Getting a good night’s sleep can be a deciding factor in how your day is going to go. It can make or break whether you’re going to have a productive day or an unproductive one; whether you’re going to feel alert and excited or gloomy and blue. However, sleep eludes many of us on a nightly basis—which is something the iHome Zenergy sleep therapy lamps (coming soon to Best Buy) are trying to change.
Using sound therapy, ambient lighting, and breathing exercises, the Zenergy lamps offer a way to master your own sleep hygiene without a visit to the sleep doctor. Their soft lighting helps put you to sleep at night, and wakes you gently in the morning. The goal, of course, is to deliver a sleep so restful that you have energy all day long… And really, who can’t use a little bit more of that?
iHome Zenergy Speaker + Himalayan Salt Rock Lamp What’s in the box?
Okay: let’s start this off by stating that I’m not a very spiritual person. I would say that, at best, I’m moderately spiritual. I’m a little superstitious, and I occasionally rearrange for better feng shui, but I like my salt in my food—not in my lamps. But, even though I don’t buy into the idea of ions and air purification from a lamp, I don’t fault those who do: maybe they know something that I don’t, and could teach me about it!
That being said, I do think that Himalayan salt lamps are kind of awesome. They add a unique feature to any room, drawing the eye in and holding it there for just a moment. They’re also really wonderful for creating ambiance, with thick walls and a warm, red hue.
With just the flick of a switch, a salt lamp creates the perfect atmosphere for falling asleep. It engulfs the room (or, at least, the nearest two metres or so) with a warm, soft light that feels restful and safe. This lamp comes with a simulated wood base, a 15 Watt incandescent lightbulb, an instruction manual, and a wall plug. Once you twist the lightbulb in and stack all three parts (the base, coaster, and salt rock are separate pieces), your light is ready for use.
The iHome Zenergy Speaker + Himalayan Salt Rock Lamp (coming soon to Best Buy’s selection of sleep therapy products) offers three light intensities, and all three of them fit in perfectly in my nighttime routine. The 15 Watt bulb’s brightest setting lets me comfortably read my phone in bed after dark (with Night Shift on, of course), and the dimmest lets me drift peacefully into a deep slumber. Its plastic base is unobtrusive on my bedside table, and it’s easy to move when needed.
What does the iHome Zenergy Himalayan Salt Rock Lamp do?
The Zenergy Himalayan Salt Rock Lamp doesn’t connect to your phone like the Bedside Sleep Therapy Speaker does, so I can’t call it a smart home product… but I still think it’s pretty smart. It has a power button on its front for a sleek, minimalistic look, and six buttons on the back to control every setting.
Having the buttons on the back is a little cumbersome, as you have to twist this lamp around in order to get your settings just right. After a few uses, however, their placement begins to feel natural. On the far sides, you have your volume and light intensity. Next, you have your sound selection key. Finally, in the centre, you’ll find your two timer settings: sleep (how long you want your light and sound to run for before fading out) and sunrise (in how many hours you want your sunrise).
The Zenergy Salt Lamp features 8 sound modes to help relax you as you fall asleep. They include a breathing coach (with or without voice prompts, which I found very soothing), a meditation soundtrack, a zen soundtrack, a dream sound track, water noises, rainstorm noises, and, finally, three kinds of “fuzzy” noise: white noise, pink noise, and fan noise.
Each track is a little fuzzy and muffled, as if it’s coming out of an old radio. As an accidental speaker nerd, the fuzziness of each sound bothered me at first—“you want me to pay how much for a sleeping light that doesn’t even have a clear speaker?!”—but as soon as I started using it, I knew that Zenergy had made a good choice. There’s just a tiny bit of white noise in every single track, and it helps to totally zone me out as I fall asleep.
iHome Zenergy Bedside Sleep Therapy Speaker What’s in the box?
The upcoming iHome Zenergy Bedside Sleep Therapy Speaker is a little more traditional, as far as smart home sleep therapy products go. It’s lightweight and sleek, with LED lighting and soft speaker surfaces. Its curved, triangular shape feels a little space-agey, and the full array of buttons (I counted 16 on the top and 10 on the sides) gives you complete control over your sleep routine.
The iHome Zenergy Sleep Therapy Speaker comes in one piece with no assembly needed, and plugs directly into the wall. It offers 10 sound therapy tracks: four natural sounds (heart beat, ocean, nature, and storm), three tonal sounds (dream tones, peace, and zen), and four kinds of white noise (brown noise, pink noise, and two white noise variants). You can also use it on silent, with only light therapy enabled.
I tend to be most drawn to calming, repetitive noises, like iHome’s “zen” and “heart beat” offerings (brown noise, pink noise, and white noise actually stress me out more!). Like the brand’s Himalayan Salt Lamp, each of these soundtracks is a little fuzzy, but I don’t mind that the sound quality isn’t crystal-clear.
This Zenergy lamp also offers 11 light therapy patterns, most of which pulse slowly. It has calm, breath, and sunset settings for bedtime and flash, energy, and dawn settings for the wee hours. Then, throughout the day, you can choose between aurora, pulse, glow, color, and standard lamp settings.
What I liked most about the Zenergy bedside sleep therapy speaker
Despite its name, I think the best part of the Zenergy Bedside Sleep Therapy Speaker is its lighting options—not its sounds! Natural lighting has always been the most important part of my sleep routine, and having a gradual “sunrise” always helps me wake up feeling rested. In my opinion, the Zenergy line isn’t bright enough to use the light alone, but it offers an excellent solution when paired with an alarm or soundscape.
The many, many buttons on this speaker clock look overwhelming at first, but they help you select exactly what you want without having to cycle through your options. Plus, you can pair these great light options with the sound of your choosing!
In addition to the speaker’s 10 soundscapes, you can also stream audio from your mobile device over Bluetooth, plug in directly with an Aux cord, or switch on some FM radio.
The speaker offers two sleep and two alarm settings, which is great for saving your weekday and weekend presets separately. There’s even a backup battery in the device and a speakerphone setting, which would be great in a combined office-bedroom.
Which of these speakers is right for you?
I’m a skeptic when it comes to most things, so I’m happy to report that both of these lamps were considerably easier to use than I anticipated. (What? If you’re just a tiny bit pessimistic at all times, it means that life is full of wonderful surprises every day!) I loved the warm glow and meditative breathing exercises of the iHome Zenergy Speaker + Himalayan Salt Lamp, and the red settings of the Zenergy Bedside Sleep Therapy Speaker really called to me. (The slow pulsing option is so soothing!)
If you’re picky about sound quality, these speakers aren’t for you. However, if what you’re seeking is a nightlight-speaker combination that’ll help you get a great night’s sleep, iHome products are a great place to start. They’re not the top of the line, but they’re well-made and help to gently ease you to and from a deep, restful sleep—so you can get the most out of every day. For those who are very responsive to sound or light, the soft, fading effect of the Zenergy speakers and lamps can make a huge difference on how alert and energetic you feel while you’re awake.
Shop sleep therapy products like the iHome Zenergy line online at Best Buy.
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