“The key thing that these alarm clocks try to mimic is direct sunlight exposure,” said Rebecca Robbins, an associate scientist at Brigham and Women's Hospital and instructor at Harvard Medical School. If your handy smartphone provides a certain function, it can be a hard sell to invest in a separate product that serves the same purpose and takes up more space.īut if you’re a troubled sleeper or find it difficult to rise and shine, especially before sunrise, a light or sunrise alarm clock may be well worth the buy. These days, we tend to use our phones for everything, which can be hugely convenient. Thankfully, there is now a gentler solution: a sunrise alarm clock.

Is there a sound that makes you shudder because it reminds you of being jolted out of a deep sleep on countless cold, dark mornings? I have two: the infamous grating beep of OG alarm clocks and that first-ever default iPhone alarm sound that berated me into waking up for 9 a.m. Oh, and FYI - prices are accurate and items in stock as of the time of publication. Just so you know, BuzzFeed may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page if you decide to shop from them. If you don't find one, don't worry, we've got also got a list of the best regular alarm clocks that can help.Disclaimer: These items were independently selected by staff and, except where noted, they spent their own money on it. Then you'll get an idea of the light has the right intensity for you and if the clock fits all of your needs. Look through our list, choose your favorite, and if you can, test out the light at a store near you, says Dr. If you're looking try one out, though, we've combed through reviews of some of the best products available to help make your shopping easier. In situations like those, sunrise alarm clocks would not be very useful. Conditions like cataracts can also impair your eye's reactivity to light, she adds. For example, if your head often ends up buried under the covers in the a.m., or you like to punch on the snooze button all morning, the light would have no effect. So these clocks can come in handy to sync your sleep/wake patterns with the cycle of the sun, attune your body to a different time zone or daylight savings, as well as help make waking at least a bit more pleasurable.īut they may not work for everyone, says Dr. The brain then suppresses melatonin - the sleep inducing hormone - and bumps up the release of cortisol and neurotransmitters such as serotonin, norepinephrine, and histamine to stir you awake. When the light is bright enough, it can stimulate the sensors at the back of your eye to tell your brain it's time to get up, according to Yuen. They contain a light that mimics sunlight as it gradually increases in intensity until your desired wake up time. Unlike your classic alarms, these clocks are designed to help you wake up more naturally to your biological rhythm. So instead of adding to that stress with loud, triggering bells and ringtones, some people are choosing to wake up with sunrise alarm clocks - a.k.a. 'Cortisol, a stress induced hormone, helps with that process.' But when we start to open our eyes, 'the brain has to adapt by speeding up our heart rate and constricting blood vessels ,' says Dr. When we are asleep, our blood pressure is lower, which is normal when we are lying down for hours sleeping. Kin Yuen, M.D., M.S., a sleep medicine specialist at the University of California San Francisco.

Or perhaps you get up feeling groggy from a rude awakening.Įven for the graceful morning people among us, getting out of bed is pretty intense on the body, according to Dr. When you're all warm and cozy in the sheets and that clock goes off, jolting you out of sweet slumber, it's only natural to want to smash that snooze button and go back to sleep. Waking up can be a stressful experience, especially when you're getting up to the sound of a blaring alarm.

Philips smart sleep sunrise alarm clock