Being jerked from your slumber by the startling sound of a phone alarm is just a terrible way to start the day, one that often leaves you feeling more tired than when you went to bed. And yet most of us put ourselves through this ordeal every day, despite the fact there is a better way – a wake-up light.
Rather than announcing the morning’s arrival with shrill beeps, these alarm clocks simulate the sunrise to gradually bring you out of sleep so you wake up feeling refreshed. The natural style of light used can also help combat the effects of Seasonal Affective Disorder. Illumination is not all wake-up lights provide, either – many of them also offer some kind of gentle sound to help you fall asleep and wake up, as well as other functions like DAB radio or a Bluetooth speaker.
For a better way to wake up, check out this round-up of the best sunrise-simulating alarm clocks.
There are eight different wake-up lights in Lumie’s Bodyclock range, of which the Starter 30 is the most basic. The Starter 30 will wake you up over the course of 30 minutes with a light that gets gradually brighter (with a back-up alarm beep just in case), and it will also do the opposite in the evening, with a 30-minute sunset feature where the light gets gradually dimmer. There are Lumie lights with a lot more bells and whistles, and we’ll come on to the top dog of Lumie’s range later, but the Starter 30 is a great entry-level light.
You’re just itching to know what the four functions are, aren’t you? Well one is a wake-up light, obviously, with sunrise and sunset settings. The second is a Bluetooth speaker and radio, and the third is a reading lamp. The fourth, somewhat excitingly, is a mood a lamp with 256 different possible colour settings. Do you have 256 different moods? It will be fun finding out.
If you’re looking for a bargain look no further than the Hangsun SL460. The light wakes you up over 30 minutes, with the sunrise accompanied by your choice of four different sounds – birds, rainforest, a flowing stream or classic bells. We’re not sure what classic bells sound like, but unless it’s just TalkSport’s morning show we reckon it will be an excellent way to wake up. There is also a sunset setting and a mighty range of colours to use for mood lighting.
We promised we’d come back to Lumie’s top option earlier and here it is: two hundred quid’s- worth of premium wake-up light. Alongside the light settings, which include sunrises and sunsets that can last from 15 to 90 minutes, there’s a DAB radio and Bluetooth speaker. The Luxe 750D will also play one of 20 different wake-up and fall-asleep sounds, and it has a low blue-light setting to use in the evenings.
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This is one of the more stylish wake-up lights available, which is important because nothing ruins being gently coaxed from your slumber like being startled by a horrifically ugly bedside lamp. The HF3520/01 (rolls off the tongue, that) has five wake-up sounds, an FM radio and a 30-minute natural sunrise simulation. And if you decide five sounds isn’t the right amount for you there are versions with two or seven wake-up sounds.
