day again.

I got the light!

I got the light two days ago. Somehow it didn't look like I have got an idea from pictures - instead I got an impression it looks like a white plastic bucket upside down. In pictures that flatter model looks somehow nicer. But, I guess the function is the point, not how it looks like.

Some of my friends had started to use it already before me. On the first evening we lost the power on the town, and light got reseted. They was hoping, that there should be a back-up battery inside the light, which keeps settings even with failure in power supply. As it happens once in a while, that we lost power, I really can't be trusting the light only as an alarm. So I'll keep having my mobile alarm as back-up.

It was easy to take light on use. I'm having a bad sight, so for me it's important, that I find at night time everything just by feeling them, that I don't need to take my glasses on every time I need to do something. I would have liked, the buttons would have made in different material the light otherwise, for example they could have a rubber-coating. Then the buttons would be easier to found, even, when you don't see them, just by feeling. That is a good idea, that light-button has a little knob. When I just find it, I find other buttons around it just by feeling. I think that snooze-stick looks funny, when it sticks out on the side of the light, but it's practical to use. Why that top-lid can't be used as snooze? I think some older models have that function.

Will Philips wake-up light wake up the town?

Philips gave wake-up lights for people living in Longyearbyen. They wanted to test their light to see if claim of "waking you up feeling refreshed" is still true even in day around darkness in the high arctic. I was one of them, who got a light. Now I'm ready to start to use it :)

More information about the project:
http://www.wakeup.philips.com/
http://www.facebook.com/philips.wakeup
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wotUrbYs0QI