The best Alarm Clocks: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

The following content includes affiliate links for which I may make a small commission at no extra cost to you should you make a purchase.

It's a pretty well documented thing that people have an easier time waking up with light. Something you might find interesting is that there are actually alarm clocks built with this in mind.

This is the one I have heard people speak positively about, it might be worth looking into.

A sunrise alarm clock really helped me, especially in winter. (I still have a back-up alarm on my phone though.) It's a light that gradually gets brighter over the course of a half-hour and then it sounds an audible alarm at the end. The light's enough to get me awake enough to realize that my alarm is going off.

If you can’t wake up in the mornings, blackout blinds must be complemented by a light-based alarm.

Our circadian rhythms are timed so that we don’t start waking up until after sunrise. If your room is pitch black, your body will never know that the sun has risen. If you find yourself sleeping late no matter what, you need to get light into your bedroom in the morning. Buy a light-based alarm (this one seems to be popular) to rectify this problem.

Wake Up Light Sunrise Alarm Clock for Kids, Heavy Sleepers, Bedroom, with Sunrise Simulation, Sleep Aid, Dual Alarms, FM Radio, Snooze, Nightlight, Daylight, 7 Colors, 7 Natural Sounds, Ideal for Gift https://www.amazon.com/dp/B081CHLF46/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_KEKBCFKZNMPM95N7SRXF

One of these. Slowly amps up the light until you realize you're awake. As opposed to "EH EH EH EH EH" and cursing the world. There are cheaper ones from other companies, different models that do bird sounds too, etc.

As a heavy sleeper I sympathize. I am essentially not conscious when making the decision to hit the snooze button.

Maybe try one of those bright daylight alarms and see if it can wake you up as the first alarm?

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-sunrise-alarm-clock/

There are also alarms that have an attachment that shakes your bed to wake you up, but I find those can be worse, since beds usually sit on floors, and are made of conductive materials. YMMV

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OOWZUK

Buy one of these.

Philips Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock with Colored Sunrise Simulation and Sunset Fading Night Light, with 3 Months Free Headspace Subscription, White (HF3520) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0093162RM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_iep1Bb1KEMFS8

You are welcome.

This will make it much easier to become a morning person.

Also, in addition to alarms set on this, i have alarms set on my iPhone AND my ipad which charges in my EDC bag at the foot of the bed. When my iPad goes off, I’m forced to get out of bed to silence it.

You could also just keep your phone on the other side of the room, which would prevent you staying on it too long (or at all) at night before bed, and forcing you to get out of bed to grab it when it goes off.

Good luck!

Solution: Get a deaf alarm!

I have the same problem as your fiancée and when I used my phone alarm, it made my roommate go nuts. I use a deaf alarm now and it has improved the situation a lot!

A deaf alarm is basically an alarm clock has a vibrating pod connected to it. You put the pod under your pillow or mattress (depending on how strong you want to feel the vibration under your head). It makes some noise but negligible compared to a normal alarm and it will wake you up in an instant.

The one I use is called Sonic Boom. They have different varieties in case you find the look tacky. You can set the clock such that it only uses the vibrating pod and doesn’t make any alarm sounds.

Your problem seems to be common and has a pretty good technical solution that involves little compromise from both parties. You should def check out the deaf alarm clock. It’s only called that because deaf people can’t use noise/sounds to wake them up.

Good luck!

Sonic Bomb Dual Extra Loud Alarm Clock with Bed Shaker, Black | Sonic Alert Vibrating Alarm Clock Heavy Sleepers, Battery Backup | Wake with a Shake https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OOWZUK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_C13RFX125V20TFYBE3GC?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

You might need this.

The first step is you have to go to bed earlier. If you want to wake up 30 min earlier then you have to go to bed 30 min earlier. You still need sleep, so you have to make sure you have time to get it.

Recently I started using an alarm light that simulates sunrise and it has been making waking up even easier. I've been a morning person for ages, but this is a much more pleasant way to get up. It starts slowly increasing the light level in the room before I need to wake up and then starts playing some gentle noises (I use the ocean waves with birds one). There are lots of different types but I've got this one from amazon.

