Lumie Bodyclock Iris bringing light- and aromatherapy to your bedroom

Lumie Bodyclock Iris bringing light- and aromatherapy to your bedroom.

With the clock change has come the feeling that winter has arrived. There are fewer leaves on the ground than on the trees and the 6.30am alarm clock has started to bite. For as long as we have had a home together, DH and I have had  Lumie lights by our bedsides: they made early morning commute wake-ups easier, they gently lit the 3am Feed with my darling girls, they have helped soothe jetlag.

A chance encounter with the Lumie team at BritmumsLive this year led to the realisation that our Lumie lights have been doing this sterling work for almost thirteen years. And they very generously sent me the Lumie Bodyclock Iris, so that my morning wake-up- indeed my evening wind-down- could be brought bang up to date.

The key difference between this light and my dependable light therapy alarm clock is the addition of aromatherapy. With two chambers for essential oils, your wind-down and your wake-up can be accompanied by different olfactory sensations. Of course the more complicated functions mean that using the clock is not as simple as it’s predecessor: there is a little remote control as well as a booklet which helps you interpret all the symbols. It is a whizz-bang piece of kit after all.

There new light has a different footprint to the old. It is taller, slimmer, wider. It has elegant form and looks lovely on the bedside table. The old one was stout and functional yet was less visible from across the room. The new one has a back-lit screen with three buttons to control the basics. The old had a simple digital display and three buttons to operate it. It was lit by an actual bulb: simple, basic, dependable. The new model has a different kind of light, and a host of time settings: up to 90 minutes of sunrise or sunset to help you adjust your body clock, alarms which can be set daily or weekly, nightlight, snooze function, alarm volume, light strength, intermittent or continuous infusion. It will comprehensively cater to your personal needs.

But with more complications come more potential issues. The old adage that water (needed in the oil reservoir) and electric don’t mix was proven when a significant knock caused my machine- specifically, the aromatherapy part- to stop working*. Both things need to be regularly topped up- we went away on holiday and all the oil evaporated!

You also need to use de-ionised water, readily available in shops but not something you are likely to have to hand, and your favourite aromatherapy oils of course. It took me a while, and a few grumbles from DH, to realise that I needed to press a button to reduce the backlight on the clock during the night. It takes time and use to work out which settings work best for you, and sometimes I ended up scrolling through the whole settings menu in frustration looking for the one setting I needed to alter.

On the plus side, the back light I mentioned can easily be adjusted in settings, the quality of light is excellent, and it really does bring you round gently in the morning. The aromatherapy burst of Lemon (in my case) gives that extra kick to your wake-up and definitely makes me more eager to transition from awake-with-my-eyes-closed to getting-out-of-bed-awake.

Studies have shown that wake-up lights like Lumie Bodyclock, that gradually turn on and get brighter during the last 30 minutes of sleep, can reduce complaints of sleep inertia. (Lumie website)

There are so many settings that you are bound to be able to get the Lumie to suit your needs. The settings include a sunset setting, allowing you to lay in bed reading as the scented oils waft around you, before settling down for a good night’s rest, particularly useful if you struggle to get to sleep or are indeed suffering from jetlag or Seasonal Affective Disorder.

And at this time of year as the darkness wraps us all in a cloak, who doesn’t need a gentle push to get out of bed in the morning?

The Lumie Bodyclock Iris 500 costs £160.00 from the Lumie website. Initially seems a lot to spend on an alarm clock, but if it lasts as long as our original ones, it would work out at less than a penny per use. But the value added of being able to get up in the dark for five months a year is priceless.

*it was replaced very efficiently. The customer service side of Lumie is flawless.

**Disclosure: I was sent the Bodyclock Iris for the purposes of writing this review. All opinions, photographs and maths are my own