sleep

Lark's silent alarm wakes you, not your bunkmate

Alarm clocks are so primitive. At the appointed time, your device shrieks to life, rudely startling you awake--along with whoever is next to you.

Entrepreneur Julia Hu wants to bring modern sleep science into your bedroom with Lark, a vibrating, silent alarm buzzer you wear on your wrist. The device doesn't just buzz at the appropriate hour, though. It also beams data over Bluetooth to an iPhone app about how well you're sleeping, based on how much your arm moves. An Android version is coming soon.

The device will be sold in Apple stores starting June 14, and its available now on Lark's Web site for $129, plus an additional $60 to get the feature that shows you a seven-day personal sleep assessment based on the data the wristband collects. The sleep analysis is based on algorithms developed with the help of Harvard University sleep expert Dr. Jo Solet and professional sleep coach Cheri Mah.

"Sleep is the under-appreciated third pillar of health next to a healthy diet and regular exercise," Hu said.

In my own trial of the "Silent Un-alarm Clock" a few nights ago, Lark told me I got 6 hours and 28 minutes of sleep. It also said that it took me 32 minutes to go to sleep and that I woke up 5 times--none of which I remember. Yet apparently this level of nighttime activity is pretty good. It was worth an 8.9 out of 10 on the Lark scale of sleep efficiency. … Read more

The 404 817: Where we sleep great and lose weight (podcast)

The Sleep Doctor Michael Breus is back in the studio answering your questions and telling us about his new book, "The Sleep Doctor's Diet Plan: Lose Weight through Better Sleep." We also have two copies of the book to give away, so be sure to follow The Sleep Doctor and The 404 on Twitter, mention both of us in a tweet, and you'll be on your way boosting your metabolism, decreasing your hunger, and increasing your energy and willpower through a good night's rest!

We always have plenty of questions to ask the doctor while he's here, and the chatroom helps us out today with questions about what foods to eat before hitting the sack, the effects of alcohol and smoking on sleeping, the benefits of temperature-sensitive mattresses, and more! Wilson's also taking a sleep diet challenge as well, so look out for Dr. Breus on the show six weeks from now to check up on his performance!

The 404 Digest for Episode 817

The Sleep Doctor's Diet Plan: Lose Weight through Better Sleep." The Nap-a-latte works every time. How to sleep anywhere! Too much sleep may accelerate cognitive aging. Air traffic controllers sleeping on the job: is it really their fault? Dr. Breus recommends the Sleep Smoothie. Check out Dr. Breus's line of temperature-regulated mattresses at Sleepy's!

Episode 817 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The 404 791: Where we're rolling with the homies (podcast)

Happy 404 Day! To celebrate the second most popular day in April, we've kicked Wilson off the show and replaced him with Mark Licea. Happy Monday! Today we're chatting about an immersive new take on Shakespeare's "Macbeth" story, nude therapists working in New York, an Android bootleg that publicly embarrasses pirates, and Web vigilantes Anonymous joining hackers GeoHot and Graf_Chokolo in their fight against Sony.

The 404 Digest for Episode 791

"Sleep No More" offers a modern take on classic theater. Pirates beware: a bootleg Android app punishes with public shaming. A therapist in NYC meets with clients with clothes on, then slowly takes them off. Speaking of nudes, a Web developer site is looking to recruit nude female Web coders. .01% of Wikipedia is equivalent to 952 volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica...and it's for sale.

Episode 791 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Fix for VPN failing to reconnect after sleep

Apple's built-in VPN clients are exceptionally useful for connecting your system securely to a remote network, and offer options of PPTP, L2TP over IPsec, and Cisco IPsec protocols that each support various authentication methods. While convenient, some people may have problems with the VPN connections failing to start up after the system is woken from sleep.

This does not happen all the time, but when it does the system will give the error message, "Configuration error. Check settings and try to reconnect," and even once you have then done so, the system will not reconnect. While restarting … Read more

How-to: Troubleshoot faulty USB hubs after waking Mac from Sleep Mode

With the plethora of USB devices available, such as iPhones, iPads, iPods, digital cameras, and printers, many machines do not have enough ports to keep everything connected. Fortunately, USB hubs are readily available and can provide much-needed USB port additions. However, some hubs may not respond well when your Mac wakes from sleep.

According to a recently updated knowledge base article from Apple, some USB hubs may disconnect after your Mac wakes from sleep. This can cause system instability, resulting in unexpected performance from your machine and your connected devices.

Just as when you disconnect an external hard drive before … Read more

Gadgets at bedtime? Sleepy reporter tucks in

It's an age-old question: why am I sleeping poorly?

As we reported earlier today, a new study from the National Sleep Foundation says the active use of electronic devices such as TVs, smartphones, computers, and video games one hour before going to bed might be what's keeping us awake.

For its 2011 Sleep in America poll, the NSF queried a random sample of 1,508 adults between the ages of 13-64. Almost everyone surveyed, 95 percent, said they use some type of electronics at least a few nights a week within an hour before bed.

CBS "Early Show" contributor Taryn Winter Brill, like many, goes to bed with the TV on or has her laptop or BlackBerry close by. She decided to set up an unscientific sleep experiment to find out why she's sleep-deprived. What happened when Winter Brill pulled the plug on all of her technology? She shares the results with "Early Show" viewers and co-anchor Erica Hill.

This article originally appeared on CBSNews.com. … Read more

iBoobs in Android. No, they're not real.

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Google confirms that it had to remove malicious apps from the Android Market

iBoobs comes to the Android Market two years after being kicked out of Apple's App Store

"The Today Show" relaunches its Web site with more emphasis on video and original Webcasts

A new study shows that technology is having a negative effect on American's sleep habits and overall health

CBS acquires Clicker and brings in the CEO to run CBS Interactive

Charlie Sheen owned the Internet over the weekend with his new Ustream show

All that tech is hurting your sleep, researchers say

If you're having trouble getting a solid night's sleep, the blame may rest on all the gadgets you're using.

A whopping 95 percent of Americans use some kind of technology an hour before they go to sleep, the National Sleep Foundation found in a poll released today. The organization said Americans are turning on their televisions, mobile phones, computers, or video game devices before bed "at least a few nights a week."

The problem: using technology before bed can negatively affect a person's ability to fall asleep and to get the amount of sleep … Read more

Anti-drowsy-driving company releases iPhone, iPad app

Smartphones and tablets are often thought of as driver distractions in cars, but could a new application actually help prevent accidents and save lives?

Anti Sleep Pilot, an automotive technology company in Denmark, released an app for iPhones and iPads that monitors driver alertness and calculates when a driver is too drowsy to drive. Its goal is to keep drivers alert by breaking the monotony of driving and encouraging drivers to pull the car over when the app determines that it's time to take a break.

The app works by establishing your driving risk profile based on a series of 12 questions about yourself and your work and sleep schedule. Before each trip, you use the app to calculate your alertness through a questionnaire. The trip destination is also entered so the safety tool can factor driving duration into the equation.

Anti Sleep Pilot measures driver alertness through a series of interactive light and sound tests based on how quickly you can tap the screen when prompted. Using the risk profile, trip duration, and response time information, the app calculates when you should pull over and take a break.… Read more