The best sunrise alarm clocks have multiple brightness settings, sound options and go-to-sleep features.
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Not everyone is wired to get out of bed the second their alarm clock goes off in the morning, especially if you need to be up and at it before the crack of dawn. Fortunately, investing in a sunrise alarm clock — aka a light alarm clock — can make waking up a much sunnier experience.
“Light is the best cue for our sleep-wake rhythms. Morning bright light signals ‘wake’ and helps all our systems from head to toe get into wake mode,” Abhinav Singh, MD, medical director of the Indiana Sleep Center and a member of the medical review panel at SleepFoundation.org, tells LIVESTRONG.com.
In fact, light is what triggers the rise in cortisol, which is what summons our bodies to wake up, explains Lauri Leadley, a certified clinical sleep educator and founder of the Valley Sleep Center.
People who have trouble getting out of bed, night owls and even early birds who need a little nudge on dark mornings can benefit from using a sunlight alarm clock because they gradually build up the brightness of light, helping you ease into wake mode and setting your circadian rhythm.
At the same time, these wake-up light alarm clocks often have sleep-promoting features that allow you to read at your bedside in the evenings with soft lighting and snooze with white noise to help block outside sounds that may keep you up at night.
“Seeing bright light in the morning and keeping it dark in the evening helps our bodies prepare for sleep. Dim light for reading also helps anchor the mind and allows it to settle and facilitate the initiation of sleep,” Dr. Singh says.
Here are the best sunrise alarm clocks to help you detangle from your sheets and avoid hitting the snooze button.
We tapped sleep specialists to explain what features a sunrise alarm clock should have and chose the following products based on their criteria:
- Various brightness settings
- Multiple sound options
- Features that help with sleep
Warning
Although they look similar, sunrise alarm clocks aren’t the same thing as seasonal affective disorder (SAD) lamps, which are used to treat a type of depression related to the change in seasons. Sunrise alarm clocks help more with training our circadian rhythms, while SAD lamps are geared for changing mood, Dr. Singh says. If you have SAD, talk to your doctor about light therapy.
1. Best Overall: Hatch Restore
This light alarm clock is perfect for the morning grouch (no judgments) who needs a gentle a.m. wake-up routine. It mimics the natural sunrise, which helps you smoothly transition out of sleep.
“It’s better on your body if [the light] is a slow progression. That’s why the sun takes a while to rise and takes a while to set. So if that artificial light can mimic the sun, then that’s really beneficial to the brain and the overall body and hormone level,” Leadley says.
But it’s not just great for waking up. Hatch’s clock also allows you to create a bedtime routine and wind down with relaxing meditations, breathing exercises and yoga flows, which comes …….
Source: https://www.livestrong.com/article/13769451-best-sunrise-alarm-clock/