No one’s gonna argue about the importance of a good night’s sleep but I have to raise an eyebrow when I see someone selling a $2,500 alarm clock that claims to give you a better sleep but isn’t covered in valuable gemstones. The NightCove from Zyken uses a combination of specially engineered lighting and sounds that not only help you fall asleep and wake up more naturally but also seems to encourage the body’s phases of light sleep, deep sleep and REM sleep.

The colored lighting apparently helps influence the brain’s production of melatonin which is linked to the body’s transitions between feeling awake and feeling sleepy. So when you use a regular light bulb for reading before bed you can throw off the levels of melatonin which in turn makes it harder to fall asleep. The lighting in the NightCove however is specially tuned to keep things in balance which should make it easier to drift off when you’re ready. In the morning it then wakes you up gradually with a combination of blue and white lights to ensure you feel awake instead of wanting to hit the snooze button.

相信没有人会对一夜好眠的重要性有所争议，那么一种宣称能让你睡个好觉的标价2500美元却没有镶嵌宝石的闹钟呢？一家法国公司Zyken推出了一款名为“睡湾”的睡眠灯，它综合了光效和音效作用，不仅能使你入睡和醒来得更自然, 还能让轻度睡眠、深度睡眠及眼球快动睡眠各阶段更加协调。

很显然，彩色照明会影响大脑褪黑激素的分泌，而褪黑激素与身体的觉醒和渴睡阶段的过渡有联系。如果你睡前阅读用的是普通灯泡，褪黑激素的分泌被扰乱，你就会比较难以入睡。而“睡湾”的灯光设计就是保持事物的平衡，使你在需要的时候容易慢慢入睡，然后在早上用蓝白光逐渐唤醒你，而不是让你骤然醒来，却仍是迷迷糊糊的想睡。