Amazon Halo Rise Review: Sleep Tracker and Alarm

In the morning, you get all the information in the companion app, including the room temperature and humidity and the overall sleep score. The biggest surprise to me was how long I actually slept. Even though I stay in bed for about nine or 10 hours, I only get seven or eight hours of sleep. Some nights, there was an obvious issue, like when I woke up two and a half hours after falling asleep and lay there for three hours and 23 minutes before finally dozing off again. Thankfully, a night like this is rare, and most disruptions involve me pinching and petting my cats for a few minutes and then closing my eyes again.

Buying the $140 Rise gets you a six-month subscription to Halo, Amazon’s health and wellness program. You don’t have to sign up for any sleep data, thanks, but if you stay a member, you can also learn how to analyze your body fat and how your tone sounds to others (I pass on both), as well as meal plans and recipes.

Alexa, go to bed

Setting up the Halo Rise was easy and the app guides you through the specifics, such as facing your upper body at arm’s length. You don’t want anything between you and Halo Rise. I could not find my sleeping husband on the other side of me. I have cats that are very active at night, but fortunately they rarely walk the edge of the bed and instead choose to annoy me and my husband by climbing into the middle at the same time. It doesn’t seem to affect my data, but it certainly might if your cats or kids are more annoying than mine.

First it is a sleep monitor, but it is also a good bedside lamp. With just a slight arc in the right light, it can be very bright or very dim depending on what you need. Pressing the small button on the top of the device starts a 30-minute sunset simulation to prepare yourself for the jump. The big button is the snooze or light control. I don’t like the process of adjusting the light, because you hold the key rotating in steps, and if you suddenly go too far in one direction, you have to wait and rotate it again.

You can set a sunrise or sound alarm in the app, or use both together. There’s also a “smart alarm” that sounds within 30 minutes of waking up if it detects you’re in a light sleep phase.