But for those who are not morning people, a sunrise alarm clock can be pretty good at helping them wake up easier. Of course, these devices aren’t a replacement for how refreshed you might feel after 7 to 8 hours of quality sleep. “The impact can predispose the body to wake up as if it were receiving direct access to light,” says Girardin Jean-Louis, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and neurology at the University of Miami. Waking up with light, albeit artificial light, isn’t just helpful for people seeking a more pleasant way to start the day-it’s also great for those struggling with time changes (hello, daylight saving time!), jet lag, and shift work. Another provided no information, even when we reached out to customer service. One clock in this round of testing emits 500 lux from about a foot away, according to the manufacturer. The cheaper clock options fell below that. The maximum brightness intensity of two of the devices we tested landed around the 300-lux range (measured from a distance that roughly approximates what’s between a sleeper’s eyes and the nightstand where the clock would presumably sit). While we didn’t measure the brightness of the light intensity in this round of testing, we found that a manufacturer’s advertised intensity can vary from clock to clock. How bright should sunlight alarm clocks be? Generally speaking, to effectively wake you up, a light should fill your room. The higher-end sunrise alarm clocks tend to emit light with colors resembling a natural dawn, incorporating more nuanced shades of yellow, orange, and red to wake you up. Often called wake-up lights, these devices gradually brighten over the course of a designated window of time (typically 10 minutes to up two hours), before reaching its highest level of brightness at your desired wake-up time. With this in mind, a growing number of brands are selling sunrise alarm clocks, and we set up a test to explore whether a selection of popular models are worth your money-including the Philips SmartSleep Wake-Up Light, the Lumie Bodyclock Glow 150, the JALL Wake Up Light, and more. And depending on the time of year, relying on the sun might mean you’ll wake up earlier or later than you want to. You can, of course, leave your shades up and wake up with the sun (though not everyone has sufficient light streaming into their bedroom). Sunshine triggers your circadian rhythm to start off on the right foot, and syncs your brain to a 24-hour cycle-one in which you feel alert and energized to start your day in the morning, and ready to wind down by bedtime. That’s why sleep doctors suggest that if you feel sleepy at wake-up time, you should pull up your shades, or even better, get outside and reap the benefits of daylight. “The type of light and the amount of lux can stimulate the retina of the eye and give signals to the body that it is time to wake up or go to sleep.”īright light signals the brain that it’s time to wake, even when your eyes are closed dim or no light has the opposite effect. “Light is responsible for regulating our sleep-wake cycles,” explains Nilong Vyas, MD, owner of Sleepless in NOLA, a sleep consultancy in New Orleans, and a medical review expert at. Many give you the option of replacing the jarring sounds of a typical alarm clock with pleasant nature sounds, such as chirping birds, wind chimes, or even glorious silence. Sunrise alarm clocks emit light at your designated time, waking you up like the sun rising. Whether you struggle to get a good night’s sleep or are simply not a morning person, a sunrise alarm clock may be your new best friend.

Best alarm clock