Once I'm up out of bed, I have a very established routine to get my morning rolling so I don't have to think about things too much. I get up and go to the bathroom and then I take my dog on a walk around the block. During that time, I'm checking my phone, start listening to a podcast to start the day, and it gets me moving. Once home, I go through my morning chores (feed/water the dog, brush my teeth, make my morning drink (winter it's hot coffee, recently it's iced coffee), get dressed in my gym clothes), then I head off to the gym. Right now I'm working from home, so I have to pack less stuff. In the before times I'd also pack up my bag with breakfast, lunch, and work clothes. To simplify that, I tended to eat similar things everyday so it was very easy to grab all my stuff.

I love mine. Its far less jarring to wake up to, the light being on helps me not fall back asleep and get out of bed. I used to use just a lamp on a timer as others have suggested, and it did work, but the lamp turns on suddenly and would occasionally wake me up early. The gradual increase in light only woke me up early right at the beginning. Now I wake up when the alarm sounds (which is a gentle bird chirping, very peaceful) and feel pretty good.

link

What time do you go to bed? I've been doing 5ams/ others before OTF since 2015. I make sure I'm in bed with everything prepared by 8 to 830pm. My alarm goes off at 4:10 am I am allowed one snooze. Clothes are laid out and it's a no brainer. Some people can't do a snooze but I heard there is an alarm clock that will roll off your night stand on to the floor so you have to get up. Don't know if you need something that extreme?

https://www.amazon.com/Clocky-Rolling-Sleeper-Bed-Room-Run-away/dp/B004MSMUGI

In the beginning I would track on excel or on notes on my phone how many days/classes I would go to and reward myself with something I wanted after a month. Now my friends and I share our apple activity on our watches and that is a good motivator to be ahead of them before they even wake up. There are also apple watch group challenges each month. Ultimately it is all up to you to motivate yourself.

Also give yourself some grace. Sometimes with a stressful week/day, a day off and extra sleep is essential so make that decision before you go to bed.

Set a one month goal and put it on your bathroom mirror where you can see it everyday as a constant reminder before bed and when you wake up. Remember YOU GOT THIS!!

Yep! There's a solution for you.

Sonic Alert SBB500SS Sonic Bomb Extra-Loud Dual Alarm Clock with Red Flashing Alert Lights and a Powerful Bed Shaker https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OOWZUK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_3MrWDbPX5EYGT

This is a bed shaker, it slides under your mattress and it will wake you up. It also has a really loud alarm and flashing lights, but I've always just used the shaker.

I'll sleep 12+ hours straight and still sleep through my alarm clock. I'm in my 30s now and I thought I'd grow out of it but it still happens. I've been to multiple doctors to check for sleep apnea. I slept through a fire alarm at college. I have this Sonic Bomb alarm clock that is really fucking loud, as well as a strobe light hooked up to an outlet timer.

It sucks and it's embarrassing when I lived with a roommate, so I just skipped all my morning classes in college so that I wouldn't wake up my roommate every morning. I know I'm not just being lazy, but I guess you just know better than me though.

Maybe the sunrise alarm would work for you. There are tons of them but I bought one like this for a friend and she loves it. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074NB5TNW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabt1_2y-SFbWV94YQ7

If you have stimulants, setting an alarm to take your meds about an hour before you wake up can help a lot.

Similarly, recently someone recommended keeping a piece of fruit or something else breakfast-y on your nightstand, and start eating it as soon as your alarm goes off. I've found it to be pretty helpful. (I also leave tea or coffee. No, I don't mind cold tea or coffee, but I tend to make them pretty sweet.)

It's an investment, but I use a wake up light and it's done wonders for my sleep schedule. For 40 minutes before your alarm, it has a very strong light which gradually brightens the room, which makes you wake up far more gradually. This is the one that I have - it's amazingly well reviewed, but fairly expensive. There's a $50 one from Phillips, and some off brands which are even cheaper. (Make sure you do some research into the cheaper ones - if the light isn't bright enough at its peak, or if it's not gradual enough, it won't be very effective.)

