Gong Alarm Clocks for the Heaviest Sleeper

Gong Alarm Clocks Awaken Even The Heaviest Sleepers…

“The Zen Alarm Clock,” uses soothing acoustic chimes that awaken users gently and gradually, making waking up a real pleasure.  Rather than an artificial recorded sound played through a speaker, the Zen Clock features an alloy chime bar similar to a wind chime.  When the clock’s alarm is triggered, its chime produces a long-resonating, beautiful acoustic tone reminiscent of a temple gong.  Then, as the ring tone gradually fades away, the clock remains silent until it automatically strikes again three minutes later.  The frequency of the chime strikes gradually increase over ten-minutes, eventually striking every five seconds, so they are guaranteed to wake up even the heaviest sleeper.

Boulder, Colorado

Awaken gradually

Dreaming of a Good Night’s Rest

How you awaken each morning can also influence how well you sleep. Some experts believe your body is naturally designed to awaken gradually with the rising sun and should not to be jarred awake by a screaming alarm clock. Dawn simulators recreate a natural sunrise by slowly increasing the intensity of light in the room. A study in BMC Psychiatry found that dawn simulators improved the quality of sleep during winter months for a group of about 80 randomly chosen people.

The right light can also help you fall asleep more easily. Studies have shown that exposure to 2,000- to 10,000-lux light (the equivalent of gazing at the horizon on a sunny day and up to 20 times brighter than normal room lighting) can improve overall sleep quality, says psychiatrist Daniel Kripke, MD, of the University of California, San Diego. This is most beneficial for about 20 to 30 minutes in the morning and a few hours prior to bed. More specifically, light therapy has been used to reset body clocks for those with sleep-timing problems and to correct erratic sleep habits caused by depression. A recent study in the journal Sleep found that evening exposure from a light box effectively treated people who often woke up too early and were unable to fall back to sleep. Exactly how light therapy improves sleep for people with depression remains unknown, Kripke says, but one popular theory is that bright light increases sleep-aiding serotonin levels.

Now & Zen’s Digital Zen Clock’s long-resonating Tibetan bell-like chime makes waking up a beautiful experience – its progressive chimes begin your day with grace. When the clock’s alarm is triggered, the acoustic chime bar is struck just once … 3-1/2 minutes later it strikes again … chime strikes become more frequent over 10 minutes … eventually striking every 5 seconds until shut off. As they become more frequent, the gentle chimes will always wake you up – your body really doesn’t need to be awakened harshly, with a Zen Clock you’re awakened more gradually and thus more naturally.  Unlike artificial recorded sounds coming out of a tiny speaker in a plastic box, natural acoustic sounds transform your bedroom or office environment.

adapted from Natural Solutions Magazine, December 2005 by Matthew Sloan

Natural Awakening, Digital Zen Alarm Clock

Now & Zen’s Chime Alarm Clock Shop

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Utamaro Portrait of the Courtesan Shirotama of the Tamaya 1790

Now & Zen has created a unique wellness gifts that will delight that someone special.  The Zen Alarm Clock® and The Digital Zen Alarm Clock® are lifestyle timepieces that really impact people’s lives — they provide a gentle and gradual awakening with Tibetan bell-like acoustic chimes.  But more than alarm clocks, these products also serve as aesthetically beautiful timers for practices such as yoga, bodywork, and meditation.

Zen Alarm Clocks are an aesthetic accouterment to almost any wellness practice.   We have been featured in many mainstream media outlets including Good Morning America, GQ Magazine, The New York Times, American Spa, and The L.A. Times.  These beautiful personal timers are a perfect wellness gift.

We have sold over 100,000 of our original triangular-shaped Zen Clocks (and sales continue to grow every year largely through word-of-mouth), and our Digital Zen Alarm Clocks (winner of the Denver Business Journal’s Most Innovative New Consumer Product Award) are continuing to be the favorite in independent retail channels nationwide.

Japanese Leaves Zen Alarm Clock by Now & Zen, Inc.

Now & Zen’s Wellness Alarm Clocks and Timers Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

Getting the Sleep of Your Dreams - Choose a Soothing Alarm Clock

We are a sleep-starved nation. Sixty-three percent of American adults do not get eight hours of sleep at night, about 70 million suffer from insomnia, and according to the National Sleep Foundation, nearly seven out of ten report frequent sleeping problems—although most remain undiagnosed. Alarmed? You should be. As Stanford University “sleepdebt” expert William C. Dement, MD, PhD, warns: “Lost sleep accumulates as a debt that must be repaid or health eventually deteriorates.”

