The Hourglass Has No More Grains of Sand

The Germans have invented a digital hourglass. But why?

The hourglass is set by holding it in both hands and tilting it in a up to 45° angle. One hour of sleep is represented by one LED (which, at night, makes it possible to either read or estimate the time left to stay in bed). Once it stands on a surface in a 90° (or 270°) angle, it is activated. It also has a 5 minute snooze function, which is activated by simply turning it upside down once the alarm goes off. To turn off the hourglass, it has to be put down horizontally - it rolls onto its display then (because of the batteries’ position) and goes into stand-by.

As I understand it (and I don't), the goal is to focus on the total amount of sleep you get, and not on what time you wake up (although I would think the two would be inextricably related). Still, I think I'd be too obsessed with figuring out how the hourglass worked to get any sleep.