Ambient Dreamie review: Can a $250 alarm clock break my doomscrolling habit?

Content

For years, my nightly routine has involved long binges on social media. It always starts as “the last scroll” as a form of decadence, before sliding into the mindless midnight swiping atmosphere. I spent many nights looking that other Sara Paulson memea face that glows in the dark as my brain consumes an endless supply of viral chum.

I know I’m not alone: Doomscrolling it is a national pastime by 2026. Research shows that any departure 31 to 64 percent of US adults do. And more than half of us we brought our phones to bed every night, doomscrolling is often associated with sleep disturbances, among other physical and psychological symptoms.

in The Consumer Electronics Show in January, a tricked-out smartwatch called Ambient Dreamie it was thrown at me as a sarcastic offender. Ambient CEO and founder Adrian Canoso he told me He came up with the idea for this device several years ago during an insomniac, looking for something to sleep on after cutting off his phone as he tried to wind down while sleeping. This is not a revolutionary ideabut unlike other popular ones, Dreamie does not depend on a separate operating system or subscription. It’s truly a phone-free bedside companion.

The catch is that the Dreamie isn’t cheap: Ambient sells it online for $249.99 a pop. (Code SLEEPWELL will save you $25 at a time Sleep Week until March 14.) I’ve spent the last month snoozing around one to find out if it’s really worth the money.

How Dreamie works

The Dreamie is a white pill-shaped gadget with a modern, uncluttered look and no external branding. It has a round display with a clock face, variable brightness, and easy-to-navigate touchscreen controls. The Dreamie needs to be connected to your home WiFi to download software updates, but you can’t use it to check notifications or access the web. It’s wired, so you don’t have to worry about recharging any batteries.

The warm light ring around Dreamie’s screen supports powerful RGB effects. You can dim it by swiping your finger on the touch bar on top of the device. Doing so produces a dot in the middle of Dreamie’s screen, which you can drag to point the light in any one direction — useful for finding things in the dark.

Dreamie’s ring of light directs.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Twisting the Dreamie’s light ring changes the volume of its built-in 360-degree speaker. (It gets incredibly loud, so I’ve never used it above the middle mark.) The device comes preloaded with a library of 15 different sleep “scenes,” some of which are paired with lighting effects for added ambiance. “Fireplace,” which sounds like logs slowly cracking, creates a ring of light that flickers in shades of orange, while “Aurora Borealis” begins a soundscape made of rainbow waves. There are nature sounds, guided breathing exercises, and blue, pink, and yellow noise options.

Dreamie currently supports 15 different sound and light scenes.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Dreamie has Bluetooth support, so you can use it with the best earbuds for sleeping if the person you sleep with likes to sleep quietly.

When you turn on Dremie for the first time, it will prompt you to think about your recent sleep cycles and set specific sleep goals. For example, I try to sleep 8 hours and wake up at 7:45 am every weekday. Dreamie suggests an ideal sleep time based on these metrics (ie, basic math).

The optional “Back to Sleep” scene is perfect for insomniacs.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

From there, you can customize your “sleep mode” with different sound and light scenes. Dreamie divides this practice into three stages, which start automatically at your bedtime. You can change or remove any of them based on your preference:

1. Yours Cue bedtime The screen tells you when to start getting ready for bed

2. Yours Wind Down The mood helps you sleep

3. Yours Noise Mask The situation keeps you awake

You can also set a “wake up schedule” for alarms throughout the week. You’re free to add as many schedules as you’d like and customize them with four different alarm sounds, a “sunrise” lighting feature that gets progressively stronger, and snooze timers.

Dreamie’s light ring can simulate a sunrise (….but not very well).
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Swiping down on the Dreamie watch face will automatically cycle between Wind Down, Noise Mask, and the static “Ambiance” scene. Swiping up reveals a menu with more settings, including:

• Different clock face designs

• Option to hide the clock when Dreamie is idle

• A simplified dark night theme

• Room temperature readings

• Redshift mode with reduced green light

• A “Go Back to Sleep” scene to play when you wake up in the middle of the night

Meet the Dreamie: What makes it special?

You can twist the Dreamie’s light ring to adjust its speaker volume.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Dreamie makes it easy to pretend your phone isn’t there. It doesn’t require an app to set up, and it eliminates many excuses to bring your phone to bed by removing your alarms, night light, and sleep content.

Admittedly, my doomscroll addicted mind didn’t like the idea at first. My mind was racing and furious the first few times I climbed into bed without its favorite soothing toy, looking for something to do.

Dreamie’s scenes were really helpful in quieting these thoughts. They fill the void of silence, so it’s very difficult to be distracted by work talk or all the mistakes I’ve made. I have started to relax and fall asleep faster than usual. I slept very quietly before this, so consider me a convert.

I like to use the “Wave Breathwork” and “Light Rain” scenes for my Wind Down and Noise Mask sections, respectively. (So ​​is my Scorpio.) I’m a night owl who hasn’t been able to keep regular bedtimes since college, when I worked for a student newspaper with a 2:00 print deadline, so I tend to skip the Bdtime Cue altogether. But when I use it, I choose “Fireplace” for a cozy vibe.

Dreamie’s audio library includes Box Breathing and Wave Breathwork exercises.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

In the morning too surprisingly better with Dreamie. In my daily wake-up routine, I use its “Bells” alarm sound with a 10-minute sunrise simulation. The sunrise effect is too weak to wake me up on its own (even after the recent update that made Dreamie’s light ring brighter), but Bells was a much more pleasant change from my usual. harsh iPhone alarm. Waking up is no longer scary. And I no longer naturally reach for my phone first thing – a sense of relief.

Although the Dreamie is expensive, it is a one-time purchase. Some popular alarm clocks like Hatch Restore 3 as well as Loftie clock they’re cheap up front (both retail for $170), but some of their features are locked in after a $50 annual subscription. The Dreamie depreciates after less than two years of use.

Dreamie’s “Fireplace” is cozy.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

Not only does Dreamie have no registration, but you don’t have to create an account to use it. It will never ask for your name or email address.

Notably, Dreamie has a Platinum Certification from the Calm Tech Institute, a research firm specializing in the design of calming technology. According to CTI blog post“the first bedside device to receive recognition for successfully reducing bedroom phone use while respecting human attention and privacy” based on an 81-point rating system.

Want to learn more about getting the most out of your technology? Subscribe to Mashable’s Top Newsletters and Deals today.

Some features of Dreamie to look forward to

The Ambient team says that Dreamie will continue to improve with more useful features.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable

So, is Dreamie worth the investment? I would say yes under two conditions: if you plan to use it for a long time, and if the Ambient team follows through on its promise of “updates that keep Dreamie better over time,” the company quotes. website. Next on the docket are podcasts and contactless sleep tracking, which should come as on-air updates soon and in the summer, respectively.

I am very happy with the sleep tracking feature. Ambient says Dreamie will use sensors, it doesn’t wearmonitor your movements and generate information about your sleeping habits. All data will be stored locally.

Google’s Nest Hub smart display has a similar feature, but smart alarm clocks like the Hatch Restore 3 and Loftie Clock don’t. If Dreamie’s sleep tracking works well, it could be a real wake-up call to the competition.