Editor’s Note: Yesterday, you got to watch Sam’s video review of SmartWake, Verlo’s new sleep monitor that features clinically-proven technology. Today, you can read about his impressions of the sleep monitor.

Hello, I’m Sam, a marketing intern at Verlo Mattress. To give you a little background on me, I’m a very active person, I love to run and exercise. I’m a typical Wisconsinite; I love cheese and beer (that’s why I have to exercise, to offset the beer and cheese). I’m also someone who loves sleep and realizes how important it is, especially in recovery from exercise. (This is starting to sound like I’m writing a dating profile for myself, so let’s get to the reason I’m writing today.)

I got the privilege to see how well I’m actually sleeping by trying out Verlo’s SmartWake sleep monitor. I believe I sleep like a lot of Americans: some nights I sleep great and wake up refreshed in the morning, while other nights I wake up and feel as though I didn’t sleep at all. My hope was that this sleep-monitoring system would help me get more consistent sleep by showing me why some nights I sleep so poorly.

Setting Up SmartWake is Super Easy

So, I set up the sensor under the left side of my bed, because lets face it that’s the best side of the mattress to sleep on. The whole setup from unboxing the sensor to setting up the SmartWake app on my phone took about two minutes, which is great. It was very easy to follow the directions and there wasn’t a lot of different parts I had to worry about, which was nice. All I really had to do is connect my phone through the app to the sensor under my mattress.

Using the Smart Alarm

I set the alarm to wake me up between the times of 8:30am and 9:00am. The SmartWake wakes you up during your lightest phase of sleep between the two times you select. To be honest, that was the part of the app I didn’t really understand. I just thought to myself, how would the sensor know when I’m sleeping the lightest? but it decided to wake me up at 8:31am. I’m not a scientist or a sleep expert, so I’m just assuming the app knows this based on your respiration, heart rates and motion, which it tracks throughout the night.

Competing With Yourself to Sleep Better

It really did work though; I woke up that morning feeling better than I did all week, even with a cold. The SmartWake app gives you detailed statistical information, which to me was the coolest part of the experience. All of the statistics were displayed on the app really well; I’m a sucker for a good mobile app user interface.

The first night I used it I got a sleep score of 68/100, which isn’t terrible, but it’s interesting because I’m a very competitive person and what the app does to competitive people – in my opinion – is make you want to beat your score. That’s probably the best thing about the app because I’m trying to score better on the app, which in turn will increase the quality of my sleep, which will make me a healthier and happier human being. So, the app is using my competitive to make me a healthier person.

Sam’s Final Word on SmartWake

In my opinion, I think SmartWake is an excellent investment. If you can swing it, it’s worth the money, the user interface is really easy to use, the setup is easy and it actually helps you get a better night’s sleep.