Circadian Rhythms

Simulated sunrise: the Glo Pillow concept

By Darren Quick

18:39 May 19, 2008 PDT

Designers Eoin McNally and Ian Walton have come up with the concept of a ‘Glo Pillow’ that uses an LED fabric substrate below the surface of the pillow to wake the user with light. Forty five minutes before the alarm is due to activate, the pillow begins to glow. The light intensity increases gradually from 0 lux to 250 lux, simulating a natural sunrise and helping to calibrate the body clock by waking the body naturally. The LED fabric substrate also functions as a display, showing the time on the pillows surface using a grid of LEDs inside the pillow. Read More

Wake-up in your own time: aXbo sleep phase alarm clock

By Noel McKeegan

June 28, 2007 Waking at just the right moment can have a drastic effect on how well-rested a person feels, the trick is knowing exactly when that is. This is the principle behind the aXbo ‘sleep phase alarm clock’- a device that monitors phases of sleep and wakes the user at the optimum moment to maximize their feelings of well-being and vitality. Read More

Circadian rhythms found to be in control of all mammal genes

By Loz Blain

June 19, 2007 Ever wondered exactly why eating at night makes you put on weight, why some people are "night owls" or what controls your metabolic energy levels through the day? Instead of only 15% of our genes being regulated by circadian rhythms, as previously thought, researchers have discovered that ALL mammalian genes are affected by nature's daily clock - our entire bodies are regulated by genes whose expression oscillates on a daily cycle. What's more, if we're not exposed to a proper daily cycle of light and darkness, our genes don't have a reference point to synchronise to - and they can gradually get more and more out of sync with one another, causing organs to function ineffectively. Read More