Sleep has changed a lot in the last few decades. From prescribing a specific number of hours to people trying to reduce their sleep to the bare minimum so that they have more hours to be productive, we have battled Morpheus as much as possible to get maximum waking hours. One unique way in which sleep has changed is through unorthodox alarm apps on smartphones. These five apps can completely change how you wake, ensuring that you're ready to get out of bed bright and alert.
Snap Me Up
One of the best ways to make sure that you're awake is to force yourself to do something more than just hit a button. The Snap Me Up app is far from complicated, but it gives you a simple task that requires just enough brain power to wake you up. You can only stop the alarm by taking a selfie. The app has to recognize your face, so no closed or squinted eyes, you have to look at least half awake to get the alarm to shut up. By the time you have a presentable face, you'll get past that groggy few seconds of just wanting to turn back over and hitting the snooze button.
Wake N Shake
Nothing like getting in a little exercise before waking up. While far from a full work out, you'll definitely feel the blood rush to your arm from this app. Wake N Shake starts off like your standard alarm, getting slightly louder as the seconds tick away. Unlike your standard app where you can just push a snooze button or turn the app off, this one won't shut off until you shake it. We're not talking a smooth shake, you'll practically strangle your phone as you vigorously shake it up and down trying to get the alarm to stop. By the time you're finished, you'll have a sweat going and you'll feel so alive.
Mission Alarm Clock
Perhaps the hardest thing about waking up, especially when you’re only thought is hitting snooze and getting back under the covers, is to get your brain to work. You know you should get up, you know you need to get ready, but the bed beckons so much louder than that. Mission Alarm Clocks forces you up to play a simple mission or game. The alarm won’t stop until you complete the task. Most of the missions are fairly easy, like pulling a digital lever or doing some math, but it keeps you on your toes by constantly changing. This gets your brain moving just enough so that you can cast off the sheets and greet the day.
Sleep Genius
We’re going to shift gears here for a second. Instead of an app that makes you do actions to wake you up, this app tries to changes how you sleep and wake based on leading scientific evidence. Using the same science that helps NASA astronauts get exactly as much sleep as they need, the Sleep Genius app helps you find the best sleep time based on when you need to wake, uses sounds proved to either calm or wake (depending on the action) and uses an alarm to gently rouse you so that you don’t feel scared and alarmed when you wake up. If you want an app that is built on research and science, then sleep genius is the perfect fit.
Waky
This one is a little strange, but also so completely natural you’ll be surprised it took so long for an app like this to be made. When you’re at a hotel and you really need to wake up, what do you request? A wake up call. With how far along computer voices have come, it’s shocking that it took so long, but there’s finally an app that simulates that very experience. It’s not quite human, but it’s close enough that you’ll feel obligated to wake up to answer your “call.â€
Conclusion
Smartphone apps have changed us in so many ways. By giving us the ability to download programs to change our lives, we do our best to become more productive and to maximize our waking hours. From science to playing games, these apps will ensure that you wake up and stay awake so that you can tackle the day.
