Seductive Snoozer Caught Napping At Atlas
I was present at ATLAS' official opening of their "Experience Audio Visual Boutique" at TripleOne Somerset yesterday. For this home grown AV distributor, it marks a grand total of three glitzy local showrooms to date. As expected, the avant-garde store was built upon meticulous conceptions to gratify the most discerning audio connoisseur. And that includes a "True-to-Life" clip for you to experience high quality theatrical audio within an AV room; delivered by minimalistic Jewel Cube drivers and an Acoustimass woofer from Bose's Lifestyle series. Of course, the mock home theatre setup wouldn't be complete without a spread of fancy furniture, and I understand ATLAS has installed a number of comfy Pitagora chairs from Italian maker Poltrana Frau as well.
Amazingly, although I was surrounded by upscale brands such as Loewe and Ad Notam displays, what truly captivated me was a little gizmo tucked away at their mezzanine level. If you're still puzzled by my blog title, then perhaps the following explanation might help.
The product I was referring to is none other than the Zyken Nightcove. In a nutshell, the Nightcove is a device engineered to induce and enhance sleep levels by using a combination of light and sound. According to its product guide, our transition between wakefulness and sleep is linked to melatonin; a hormone which rises in the evening and dips in the morning. This hormone is also dependent on the influence of light. Understandably, our bedrooms are lit by artificial light which covers a mishmash of wavelengths. This isn't supposed to help your slumbering mission. If anything, lights emitted by bulbs or CCFL tubes retards the sleeping process, supposedly.
The Nightcove, on the other hand, uses LEDs which makes it possible to select a precise wavelength to imitate the quality of light at dusk, which does not hamper the build up in melatonin levels. At this juncture, anyone with a discerning mind would probably ask - why not shut off all the lights then? I would be able to save $3,700 this way, wouldn't I? Wait, there's more. The Nightcove is actually designed to "minimize the negative impact on the ability to fall asleep after reading". Finally, all that mambo jumbo is beginning to make sense. Of course, the Zyken gizmo is capable of more, such as waking you up gently in the morning or playing serene music to soothe your tired soul, etc.
Based on what I've heard from ATLAS, the very French Nightcove is endorsed by a renowned expert in the field of sleep research, Professor Damien Léger, who's the Head of the Hotel-Dieu Sleep Clinic in Paris. If you happen to be an incurable insomniac like me, perhaps this terribly costly gadget might finally spell the end of a poor night's sleep. Or so, I hope. Anyone care to donate a Nightcove?
Andy Sim / Former Senior Tech Writer
Andy is a self-made geek with a penchant for good music and a hearty pint. His domain includes swanky TVs, notebooks and networking gizmos.