The 4 best sunrise alarm clocks of 2022

Waking up before the sun rises can feel impossible when you’re crawling out of bed in the early morning darkness. With the invention of the sunrise alarm clock, also known as a light therapy alarm clock, you don’t have to turn on a bedroom light at 4am and feel blinded any longer. A sunrise alarm clock simulates the sun’s rise and rays, making it so that, rather than waking up in the darkness to a blaring alarm beep, you wake up to a light level of your choosing and a gentle alarm sound.

These days, sunrise alarm clocks come with much more than just a light bulb and a gentle alarm tone. Some of them can offer features like meditation and breathing exercises to help calm you down before bed and even rainbow lights.

Whether you’re looking for a no-frills sunrise alarm clock or one that can help you calm down before bed with voiceover narratives, you’ll be able to get one that will wake you feeling refreshed and ready to tackle your work day long before the sun rises. Below are our picks for the best sunrise alarm clocks.

Features: Light-guided breathing | Sunset simulation | Smart touch display

The Philips SmartSleep Sleep and Wake Up sunrise lamp ticks all our boxes for a great sunrise alarm. It can simulate both a sunrise for the morning wakeup and a sunset to help get you to sleep at night. You’ll be able to choose from nature sounds to ambient gongs to even your favorite radio station when the alarm gently rings, and you can customize the brightness and noise level of the alarm up to 20 different levels each.

Aside from a nice, modern design, the lamp comes with a handy soft, adjustable, one-touch adjustable light for getting up to go to the bathroom or check on kids. The touch screen display also uses easy-to-navigate buttons to quickly set an alarm before bed or start that breathing cycle just before bedtime.

On a personal note, I’ve used this sunrise wake-up lamp for a few years now and feel it helps me rise out of bed much faster. It’s a much more relaxed way to wake up, and I really enjoy how the alarm is a gentle bell gong when the light doesn’t wake me up or how it can handle two alarms when my partner needs to wake up at a different time in the morning.

Pros:

• True sunset simulation
• Easy display navigation
• Gradual alarm audio increase

Cons:

• No accompanying app with this model
• Large and bulky on a nightstand
• Cannot stream own content for an alarm

Features: Adjustable sunrise simulation time | Multiple color smart light bulb

This no-frills, sleek alarm clock from JALL can wake you up with the sunrise simulation as early as 10 minutes or as long as a 30-minute brightening. It can be programmed for two different alarms, and you can snooze it up to five times at nine minutes per snooze, so you can catch a few extra minutes of serenity before you start your day.

The alarm comes packed with multiple smart light colors and seven different audio sounds, including wind bells, piano, and more, with up to 16 different noise levels. It can play FM radio if you’d prefer to wake up to a station like NPR. If you’re someone that prefers complete darkness at bedtime, you can also turn off the display, so it’s dark while you sleep.

Pros:

• Multiple audio colors
• Budget-friendly
• Adjustable sunrise simulation time

Cons:

• Three brightness settings
• Manual alarm settings only

For those that want an alarm clock without a subscription, the Philips SmartSleep Sleep and Wake Up sunrise Lamp is our top choice. It provides gentle wakeup, adjustable light and noise settings, and comes with a reading light, breathing exercises, and a sunset simulation. It’s also at a very affordable price point considering the features that it comes with sans app.

You’re going to want to consider a few factors. Firstly, you’ll need to decide whether you want one that comes with all the bells and whistles, like a smart app that can create schedules for winding down and waking up. Or, if you would prefer one that, you tap a couple of buttons on an easy-to-read interface for ease of use. 

Additionally, you’ll need to decide what kind of sunrise clock you want. Most come with a 30-minute wakeup sunlight simulator, while a few can be adjusted to as little as 10 minutes. If you prefer a different color other than the traditional yellow LED smart bulb, you’ll have to make sure that the alarm clock you choose offers different colors.

A sunrise alarm clock is a device that wakes you up more gently than a traditional alarm clock by using a sunrise simulator coupled with a light, calming alarm audio. They can help you wake up gently and help you get out of bed faster in the morning. Some sunrise alarm clocks even offer features that help you relax for bedtime, promising to help you get to sleep with breathing and meditation exercises.

If you struggle to get out of bed in the morning, or if you wake up long before the sun rises, a sunrise alarm clock can be a beneficial start to your day. If you would like to create a more routine bedtime, you can use extra features on them to help you relax for bedtime, making this clock a worthy purchase.

We chose these alarm clocks by reviewing clock features and specs, including functionality, ease of use, and customer reviews. Anything that has less than a 4.5-star rating was not included in this roundup, and some of the recommendations come from ZDNet tech experts with personal experience using these clocks.

Whether you want one with smart app features or just want something a little less Wi-Fi enabled, there are plenty of sunrise alarm clocks to choose from. Here are some more recommendations to consider:

Article source: https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/smart-home/best-sunrise-alarm-clock/#ftag=RSSbaffb68