Nothing better with Nox: this smart sleep light is a dazzler
1.11.2018
Translation: machine translated
Fall asleep relaxed, wake up gently and monitor my night at the same time. That's what I had imagined with the "Sleepace Nox". Instead, I was annoyed by an immature product.
In retrospect, the day that modernity found its way into my bedroom was not a good one. It neither helped me relax nor provided any credible insights into my sleeping behaviour. I spent far too much time on my mobile before going to sleep. In fact, with two mobiles and an iPad. Increasingly desperate and always with the aim of getting the "Sleepace Nox" under control. Without success. No more "fall asleep easily, wake up naturally". But it hadn't started so badly.
All beginnings are light and bright
Although the Nox is made entirely of plastic, I like its clean look. It takes up little space, is unobtrusive and blends in well in any room. The display integrated into the base and five discreet control panels on the surface - that's all that catches the eye on the visible sides. There are also speakers, USB and power connections at the back. Switching on, registering in the app, connecting to the WLAN and updating works as it should. The correct time also appears immediately on the display, which adjusts its brightness to the surroundings. It's still too bright for me at night, which is why I deactivate it in the app for my sleeping times. Fortunately, that works. Now I don't have a clock at night, so it's dark.
Beautiful glow, difficult operation
The Nox cuts a fine figure as a light, but for me the fun ends when it comes to operating it. I like it when I get some kind of feedback from buttons and switches. A click or vibration that signals to me that something is about to happen. With the Nox, I touch hard plastic. A brief touch should switch on the light, a longer touch should activate the sleep aid with its reddish light and relaxing sounds. In the morning, the alarm is deactivated via the field in the centre, a touch next to it sends the Nox into snooze mode. This requires more fine motor skills and attention than I can muster when I'm half asleep. Often exactly what I don't want to happen happens.
Trouble with the app
The Sleepace app is required for installation and most settings such as wake-up times, light colour and sleep monitoring. It only has a rating of 2.3 stars in the Google Play Store, so I was warned. I had my first annoyance immediately after registering. Well-intentioned animations pop up to explain how to use the app. Unfortunately, they simply can't be closed. Restart. Same problem. At some point, I manage to escape this trap. One mobile, a few crashes and a reinstallation later, I realise that 99.8 per cent of the cross to close the animations is covered by the Android on-screen navigation. I get rid of the problem with pointed fingers and can explore the functions.
Freedom of choice is not a good thing
What you can let rattle out of the speakers to relax is limited. There's the sound of the sea, birdsong or ethereal sounds, but unfortunately you can't choose your own music collection. So I lie in the red slumber light in the evening and wait for the promised sleep-inducing melatonin release to flush the recurring thoughts out of my head: "Canned sea noise like this just isn't the real thing ... Canned sea noise like this just isn't the real thing ..." I usually switched the sleep function off again or at least used it so quietly and dimmed that the light and sound were only just above the perception threshold. I couldn't switch off any better with the background music. Maybe I'm just not the type for it.
Waking up with light - and a crack
In any case, I like to be woken up gently and pleasant light helps me with this. What doesn't help is that the Sleepace Nox doesn't let me choose how quickly it should get light and when the sound should start. There are nine sounds to choose from with names like "Smiling into the new day" or "Wake up, darling". I opt for "Birdsong" and after just a few seconds the next morning I feel like I've been shoved into a cage with 300 canaries. The biggest no-go for me: the loudspeaker cracks loudly once before the chirping starts. By then at the latest, I'm awake and whistling at the birds.
Deep sleep phases? Not a chance.
I took over a week and two mobiles and an iPad to get an approximately realistic recording of my night for the first time. To do this, the mobile must be lying next to the pillow with the app active and the display facing down. Nox and the app also need WLAN. Then the app says "Start sleep" and wait for the results the next morning. So I'm a zombie. Restless, half-dead according to the sleep score, but somehow also undead. Creepy results. Deep sleep phases? Not a thing.
I'm starting to experiment. Maybe put the mobile phone with the display facing up or next to the bed? Doesn't help. Is it the mobile? I replace it. To no avail. Can the iPad do better? A little. Now at least the sleep and wake-up times are realistic, but I still miss longer deep sleep phases. Five per cent can't be everything. I was never woken up intelligently during a light sleep phase. Only once did the light go on before the latest wake-up time - when I picked up my mobile. The best realisation of my test: I cough at about 80 decibels. About as loud as a jackhammer. In addition to the noise level, the Sleepace Nox also measures the room temperature, humidity and brightness. It delivers quite credible values.
Conclusion: That was Nox
Surprise: I am not at all impressed. The Nox from Sleepace wants to offer a lot and does little of it well. It's actually just a reasonably nice night light. Operating the device itself isn't much fun, and it doesn't get any better with the app: with the limited choice of music, regular crashes and mysterious measurement results, I can only give it the thumbs down. I've tried everything and invested far more time than I want to spend on my alarm clock. My tip: Have a look at the Philips Wake-Up Light or, like me, opt for a Hue starter set and equip lamps of your choice with it. [[marketingpage:4982]]
I use the Hue system to slowly switch on the lights in the morning. If I sleep lightly, I wake up quickly. If I sleep deeply, the Lexon Flip wakes me up a few minutes later. And when it comes to sleep monitoring, I've had better experiences with the free version of Sleep Cycle (iOS / Android) than with Sleepace. Some annoyances could be fixed with app updates, but in its current state, Nox is nothing.
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Michael Restin
Senior Editor
Michael.Restin@digitecgalaxus.chSimple writer and dad of two who likes to be on the move, wading through everyday family life. Juggling several balls, I'll occasionally drop one. It could be a ball, or a remark. Or both.
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