Waking up in the mornings is hard. Waking up to an annoying alarm — especially when you didn’t get enough sleep — is even worse. The illumy Smart Sound Sleep Mask, made by Sound Oasis, hopes to alleviate a bit of that morning struggle.
By harnessing the power of natural light using Sleep Enhance Pacing Technology, the illumy mask puts you to sleep with a gentle, pulsing light that slowly fades over time. It’s this red light that slows your mind down and helps you fall asleep. It’s similar to a sunset, which signals to your body that it’s time to go to sleep. The mask also blocks any outside light to make sure you stay asleep.
When it’s time to get up, the illumy mask wakes you with a blue sky sunrise at your chosen alarm time. During the sunrise, the blue, pulsing light quickens and eventually turns to white light to draw you out of your sleep and prepare your mind for the day ahead.
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Astronauts use similar light therapy technology to maintain their internal clock, also known as circadian rhythm, and keep a healthy sleep cycle. In space, the exposure to light is quite different than on Earth — astronauts can experience a sunset or a sunrise every 45 minutes. This light irregularity can greatly disturb their sleep, leading to fatigue and sleep deprivation.
The mask is synced up with a downloadable app, where you can control what time you want to go to sleep, how long you would like the sunset and sunrise to be, and when you want to wake up.
The illumy mask retails for $149 and is currently available through their crowd funding page on IndieGoGo. As of April 5, they have already raised $46, 975.
Danielle Tarasiuk is a multimedia journalist based in Los Angeles. Her work has been published on AllDay.com, Yahoo! Sports, KCET, and NPR-affiliate stations KPCC and KCRW. She’s a proud Sarah Lawrence College and USC Annenberg alumn.
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