The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission. Why trust us?
From affordable finds to tech-heavy devices, we’ve tried and tested the best light-up gadgets
Dark mornings make it difficult to get out of bed each day. To make your morning routine a little easier, we’d recommend opting for the best sunrise alarm clocks. They light up slowly, mimicking a sunrise, so your body can wake up naturally and start producing the mood-improving hormone serotonin rather than the sleep hormone, melatonin. So as well as easing you into the day, you should wake in a better mood and have more energy.
Light-up alarm clocks have other benefits too. It’s thought around two million people in the UK suffer from SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and waking up to a simulated sunrise rather than a dark morning can make it easier to face the day ahead. Some of the clocks we tested can even be used at other times to provide an ongoing boost when it’s gloomy outside.
The clever clocks are also better for our health overall. Research by the National Institute of Industrial Health shows that being woken suddenly contributes to a higher blood pressure and heart rate compared to those who wake up in their own time, as a sunrise alarm clock will allow you to do each morning.
The sunrise function works similarly in all the clocks we tested, so it’s worth looking at extra features before deciding which one is the best suited to your needs. Some also mimic the sunset which can be useful if you struggle to sleep at night, while others have a radio or audible alarm which might suit those who are particularly heavy sleepers. All will wake you slowly and calmly on even the darkest day so you won’t need to dread winter mornings any longer.
We ditched our usual alarm clock and tested each one of these in turn next to our bed over a month-long period. For each, we judged how easy it was to set up and programme, if there were any other useful functions and if it really did wake us gently from a deep sleep. All were tested on dark winter mornings when we were finding it particularly difficult to drag ourselves out of bed. We also considered how good (or otherwise) the clock or light looked on our bedside table and if we’d happily keep it there long-term.
To ascertain the effectiveness of sunrise alarm clocks, we consulted Dr Maja Schaedel, co-founder of The Good Sleep Clinic. Schaedel notes that they are a “really nice way to wake up” because “our circadian rhythms, our internal body clocks, depend on daylight to understand what is daytime and nighttime. During the early hours of evening when the sunlight fades, our bodies start to release a hormone called melatonin which signals to the body that it is time to sleep. The level of melatonin continues to increase throughout the night until it starts to tail off in the latter half of the night. When the sunrises in the morning, melatonin is inhibited and our circadian rhythm tells us that it is daytime. This makes waking up generally easier.”
“Sunrise clocks usually enable waking over a longer period of time,” notes Schaedel, “rather than the sound alarm clocks which tend to wake you up within a few seconds. Sometimes people prefer to maximise their time asleep and then be woken up quickly rather than stretching out the waking up period over 10 to 15 minutes as you might with sunrise alarm clocks.”
“If you are a ‘night owl’ and you tend to find it hard to wake up in the mornings, you might find the sunrise alarm clocks don’t quite cut it,” but she recommends experimenting with one. “I have found some patients like using the sunrise clocks at the weekend when they are keen to have a more relaxed waking up experience but still want to get up at a good time and not spend the whole morning sleeping,” she adds.
Sunrise alarm clocks help to ease you into the day, by mimicking the sunrise, triggering your body to suppress melatonin and to produce serotonin, so you start the day feeling less groggy. This gentle waking process could lead to you being in a better mood and having greater levels of energy. Being woken with bright light in the morning can also help reset our circadian rhythm, which in turn can improve the quality of our sleep – which plays a role in our overall health.
In terms of further health benefits, research has shown that sudden waking can contribute to higher blood pressure and heart rate compared with those who wake up in their own time. Wake-up alarm clocks also boast mood-boosting benefits that people dealing with SAD may benefit from during the drearier months of the year.
The best sunrise alarm clock for you will depend on how many functions you need. But through months of testing, we found the Beurer WL50 wake up to daylight table lamp to be a very impressive model. For the best affordable sunrise alarm clock, the Suright wake up light sunrise alarm clock performed well.
All of these clocks will wake you up with a light each morning, so you won’t go far wrong with any of them. However, the Beurer WL50 wake up to daylight table lamp is our best buy, thanks to its useful sunset mode, dual alarm and the fact it can be used as a Bluetooth speaker. If you can do without extra help getting to sleep, the Philips wake up light is the easiest clock to use, while we loved the DAB+ radio and USB port on the Lumie bodyclock luxe 750DAB.
We’ve also rounded up the best SAD lamps that will help keep those winter blues at bay