https://youtu.be/_u_44WNnHsY If the words ‘Alarm Clock’ make you feel even the slightest bit annoyed or anxious, it’s probably because the first word is literally ALARM… which is an emotion nobody likes feeling the first thing in the morning. I’ve never really realized this but alarm clocks are some of the most functional yet horribly designed products in the world. They get the job done the same way getting doused with a glass of water gets the job done. It’s an inelegant solution, and you end up feeling like crap the first thing in the morning. Now yes, you can set the tone of birds chirping as an alarm sound on your phone… it isn’t too difficult to be honest, but here’s the caveat. Phones are addictive, and having your phone by your bedside is good if you need waking up, but terrible if you’re trying to go to bed. You go to set your alarm at night and before you know it, you’re checking Instagram or Twitter, or LinkedIn if you’re that kind of person. The folks at Loftie have a pretty neat solution – a clock that’s designed to gently coax you awake, but also to help you fall asleep faster… and above all, designed to be effective enough so that you don’t need to have your phone right beside you. If anything, this pandemic has thrown a massive wrench in everyone’s sleep cycle. Being at home 24×7, working odd hours, hardly stepping out, they’re all a recipe for what I call daytime disillusionment. You end up forming your own definition of what a well structured day is, and before you know it, it’s 4am and you’re wide awake even though you should have been asleep four hours ago. Loftie’s mindful design (created by people who’ve honed their design skills at companies like IDEO) is like an external version of your circadian rhythm. Its calming design, with a minimal interface, helps let you know when it’s time to sleep and when it’s time to wake up. A combination of a clock, speaker, and ambient light, the Loftie is nothing like an alarm clock. It has a calming presence from the get-go, and it’s perhaps the first alarm clock that’s designed to let you know when it’s time to sleep, to actually help you sleep, and to wake you up in a way that’s effective yet comforting. The Loftie’s feature list is simple. It comes with a clock face (which dims at night so you’re not distracted), a night-light that you can switch on or off with the push of a single button, and the ability to choose from a variety of soothing playlists to put you to sleep. If you rely on a noise-machine to go to bed, Loftie comes with all the noise-types, from white noise to pink noise (yes, that’s a thing), as well as soothing soundscapes like forest-noises or a crackling fireplace. The audio lulls you into a calming slumber, and when it’s time to wake up, Loftie’s two-part alarm system wakes you without startling you out of your sleep. The first round of the alarm plays a soft melody to partially wake you, while round two aims at fully awakening your senses with a cheerful tune that sets the right tone for the rest of your day. Aside from letting you know when it’s time to wake up, Loftie even gives you gentle cues to let you know when to go to bed, by shining its night-light as a way of telling you it’s time to wind down. In addition to the full-feature alarm clock, Loftie has a seamlessly integrated app boasting premium content like breathwork sessions and soundbaths. The app even lets you control the alarm features via your smartphone… although it’s a feature that’s just there for good measure. You’re honestly much better off sleeping with just the Loftie by your bedside, instead of your smartphone. I mean, we all need to fix our sleep cycles right now, don’t we? Designer: Greg Wolos (40% off). Hurry, less than 48 hours left! Raised over $160,000. The Loftie features a dimmable display, nightlight, two-phase alarm, and custom content playable right on the device, including guided meditations, sound baths, breathwork exercises, sleep playlists, plus a variety of relaxing sounds. Technology is great but we’re all a bit addicted. And with many of us working from home right now, screen time has gone up, not down. What happened to unplugging? To taking space? To calm evenings and bright mornings? Loftie is a brand dedicated to creating better tech-life balance for people everywhere. Because technology is only as good as the way it makes us feel, the team designs things that make you feel optimally rested, relaxed, and refreshed. Loftie features a dimmable display, nightlight, two-phase alarm, and custom content playable right on the device, including guided meditations, sound baths, breathwork exercises, sleep playlists, plus a variety of relaxing sounds. Its sturdy, analog feel is reassuring. No small feat in a category that hasn’t been updated since the ‘80’s. In short, it’s everything you need for a cozier bedroom vibe. What’s equally important though, : Connect to your email, apps, and social media, and all the anxiety they bring along. That’s because, while most of us default to our smartphone’s alarm, that removing technology from the bedroom is one of the best ways to enhance sleep length and quality. Loftie is the most intuitive and reliable alarm clock in the world, from the texture of its buttons to the light of its display to the sounds that put you to sleep and wake you up. The two-phase alarm system was designed for the way humans actually wake up: In two distinct stages. The first sound gently lulls you out of your slumber while the second gets you out of bed and into your day. A warm glow from the built-in nightlight signals it’s time to start thinking about drifting off. Meditations, Sound baths, and Breathwork. Unique content from the best instructors out there, now available on your nightstand—no phone required. Scientifically calibrated white, brown, and pink noises (plus nature sounds, naturally) to lull you to sleep and keep you there. They fade out before your alarm goes off so your brain doesn’t get mixed messages. Through an internal light sensor, timer, and app Loftie creates personalized sleep data and suggestions that help you understand and optimize the rest you are actually getting. Because Loftie is cloud-connected, you can combine it with more than 600 other services (like Philips Smart Bulbs) on IFTTT. But there’s a great one if you want it—available for both iOS and Android. Set your alarm remotely. Schedule multiple alarms or alarms that vary day-by-day. Plus, you can pre-select one of your own playlists to make winding down even easier. Daytime technology is bad for the bedtime brain, whether we’re quarantined or not. Why? – We scroll when we should be sleeping. – The stuff we look at makes us feel awake and alert when our brains and bodies are begging for rest. – The blue light from our phones tells our brain not to make melatonin (the hormone that tells your body it’s time to go to sleep). See you at 3 AM. Then, when it comes to waking up, smartphones do us harm again. We’re hit with a barrage of outside stressors right as we tune into consciousness. that leaving our phones outside the bedroom makes us happier—and more likely to maintain healthy phone behaviors throughout the day. We are creatures of habit after all—and when we remove temptation from our environment, it makes it easier for us to change our behavior. (40% off). Hurry, less than 48 hours left! Raised over $160,000.