Do you have trouble falling asleep naturally? Do you toss and turn all night and still never seem to be able to nod off or get any rest? Have you tried just about every solution, from natural remedies to sleeping pills and everything in between? Our Hatch Restore 2 Review is designed for you! Is tonight the night you stop tossing and turning? Is tomorrow the day you start waking feeling fresh and ready for the day ahead? Lets find out if the Hatch Restore 2 is really as good as all the hype would lead us to believe.
What Is The Hatch Restore 2?
The Hatch Restore 2 is a versatile smart alarm clock that combines features of a white noise machine and a sunrise alarm clock, designed to improve your sleep quality at night and provide a gentler wake-up experience in the morning.
You can control it directly on the device or through the Hatch Sleep app, available to download and free. It is available in three neutral colors – Latte, Slate, and Putty (Being a coffee fiend I chose the Latte!) and they all feature an elegant linen front with hidden touch sensors and a gracefully curved design. It was the design that first drew my attention. It is altogether minimalist, stylish yet classic and trendy. Personally, I find it to be one of the most attractive alarm clocks I’ve ever seen. (and i have seen many).
Priced at $199.99, but with savings to be had (we discuss this later in the review) the Hatch Restore 2 offers your basic alarm clock functions, but with sunrise simulation, adjustable light intensity, a variety of nature sounds, and ambient “color” noises.
Additionally, there is an optional Hatch+ subscription ($4.99 per month or $49.99 annually) with a 30-day free trial, providing access to an extended content library and extra features.(more about that later also);
One standout feature of the device is its range of “noise options”, including:
- white noise: covering all frequencies
- pink noise: has a consistent tone and energy per octave, giving it a far smoother sound,
- green noise: similar to pink noise but emphasizes the lower frequencies,
- brown noise: with even lower and deeper frequencies and tones than green.
It’s a good idea to test some of the different sound profiles during the day to ensure the one you do select isn’t horrific, potentially stopping you from sleeping. Be warned though, you can waste a lot of time on this – “Hmmmm shall I select Signal Falls, or perhaps Calming Singing Bowls, OMG just spotted Sunrise Jazz Piano!” Whatever you choose ensure its something that makes you comfortable and relaxed.
As well as sound and noise profiles to select, there are options for volume and some quirky sound adjustments you can make to ensure you design the perfect way to fall asleep and stay asleep, no matter what is happening around you.
The Sunrise Alarm feature allows you to select from various color hues like warm white, red, aqua, and lilac, with each color offering you a personalized wake-up experience. Not hard to understand why this sleep machine is a bestseller on Amazon and Walmart.
The concept of Sunrise Alarms is explained perfectly by Good Housekeeping Institute’s Alec Scherma, who says, “I think people like to wake up gently. The idea behind an alarm clock is to jolt you out of bed with a loud sound. Sunrise alarms, on the other hand, imitate the sunrise, which helps manage your circadian rhythm, or your body’s internal clock.”
The theory is that the sunrise alarm gives you a soft, soothing gradual waking experience. Low light leading to brighter and soft sounds gradually increasing in volume. Just like a sunrise in your bedroom every morning.
So What Is This Circadian Rhythm and Why Is It Important?
A circadian rhythm is a natural cycle that occurs in most living things, including humans, plants, and animals, that repeats roughly every 24 hours. It’s a process that responds to the environment and prepares the body for expected changes, such as when to sleep, eat, and be active.
In humans, circadian rhythms affect nearly every organ and tissue, including hormones, digestion, and body temperature. The brain’s internal clock, or biological clock, regulates these rhythms by responding to light changes in the environment, such as the sun’s light/dark cycle. This clock is made up of proteins encoded by thousands of genes that switch on and off in a specific order
Some lifestyle changes can help maintain a healthy circadian rhythm, including:
- Keeping a regular meal schedule
- Starting a regular bedtime routine
- Avoiding daytime naps, especially in the afternoon
- Getting regular physical activity
Points 2 and 3 (above) are important for those who find it difficult to get good sleep. It may well be your circadian rhythm is out of kilter. And It may be that the reason you experience poor sleep, is down to the way you wake up!! Who knew!?
Not just another white noise machine, the Hatch Restore machine uses new technology, with multiple layers of sound with the result being far more than just covering background noise.
The Hatch+ Subscription? Hatch 2 Review Comments Differ
Right, so, this is an area of debate for many. Actually let me be honest, it is less debate and more Marmite – People love it or they hate it. Of all the research I did and all the people I spoke not a single person (myself included) hated the features. What the haters hate is the cost!
