A Few More Failures

Since my last post, I have unfortunately become increasingly unimpressed with Sleeptracker.

To Bed: 12:30
Wakeup: 6:30
Window: 30 minutes

Evidently, the alarm went off around 6:24, when I supposedly had an 'almost awake' moment. However, I was either not really 'almost awake,' the alarm was too quiet, and/or I had my arm too far under the covers to hear the watch enough to wake me. Anyhow, my wife verified that the alarm went off, but I sure did not wake up (until 7:00 AM when she woke me).

Burdensome Logistics of Using Sleeptracker

So here is what you'll have to do each night if you live alone and own a Sleeptracker:
1. Set Sleeptracker wakeup window (0, 10, 20, or 30 minutes)
2. Set Sleeptracker "Go to Bed" Time
3. Set Sleeptracker Alarm time
4. Set a normal, louder alarm as a secondary backup in case Sleeptracker does not wake you.

For me, that's too complicated to do on a nightly basis (albeit most of the times shouldn't change on a daily basis, but you still are inclined to check each one before going to bed.)

Add to that list that you have eliminate any possible noise source that may cause a premature 'almost awake' moment. (This includes coordinating alarm times with whomever you may live with.) These issues seem like common sense to do, but prior to Sleeptracker, I simply didn't worry about these things (my wife and I go to work at similar times--if her alarm went off it was o.k.).

Yesterday morning was another episode of uncoordinated alarms; hers was set too early, which woke me up and set Sleeptracker off.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings were similarly dismal wakeups with Sleeptracker not performing as advertised. It seems to me that there are simply too many variables that have to remain absolutely in-place for Sleeptracker to work.

I'm awake, but Sleeptracker thinks I'm asleep!

That, plus on Saturday when I woke up (before Sleeptracker sounded), I looked at the time on Sleeptracker to see if I had missed the window or what the deal was. I stayed in that position and watched the seconds go by for about four minutes until the "alarm" time rolled around and the alarm sounded. In other words, Sleeptracker thought I was deep asleep when I was awake and staring at the watch face for about four or five minutes! This was the most evident failure yet.

The night before that failure I dropped the watch from about five feet onto the carpeting; maybe the accelerometer is overly sensitive... However, the watch did log 'almost awake' events for that night, just not during my 30 minute window when I woke up and stared at the watch! I suppose I should have waved my arm around so it would know I was awake and it could sound :-)

Hypothesizing about Another Sleeptracker Weakness

Speaking of the acclerometer, I am hypothesizing (partly from my observations) that, if you sleep with your arm under your pillow (which I do sometimes) or in some other location that restricts movement Sleeptracker's effectivity may decrease and your sleep cycle times may be incorrectly inflated. Just a thought.

Increasingly, I am considering returning the watch (30 day 'money-back' guarantee) for a refund.

Current Conclusions

While I have not yet finished my testing or compiled the results of my test, if someone asked me about Sleeptracker today this is what I'd tell them.

If I had to make a recommendation at this point, it would be to either:
1. Don't buy Sleeptracker.
2. If you are really curious about Sleeptracker's potential, buy it and retain the box and everything else so that you can return it during the '30 day money back' guarantee period.

In the meantime, I'll continue testing; we'll see what this week holds for Sleeptracker....