For the last thirty days I have had the pleasure of testing the Lark device. Lark is one of many new devices that are hitting the market that monitor things like vitals,fitness and sleep patterns. The thing is that every device that has hit the market hasn’t delivered in one way or another. While the Lark device has some small flaws it excels at delivering on all its features. Throughout the initial seven days Lark builds a profile on their site using the app and recommending lifestyle changes to improve your sleep pattern and overall well-being.
Purchase Link:
The Lark unit is available for purchase at your local Apple store. You can also purchase a Lark unit from Amazon by going here.
The Lark companion app is available in the iTunes store.
Product Pictures:
In Use Pictures:
My Take:
I will start off by saying that I have terrible sleeping habits. I workout and sleep poorly and consume way more Monster Energy then I would care to admit to. When I saw this device I figured it would be a great way to truly monitor how bad my sleeping habits are. Upon receiving my Lark unit I jumped right into the setup which is pretty much as easy as pairing a Bluetooth device and syncing with the Lark app which you can get in the iOS app store.. Once paired we were ready to rock and roll and see how well it worked. One of the major features of this device is its silent alarm which is meant to wake you gently without waking your significant other should you have differing schedules. I can start off by saying that the silent alarm does indeed work and is not as jarring as my super loud Sonic Boom alarm clock which vibrates my mattress. It felt good wake up naturally and without the super decibel ringing I usually need to wake me from a deep sleep.
The first week of using the Lark is the assessment phase which breaks down your sleep habits and provides tips to improve any habits you may have. Here is my seven-day assessment.
As you can see I have a very erratic sleep pattern. One of the shocking things I learned is that you actually wake up while you’re sleeping and most times you don’t even remember doing it. Seeing that type of data was definitely strange since I always thought I slept soundly. But the chart above is not all you get in the initial assessment. Here is some other data that is provided as well.
As you can see the assessment above is 100% spot on and I was surprised at the level of accuracy it provided. Now there were some things I was not a fan of and those are outlined in the sidebar. I will say that this device has room for improvement and they can start by making the transmitter a bit smaller since it is basically like a small watch that occasionally hits your significant other in the face. I had contemplated wearing it like an ankle monitor but was not sure if it would monitor me accurately. I hope Lark can shed some light on that after our review is published. Pricing is a factor that may turn some off as well since you are paying $99 for an alarm clock and to get the full package you will have to pay the equivalent of a handheld console at $160. While some may not see issue with these caveats I think the working class will definitely balk at these issues.
Recommendation:
I can honestly say that I would recommend the Lark for purchase but it is not a must own device unfortunately. I say this because the concept of spending $99 for a silent alarm may be tough to swallow. If you are a tech enthusiast with some disposable income that wants to try a different approach towards restful sleep then this is the device for you .
I’d like to thank Carrie Pennewell from Lark for being so helpful during our time with the device.