This year, the Institute of Medicine released a report linking sleep disorders and sleep deprivation to a host of ills, including an increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart attack, and stroke.

Scientists are confirming what yogis and ayurvedic physicians have reported for centuries: deep sleep rests the body and the mind. Our daily dose of shut-eye regulates our weight, strengthens our immunity, protects our cardiovascular health, repairs our tissues and cells, and restores our energy. Sleep also allows us to process, consolidate, and retain new memories; it balances our emotions, makes us better problem solvers, and feeds our creativity.

But according to yoga, deep, refreshing sleep has an even more important function: it helps us stay spiritually balanced. The ancientrishis (seers) classified sleep as one of the four fountains, or primitive urges (along with food, sex, and self-preservation), that operate at an instinctual level to maintain our survival. When one of these fountains is out of balance, it can imbalance the others, creating obstacles to spiritual growth. For example, when we skimp on sleep, we tend to overeat and imbalance the “food” fountain. Scientific research confirms this: A recent Stanford University study found that the less sleep people got, the heavier they were. Shorter sleep duration boosts our level of ghrelin, a hormone that makes us feel hungry, and suppresses another hormone called leptin, which makes us feel full. And at Case Western Reserve University, researchers who conducted a long-term study with 68,000 women over 16 years found that women who got fewer than five hours of sleep each night were much more likely to gain 33 pounds or more—despite the fact that they ate less than the seven-hour sleepers.

When we fail to get enough sleep, our anxiety level rises, too, disturbing the “self-preservation” fountain. Plus, it’s difficult to maintain a yoga practice when you’re overtired. Who wants to get up early to meditate after tossing and turning all night? Missing our practice can throw our whole day off balance and, worse, feed the cycle of insomnia.

Wake up with gradual, beautiful acoustic chimes. The Zen Alarm Clock transforms your mornings and gets you started right, with a progressive awakening

Soothing Chime Alarm Clocks with Natural Acoustic Sounds

Now & Zen – The Soothing Chime Alarm Clock Store

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Soothing Sound Timer and Alarm Clock - Harunobu Suzuki, Beauty at the Veranda

In the yogic tradition, breath is the foundation of all life, the sustaining connection between body and spirit. A telling indicator of health and mood, breath puts us in closer touch with ourselves on every level. Through pranayama, or breath control, we can manage our emotions, gain clarity — and take greater control of our lives. “The way you breathe is a metaphor for the way you live your life,” says Amy Weintraub, Kripalu yoga-teacher mentor and author of Yoga for Depression. “Are you taking little sips of breath as though you don’t deserve to take up space on the planet, or are you breathing full and standing tall?” Try this pranayama exercise once a day or whenever you need to.

Ocean-Sounding Victory Breath
This calming breath, also known as ujjayi breath, has a settling effect on the central nervous system while increasing mental alertness and clarity — making it very effective for those suffering from anxiety and depression, says Weintraub. “Even three ujjayi breaths can cause a complete paradigm shift in your mood. This is a great exercise to do before meditation or anytime to help reduce stress.”

Soothing Sounds Meditation Timer and Alarm Clock with Acoustic Chime

1. Inhale through your nostrils with a slight constriction at the back of your throat so the breath travels over the glottis, making a soft but audible sound. Think ocean waves rolling over pebbles. Imagine that you are actually breathing from the back of your throat.

2. Exhale through your nostrils, pulling the belly toward your spine. Empty your lungs completely. Begin again, slowly.

3. Continue to breathe deeply and audibly on the inhalation and exhalation. Allow the belly, the rib cage, and the upper chest to expand with each inhalation. Let the breath be like a lullaby to yourself.

Use our unique “Zen Clock” which functions as a Yoga & Meditation Timer.  It features a long-resonating acoustic chime that brings your meditation or yoga session to a gradual close, preserving the environment of stillness while also acting as an effective time signal.

Our Yoga Timer & Clock can be programmed to chime at the end of the meditation or yoga session or periodically throughout the session as a kind of sonic yantra. The beauty and functionality of the Zen Clock/Timer makes it a meditation tool that can actually help you “make time” for meditation in your life. Bring yourself back to balance.

adapted from body + soul, April/May 2005 Terri Trespicio

Soothing Sounds Alarm Clock and Meditation Timer from Now & Zen, Inc.

