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A blaring alarm may be effective, but it's not a calm start to the day. For a more peaceful morning routine, consider one of the best sunrise alarm clocks. As the name implies, these devices wake you with gradually brightening light that simulates a sunrise. Some also use sound (think flowing streams, chirping birds, and lo-fi beats) to stir you to reality. So, if you find it hard to get out of bed -- especially in the winter months when sunlight levels are low -- these sunrise alarm clocks can make it a bit easier to get up.
When you're shopping for a sunrise alarm clock, there are a few elements to pay attention to. "Look for features like adjustable brightness, customizable light colors, and sounds to complement the light," suggests Shelby Harris, PsyD, a licensed clinical psychologist specializing in behavioral sleep medicine. "Some even double as sleep aids [providing white noise or guided sleep meditations], which is a nice bonus if you struggle to fall asleep." Without further ado, let's dive into the smart clocks that make our lives just a bit easier (and calmer).
Why it's worth it: The Philips SmartSleep Wake-Up Light is equipped with a ton of features that make it easy to personalize your a.m. and p.m. routines. It has 20 brightness settings, five natural wake-up sounds, and an automatic dimmable display. During the wake-up process, the light gradually goes from red to orange to yellow over 20 to 40 minutes, depending on how long you set it for. It also has a sunset feature that displays the same color transition in reverse, making it easy to wind down before bed. You can set two alarm profiles -- one for weekdays and one for weekends, or separate alarms for you and your partner if you wake up at different times. Another feature many reviewers appreciate is the light stays on even if you snooze or turn off the alarm, so you have some ambient light as you're getting ready. (You can always manually turn off the light if you prefer a dark room.)
Brightness settings: 20 | Sounds: 5 | Sunrise starts: 20 to 40 minutes before alarm goes off
Why it's worth it: The Hatch Restore 2 is a sunrise alarm clock, but it's a lot more than that. It's also a sound machine that helps you fall and stay asleep, a sunset light that helps you wind down, and a gentle bedside lamp. You can program your morning and night routines with specific light colors, brightness levels, and sounds. During your sleeping hours, you can set your device to play white noise, pink noise, brown noise, or other nature sounds. Once you have your go-to settings programmed via the Hatch app, everything is controlled with a simple two-button interface on the device itself. With the Hatch+ membership, you can access even more audio content, like meditations, sleep stories, soundscapes, and more. (That said, you don't need the subscription to access all the Hatch Restore 2's standard features.)