Customer Reviews

Apollo Health DayBreak Duo Dawn/Dusk Simulator

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I used to struggle to get out of bed every morning despite 4 different alarms, and then I felt like a zombie all day - totally exhausted. As the sunrise started to occur later and later each morning (but I still had to be awake and out the door before it got light), I got really desperate to find a sunrise alarm clock. I researched several different models and finally decided on this one. I liked that I could use my own lamp, as with other models, but this one also had a radio. I listen to the radio while I get ready in the morning and really didn't want a separate clock and radio in the bedroom.

I was nervous about ordering this clock since it had just come out, it was expensive and there were no reviews - but I was desperate! I am very happy with it so far, but like another reviewer mentioned, I wish there was a "sleep" function for the radio. That is my only complaint after a month. I am no longer exhausted and groggy all day at work. I still use the buzzer (light beeping describes it better) at the end of the sunrise, but many mornings I wake up a couple minutes before the buzzer just from the light - and my current lamp is just 40 watts. I also use the sunset every night to fall asleep. The backlight doesn't bother me at all, as another reviewer said. It is also very easy to use and set the times.

Overall I am pleased with this clock and recommend it to anyone who wants to wake up more naturally using your own light source.

I was excited to try this out as my new "alarm clock". It was heavier and sturdier than I expected, with an "outlet" in the back to plug my lamp into. I love the touch screen. It made it very easy to set the clock, alarm, radio station etc. There's a button that dims the backlight almost all the way off, but a nice feature is that when the alarm is set, it will automatically dim the backlight 8 hours before the alarm is set to go off. Even in the middle of the night, on the nightstand right next to the bed, the dimmed backlight doesn't bother me. (I used to block my old clock with a postcard because the single LED backlight was too bright) This one was the most expensive one I saw. I opted for it because I like the option of waking to a combination of light and radio and the other one similar to it didn't have the radio feature. It was more than I wanted to spend, but I am glad I did. It is so much nicer to wake up without that tired groggy feeling. The light makes the most difference on really dark days.

I used a dawn simulator from another manufacturer as my primary alarm for ten refreshing years. Then, the inexpensive components on the device failed, and I returned to jarring awakenings with a more conventional alarm clock.

I wanted the dawn simulator again, but buying those same failing components didn't appeal to me. The Apollo promised even more functionality for not much more money.

Pros: a lot of them. I'll just mention the dead-simple time setting, the built-in radio, and the option of setting two different dawns, with not just light waking you up but also a backup of a chime or radio sounds.

Cons: about the only one I encounter is the bright orange display which dims somewhat eight hours before your scheduled "dawn," but never dims totally. The remedy for this is to face the clock away from you as you sleep.

It's such common knowledge that most people hate alarm clocks, right? Most of us are sleep-deprived, need coffee to feel somewhat human, and are only semi-functioning for the first few hours of the day. Why? Blame it on alarm clocks, jolting us awake mid-sleep-cycle and leaving us cranky.

Enter the DayBreak Duo. No, it won't replenish your 401k or make up for your dad not showing you affection as a kid, but I've never felt more peaceful waking up, and that's worth a lot. We've set it for a variety of different times--everything from 4 to 9:30 am--and it always feels gentle and natural.

The one interesting thing to get used to is that if you're extremely anal retentive and want to wake up at 6:19 on the dot every day, this will not work for you. Since your body will awake depending on when you went to bed and where you are in the sleep cycle (lots of research went into it, turns out), I've found that I'll wake up anywhere from twenty minutes before to fifteen minutes after the time we set the alarm.

Best alarm clock ever! I use the sunset function to help me fall asleep (I use the 30 minute setting). The sunrise alarm is awesome! It slowly wakes me up instead of jarring me out of sleep (I use the 90 minute setting). With the gentle wake-up, I feel more relaxed and energetic all day long. I was not tempted to use the snooze function like I did with my old alarm clock. The unit itself is easy to use with on-screen programming. I had everything set up in about 10 minutes. The backlighting auto dims at night or can be set manually. The three radio station presets are really nice. I like that this unit is fairly small and works with my existing lamp. The black one goes with the bedroom decor. I highly recommend this to anyone that has problems falling asleep and problems waking up.