The Hatch Restore 2 is not an inexpensive piece of hardware, at $200 its a pretty pricey clock. The issue I, and many others have, is that to be able to use all of the Hatch Restore features you have to sign up for a monthly or annual subscription. I don’t know about you, but I already have a gym subscription that gets used less than it should, a streaming subscription, a Spotify sub, apple sub and the list goes on. So it leaves me cold that I have to also pay a monthly fee to use the features on a device I have already paid for.
The Hatch+ Sleep Membership costs $5 per month or $50 per year, so it won’t break the bank, but even as I write this review it still frustrates me that I have to pay for another subscription.
This additional subscription is where you are introduced to Hatch’s latest features, the Wind Down Channels, which provide various audio options to help you relax. These include Sleep Stories, calming music playlists like “Melting Pop with So Wylie” and “Drowsy Piano,” Dreamscapes with nature field recordings, Guided Rest sessions with an ASMR whisperer, and more. An interesting inclusion in the Pillow Talk channel is “I’ll scroll 4 u,” where someone shares their recent social media discoveries while lulling you to sleep.
If you subscribe to Hatch +, your morning routine extends with Morning Moments. Following your gentle sunrise awakening you’ll get a sequence of brief motivational messages, or meditations, that you can select and arrange as you like. The morning routine I chose during my trial began with green lights, then guided breathing followed by some empowering messages to get me in the mood for the day ahead.
With a subscription, you gain full access to a continuously growing collection of guided meditations, relaxation exercises, and more. You also get access to features like sleep tracking, integration with smart home devices, and the ability to personalize your sleep soundscapes and morning routines.
So its a choice, and it is for you to decide whether investing in the membership is necessary for you. For me, I made my decision based on my principles so selected not to subscribe. I have friends who happily subscribed, love the membership and think its no big deal. My advice is with the Hatch Restore alarm clock having a $200 price tag, you might want to explore all the features the device offers before handing over your cash.
If however, like me, you are happy without all the fancy extras and only need the Hatch 2’s innovative Sunrise Alarm and basic sounds, you don’t need to subscribe. And for those fence sitters, you have time to decide as you’ll get a month free trial to Hatch+ when you purchase the device itself.
The Hatch Restore Review
The look of the Restore 2 is sleek and modern. The design was the feature that initially made me stop and take notice. It's like the love child of a WIFI speaker and an alarm clock.
Setting up the device is simple enough, and comes with step-by-step directions. It takes only a few minutes to connect to WiFi (or that's what it says in the manual when I read it... later... who reads them anyway)
The most notable benefits you’ll find in your Hatch Restore 2 are the multitude of sounds and colored noise, sleep and wake time routines, and the sunrise alarm features. And that's why we have scored the Hatch 9.5 out of 10. A cracking score for a great nights sleep!
Hatch Restore Review Gallery
Set Up – Hatch Review
Upon unboxing the Hatch Restore, I was greeted by the light, a cable, and a card offering me the link to an online user manual. For me, instructions and manuals are more suggestion than necessity. However, like many times before, I recommend you do read the manual. I hadn’t paid enough attention and for some reason (user error obviously) I was awakened by a dawn chorus of light, sound and what I can only describe as goblins cackling. And to top it off, at 3.45am. Only happened once, and once was enough.
So a very bleary eyed me made the time to read the manual and found it explains in good detail the volume controls, which sounds are correct for sleep, for waking and how to set the timer. Before we return to setting up in our Hatch Restore 2 Review – still to this day I have never been able to find the Goblins cackling sounds. If you do, please let me know.
The actual set up is easy but quite lengthy. And the time it takes is directly attributable to the speed and strength of your WIFI. If, like me, you have a rubbish WIFI connection you may experience the device loses connectivity and you have to repeat a few steps. The good news is that once connected it stays connected. So set up is a one time only deal. The steps are simple. Unbox, connect to WIFI, download app, read instructions and choose your sounds.
For the Restore 2 to be set up and operated, it must have continuous Wi-Fi connection. So if there is a Wi-Fi or power outage at home, the Restore 2 cannot be used. If this happened overnight, there is a risk of oversleeping. And this isn’t a fault of the Hatch, as any sound device would be affected.
Another point to be aware of is that the Restore 2 must be constantly plugged in as it requires an outlet connection, making it less convenient for travel. The power cord is also quite short, limiting where the device can be placed.
Night time Use
The Hatch Restore 2 is focused on helping you establish an evening and morning routine. The initial message in the app states this goal proudly: “In the upcoming two weeks, you will develop a sleep toolkit – that includes the habits, routines, signals, and information necessary for a good night’s sleep and feeling rested in the morning.”
