Nov 24, 2008 11:16 pm US/Eastern
Consumer Watch: 'Wake Up On Time' Pill
CBS 2 HD Puts Product To Test -- With Surprising Results
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
There are dozens of medications to help you fall asleep at night. But now a new pill promises to wake you up in the morning on time and feeling energized.
CBS 2 HD put it to the test at a New York City sleep clinic to find out if it's a remedy or a rip off.
No one likes to get up when the alarm goes off, but this new pill could solve the problem. It's called "Wake up on Time."
"There's been a lot of focus put on getting people to sleep, but there hasn't been anything to help people wake up," pill inventor Cathy Beggen said.
Take two pills when you're ready to go to bed, and Beggen says seven to eight hours later, the time release formula rouses you with a blend of vitamins and herbal supplements to wake you up, ready to greet the world.
"There is a very high dosage of B vitamins and guarana seed extract which is a natural form of caffeine," Beggen said.
Outside Duane Reade, where the product is now sold, people said the herbal supplement sounds like a dream come true.
"That's great, I could use that," one person said.
"Sometimes I don't want to get out of the bed," said Jackie Paul of Jamaica. "I just want to be able to rest for a little longer."
We put it to the test, sending CBS 2 HD's hard-to-wake producer Mary McGeever for a one-night study at the Beth Israel Medical Center's Sleep Clinic.
"I can never wake up," Mary said.
But after taking the pills?
Dr. Vicky Seelall, director of the clinic and specialist in sleep disorders, assessed the pills' ingredients.
"This medication has a substance in it by the name of guarana, which is about five times as strong as caffeine, so it would be interesting to see if that would wake you up," Seelall said.
It has worked in studies on mice, but no clinical or safety trials have been done on this supplement in people. Beggen said the proof is in her clients.
"I have thousands and thousands of happy customers," she said.
And what about our producer, wired for the night to monitor every aspect of her sleep?
"It was the weirdest thing, I just woke up," Mary said.
Our sleep expert showed how our producer's brain started to wake up seven hours later. But despite the results, Dr. Seelall said pills are no substitute for just getting a good night's sleep.
"There might be a crash affect a couple hours later," Dr. Seelall said.
The Food and Drug Administration does not regulate herbal supplements like the Wake Up on Time Pill, so consumers are on their own.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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