I've been using this for about 6 months now. I use it everyday with the dawn simulator and then follow that 30 minutes later with the radio. I personally wake up very easily with light and not so well when it's dark. This makes all the difference in the world for being able to wake up early.

It's nice to have 3 dim settings on the light--it's spouse friendly. Often I'll use it at the lowest setting if my wife's asleep.

It works very consistently and looks great. It was easy to set up. I love waking up to light!

I recently ordered this product and have been using it for about a week. It is simple to set up and has two alarm settings with choice of light only, alarm beep and/or radio, and a dusk simulator which I really enjoy. The one recommendation I would make is to use it with a 150 watt lamp with a full spectrum light bulb. This made the product much more effective for me.
Since using the product I have yet to roll over and go back to sleep in the mornings. I wake up easily and am much more alert. I don't feel the need for coffee to get me through the morning. In the evenings I use the dusk simulator and it seems as if I go to sleep much more quickly.
The only con I can find for this product is that it's face has two backlight settings, one for night and one for day. I would prefer to see it's nighttime display be a bit more dim. Other than that I can't think of any issues that would prevent me from recommending this product.

I really thought, after researching this clock on Amazon and the manufacturer's Web site, that it would come with some sort of light to help me wake up. But all it has is a two-prong plug in on the back for a desk lamp. The sunrise/sunset feature does help me get up in the morning and is more reliable than other timers I have used, but the audible alarm is very quiet and cannot be turned up as loud as the radio.

This is a sunrise simulator rather than an alarm clock, and as such, it can be said to be something of a sleep assistant or even a sleep management system. This thing might well change my life.

It's easy to set up, easy to adjust the settings, all the buttons -- both physical and touchscreen -- work. My bedroom lamp came on over the course of 45 minutes and woke me up smoothly, like God intended. I can say that, because God created sunrises, to which humans have awakened for eons, rather than having their sleep shattered by obnoxious alarm clocks.

The brightness of the display has exactly two settings, and is either manual or automatic, but not adjustable. Meaning, you can have the display be either bright or dim by way of a button, or if you have the sunrise simulation set (and who is going to buy this thing and NOT set it?), the display autmatically dims eight hours prior to the set wake time so as not to disturb your sleep. I think that's good in that it encourages people to go to bed eight hours before they plan on getting up. And the bright setting is quite bright and the dim setting is very dim, which is good. The thought and engineering that went into this is obvious.

The buttons on the touchscreen are actually responsive to being touched, and give a satisfying beep when used. The 9-volt battery back-up is one of the more over-engineered things I've ever seen. Usually, installing a battery involves merely pressing on a piece of plastic before sliding it out of the way, and then inserting the battery up against something spring-loaded, and then putting the piece of plastic back. You know what I'm talking about and it's no sweat. This thing, man, I wrestled with it for 15 minutes nonstop. It demands that the battery be inserted just so, and requires a screwdriver, for crying out loud. But once you get it done, it's done.

Gone are the days of not being really awake. Gone are the rude awakenings 5 days of the week, every week. Gone is the night owl lifestyle because of marathon sleep sessions due to sleep deprivation on most days. Now I can get up early, because I won't have the blaring of the alarm clock in the pitch black darkness pi**ing me off and needing to be silenced.

Blue-tinted, natural light incandescent bulbs are highly recommended, since they give off light more like the blue/white of sunrises rather than the yellow/orange/red of sunsets.

The Daybreak Duo is fantastic.

I'm an evening person who normally hates mornings. That's changed now because I use the Daybreak to wake up. It makes a HUGE difference to wake up to a gradual sunrise vs. the jolt from an alarm.

I use a 60 watt bulb and it's more than enough to get me out of bed on time. The sunset feature is great too, especially when I put my kids to bed. I leave their door open and my door open, then set the sunset for 30 minutes. I can hear them talking but the chatter dies down as the light slowly dims. No more "can you leave the light on" discussions and they fall asleep quickly.

Fabulous. It makes a world of difference in the mornings.