Soothing Sounds Alarm Clock & Timer Store

Now & Zen, Inc.

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

chime on the hour clock with real acoustic chimes

In addition to functioning as a chiming alarm clock and countdown timer, the  Digital Zen Alarm Clock can be set to chime repeatedly at any set interval, and to chime once on the hour every hour. The chime’s “B tone” has been hand-tuned using the ancient Pythagorean method-the clock’s tone is the same as that produced by tuning forks used by musical therapists. And not only does the Digital Zen Alarm Clock sound beautiful, it looks beautiful as well. Its solid hardwood case is an attractive addition to an altar or mantel. Our company, Now & Zen, began in 1996 with the introduction of our now world famous Zen Alarm Clock (the original table-top model). Although we have developed many new products since then, nothing we have produced has generated the excitement and anticipation of the Digital  Zen Alarm Clock.

sleeping woman, wake up to soothing chime alarm clocks

Now & Zen

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

The Perfect Sleep Routine

Tip:  The Perfect Sleep Routine

Morning

Wake up to your Zen Alarm Clock at the same time every day, whether that’s 5:30 or 8:30. This ritual will help maintain your circadian rhythms and make it more likely you’ll fall asleep at the same time every night, too. (Yes, you can sleep an hour later on weekends.) As soon as you wake up, “get into some sort of daylight situation really quickly, even if it’s just stepping out on a balcony,” suggests sleep expert Joyce Walsleben, R.N., Ph.D. Bright light suppresses the production of melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone in your brain, and helps set your body clock. If you’re going to have coffee, this is the time. Walsleben recommends that women avoid it from noon on, and limit their morning dose to a cup or two. And keep in mind that “if you drink an 8-ounce cup in the morning,” cautions Rubin Naiman, Ph.D., “you may still have small amounts of caffeine left in your blood at bedtime.”

Evening
Eat dinner several hours before bed to give your body time to digest, and avoid spicy or heavy foods if you’re prone to heartburn. If you drink wine or beer, do so “three or four hours away from bedtime,” advises Walsleben; while alcohol may speed the onset of sleep, it can disrupt the sleep cycle later.

Night
Avoid watching intense TV shows, paying bills, or engaging in other stimulating activities an hour or two before bedtime. Instead, dim the lights to stimulate the release of melatonin and do a few relaxing yoga poses (such as Legs Up the Wall and Child’s Pose) or 10 minutes of deep breathing or meditation. If you have a bathtub, use it. (Adding relaxing lavender oil will help.)

Dark Oak Zen Alarm Clock with Chime, the original progression clock

Now & Zen’s Alarm Clock Shop

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Zen Timepiece with brass singing bowl

Singing bowls are unique because they are multiphonic instruments, producing multiple harmonic overtones at the same time.  The overtones are a result of using an alloy consisting of multiple metals, each producing its own overtone.

New bowls can also produce multiple harmonic overtones if they are high quality bronze, but many are made from a simpler alloy and produce only a principal tone and one harmonic overtone.

adapted from wikipedia.org

Zen Timepiece, a brass singing bowl clock and timer

Singing Bowl Alarm Clock

Now & Zen’s Singing Bowl Alarm Clock Shop

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302

(800) 779-6383

Ukiyo-e Madame Print

Being startled awake by a buzzer alarm, or awakened by the unpredictable noise of a clock radio, is certainly less than ideal.  We fall asleep gradually and it is only natural to wake up gradually.  The Zen Alarm Clock’s gradually increasing 10 minute sequence of gentle acoustic chimes or gongs makes waking up a graceful and soothing experience.

Zen Clocks “gently summon your consciousness into a waking state” in a way that helps preserve dream memories and is easy on your psyche.  It also helps you replicate the gradual process of waking up naturally when your body is ready, even while adding the assurance of an alarm clock to get you up on time.

When you have a Zen Alarm Clock, you actually look forward to the morning “alarm.”  Moreover, the visual and sonic beauty of the Zen Clock adds to the aesthetic beauty of your bedroom, which is another important aspect of a holistic sleep environment.  Every Zen Alarm Clock comes with a 40 page booklet that describes how it can be used for dreamwork, affirmations, and meditation.

Black Lacquer Zen Alarm Clock

Now & Zen’s Chime Alarm Clock Shop

1638 Pearl Street

Boulder, CO  80302