I may have thought, “oh great an app that tells me when to go to bed” but the notion of bedtime routines is supported by the National Sleep Foundation who say we should all “Maintain a consistent sleep and wake-up time daily, even on weekends. Having a regular sleep schedule is crucial for your body.”
Programmed Rest Cycle
Night time is known as the Unwind feature, located within the Rest cycle, and acts as a complementary opposite to the Sunrise Alarm. Think of it as a kind of sundowner. I knew this would be my test, as i am notorious for going to bed in the wee hours, or getting busy with something and realizing midnight was long ago. I also don’t like my electronics telling me what to do. However in the spirit of testing and review I decided to give the Restore 2 unwind feature a try.
I selected my light settings and teamed that with the sound of crickets chirping in the soundscape “Nights Tranquility.” Within the application, you have the flexibility to personalize all of the evening routine. In fact you can add up to 10 distinct activities. These range from meditations and sleep stories to white noise and light colors, which can be enjoyed with or without accompanying audio, in any sequence you prefer.
Certain features, such as white noise and the reading light, can be set to automatically turn off after a set amount of time, or can continue until you press the top button. The duration of the meditations is pre-set by the recording, but you can skip all or part of it, as well as any other part of your routine, by tapping the top of the device. You can also modify the preset volume of the meditation and white noise, or adjust the brightness of the associated light, using the side buttons on the device itself.
Morning Routine
It only took one night for me to realize how a gentle waking experience can improve mornings. Especially as this was actually my second morning. I didn’t count the first night as that was the fault of the cackling Goblins.
I usually get up at 6:00 a.m. and until now its always been my Samsung shocking me awake with its horridly loud alarm. It was never a pleasant way to begin the day. In fact I am sure my body altered its rhythm so that I would wake up 10 mins before the alarm and be able to turn it off before it rang.
On other occasions I would wake to find I was late, having whacked the snooze function until it gave up and I kept on sleeping. My routine had become 5 to 6 days of waking up early so as not to have to hear the alarm, meaning a huge lack of sleep. This exhaustion then lead to me to oversleep only to start the same cycle again and again and again.
When I switched to using the Restore 2 alarm clock, those feelings of alarm stress disappeared. Now, I find it easier to sleep through the night because I know I am not going to be shocked awake. The gradual light, imitating sunrise, increases in the room over a few minutes and truly does wake you gently, even from the deepest of sleep.
Team that with some ambient sounds from nature, followed by your alarm clock telling you what joy you bring to the word and other inspirational power quotes and you have a recipe for morning success.
Summing Up Hatch Restore 2 Review.
To sum it all up, we need to consider the importance of sleep in our lives. And I think I can speak for all of us and say we agree that sleep is right up there on the important things to do list. So Hatch’s latest product, the Hatch Restore 2, is absolutely worth your attention.
This sleek device is stunning and has an elegant design. It is designed to help you both fall asleep and stay asleep. And then to wake you, but to do so gently. The standout feature for me is the innovative Sunrise Alarm, which gently wakes you up using a combination of light and sound, ensuring a gradual awakening experience.
However, while the Restore 2 is a glorious addition to your nightstand, it has a price tag of $200 and that may sound may steep for a kind alarm clock. You also need to remember that $200 doesn’t give you access to all the features, so if you want the soundscapes, meditations and guided stories you’ll need to pay an extra $5 every month or $50 annually.
Overall, and despite the cost, investing in the Restore 2 is well with it. The positive impact it has on your quality of sleep makes it a worthwhile purchase. And once you experience waking up with the Sunrise Alarm, you won’t ever be able to go back to your old alarm clock anyway. For me, its on the boundary of a device i need or a luxury I want. And hey, we all need a little luxury! And hey, who else is going to tell me every morning that I am a loving and loved being of light!
Hatch Review FAQs
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Is the hatch restore 2 alarm worth it?
Yes, the Hatch Restore 2 alarm is worth it. While pricier than most it has the features that others don’t and the proof that it works. The subscription however is optional and a feature i personally don’t recommend.
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What is the difference between Hatch 1 and 2?
Restore Hatch 2 comes in a choice of colors, has three speakers, compared to the original which had one. It has remastered sounds, 10 new sunrise alarms, new light and sound pairings for sunsets, 21 new sleep sounds, and a new “morning moment” option. So it is considerably different, and in a good way.
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Does Hatch Restore 2 require a subscription?
No, the subscription is optional. You are able to use the device for sleep, for staying asleep and for waking. The subscription gives you a much larger selection of sounds, music and light.
