I saw ads for the Hatch Restore Sleep Assistant for a while before I decided to purchase one for myself. Designed by sleep experts, Hatch Restore is advertised as a sleep aid that uses science-backed technology to turn your bedroom into the perfect sleep environment. Its modern sounds, smart light, and sunrise alarm make it the ultimate sleep assistant.
Hatch Restore Sleep Assistant Review
While there are countless sleep aids on the market these days, a few things about Hatch’s caught my eye. I was drawn to its simple, sleek design, the fact that it doubles as a reading light, and that it’s small and neutral enough to blend in with my bedroom furniture and decor.
After only a few nights of using Hatch Restore, I noticed many features I loved and a few I didn’t. Here’s the inside scoop:
The Pros:
The sunrise alarm.
I have blackout curtains in my bedroom to keep sunlight out until it’s time to wake up for the day. However, I’ve always struggled when my alarm goes off but my room is dark. Hatch Restore is the perfect addition to my specific sleeping conditions.
I keep my blackout curtains drawn, but Hatch Restore’s alarm slowly illuminates my room with my sunrise color of choice out of 10 different hue options. Using Hatch’s app on my phone, I get to set my preferences to enjoy gradual light, which promotes healthy cortisol levels as I wake up for the day.
Custom alarm sound options.
The annoying beep that automatically comes with standard alarm clocks drives me crazy. It’s extremely jarring to wake up from sound sleep to incessant beeping. What I appreciate about the Hatch Restore is that there are more than 30 different high-quality and pleasant sounds to choose from.
I’ve experimented with a few different ones and have come to especially love the chirping birds and soft music sounds best. The sound options are successful in waking me up, while also being soft enough that I’m not being jarred awake.
“Wind-down” features.
Hatch Restore gives you the option of setting a “wind-down” session each night before bedtime. Personally, I set my Hatch Restore to have a soft blue sunset alarm for 10 minutes as I’m falling asleep with soothing sounds like a campfire crackling and crickets chirping. It’s a really relaxing wind-down time while I’m trying to go to sleep.
The soft blue hue gives my room a subtle ambiance and the sounds are really relaxing. I like having this session last for about 10 minutes before it automatically shuts off for the evening.
The Cons:
The reading light isn’t strong enough for me.
The reading light included in the Hatch Restore is advertised as a soft-glow reading light that doesn’t have eye-straining blue hues. Apparently, the science behind this feature is that the light’s glow won’t disrupt your circadian rhythm and melatonin production.
While the science makes sense, I personally don’t find the reading light strong enough when reading in bed. I don’t use this feature as it’s intended, but I imagine other people might not need as strong of a reading light as me to get the job done.
I’m not a fan of the guided meditation sessions or sleep stories.
The Hatch Sleep app comes with a few guided meditation sessions and sleep stories that are designed to promote restful, uninterrupted sleep naturally. While these features are nice additions to the app and Hatch Restore experience overall, I don’t find them terribly helpful when I’m trying to fall asleep.
For me, meditation sessions and storytelling are a bit distracting when I’m trying to sleep and I end up focusing too much on listening to the words that I actually end up staying awake. I think these features would be successful for people who are interested in meditation and storytelling, but they’re not helpful for me.
There aren’t a ton of free sleep sounds included.
As aforementioned, the Hatch Sleep app includes more than 30 different sounds but many of them aren’t for me. There are quite a few water sounds, which I am not a huge fan of. There are also some sounds that are a bit too much for me, like chimes.
This reduces the number of sounds I actually use considerably. I wish there was a bigger collection of options that were automatically included. Some people might not be as picky, but I am fairly particular about the sounds that I’m comfortable listening to as I try to fall asleep and wake up each day.
Overall, I’m a Hatch Restore Fan!
Despite the cons, I am a huge fan of my Hatch Restore Sleep Assistant so far. I found the product very easy to set up and it has quickly become part of my morning and evening routine.
I like the consistency I get each morning as the light turns on and gives my room a soft glow. It indicates that it’s time to start the day, which I find helpful since my room is dark well after the sun comes up. I also really enjoy my wind-down time at night as it sets my brain in “sleep mode” and prepares me for bed.
I think Hatch Restore is a great product to add to your routine if you’re on the hunt for a sleep assistant. I also think it would make a great gift idea for someone close to you! For $129, the product is decently affordable and the free Hatch Sleep app makes it super convenient to customize your preferences.
Do you use a sleep assistant? What’s your favorite? Share your thoughts in the comments!
The photos in this post are by Rachael Warren and used with permission.
About the Author
Rachael is a University of Southern Maine graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a minor in Sociology. She remotely works full-time as a Senior Content Marketing Specialist for Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. In her leisure time, Rachael enjoys traveling with her husband, finding the next Netflix series to binge, and taking too many photos of her dogs Jax and Kai. Rachael is obsessed with chapstick, favors the Oxford comma, and is a proud Mainer. You'll likely find her exploring New England + beyond.