What I've learned is to not wait for motivation to come, but to do things and the motivation will follow. "An object at rest stays at rest" kind of thing. Make sure you've got consistent bed and wake times.

Also, a dawn simulator is essential for me in the winter (it slowly increases light half an hour before your alarm time): https://www.amazon.com/Philips-Wake-Up-Simulation-HF3500-60/dp/B00F0W1RIW/

Yes, but the tradeoff is not being able to use a normal alarm clock, so instead we... Or at least I use a special one that has a vibrating thing you put under the mattress. Similar to this. https://www.amazon.com/Sonic-Alert-SBB500SS-Alarm-Shaker/dp/B000OOWZUK.

https://smile.amazon.com/Sonic-Alert-SBB500SS-Extra-Loud-Flashing/dp/B000OOWZUK/

It's the only thing that woke my teenage son up. Fair warning though, it's ridiculously loud and will wake up everyone else in the house too.

Philips Wake-up Light with Sunrise Simulation alarm clock, White HF3500/60 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F0W1RIW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_CGWIAbPJ400JF

This is the one I have, searching "light alarm clock" on amazon will give you cheaper options that probably work just as well.

Yeah no problem, it's this one here

Unfortunately it's a bit of an investment as you can see! Basically it fills your bedroom with 'natural' light gradually (over 20 mins or so), to simulate waking up to a sunrise. And then it can do the same at night time, where it'll fade out to help you sleep to a sunset.

And it's got birdsong, radio, gentle tunes etc to wake you up. I'd recommend it, but it works best when you sleep in a dark room, not sure how effective it would be in a room like this with those blinds, but I could be wrong. Also it works as a bedside lamp too, with levels of brightness if you need that.

Product Reviews, Winter Edition:

• Phillips Wake-Up Light. Actual game-changer. I am a morning person, but when the dark-until-7:30am mornings drag on, I struggle. This has really changed how my wakeups feel.

• Uniqlo Jeans. Stretchy, supportive fabric. Normal human person washes. 33 inch inseam! $60 in Canada, which is about as much as I feel like spending on jeans that my beleaguered thighs will just burn through in a few months.

• Figuring out my skin routine which, for me, looks like this: CeraVe cleanser, Paula's Choice AHA/BHA exfoliant, The Ordinary HA+B5, Paula's Choice Ultralight SPF Hydrating fluid. My giant pores are less obvious and my skin looks radiant and healthy. I also drink a shit-ton of water which probably helps?

OP, you should consider getting a sunlight alarm clock! I'm sure it'd help your body adjust to waking up, given that you have the blackout curtains, plus it'd make sure you don't have to worry about your phone running out of battery overnight. I have this one.

I use this which shakes my bed frame. It also scares my dog who becomes the second stage of my alarm process.

Some other Deaf use lights, some use sound if they can hear certain pitches well enough to wake up.

Clocky Alarm Clock on Wheels (Original) | Extra Loud for Heavy Sleeper (Adult or Kid Bed-Room Robot Clockie) Funny, Rolling, Run-Away, Moving, Jumping (Blue) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000TAS9XQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_G418216EVDF7S1GZPESP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

I misspoke, it's actually Sonic Bomb

https://www.amazon.com/Sonic-Alert-SBB500SS-Extra-Loud-Flashing/dp/B000OOWZUK?ref_=d6k_applink_bb_dls_failed

Edit: apparently you can also turn off the sound on it in case you live in an apartment and don't wanna piss off your neighbors

I have a fairly significant hearing loss and depend on hearing aids. Regular alarm clocks haven't worked for me for decades. I use this (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000OOWZUK/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_HInGCbS07FZC8 ) and it is awesome. You slip the hockey puck (The Rumbler) under your side of the mattress and the powerful vibrations really resonate through the mattress. Wakes me up easily. I leave the beep beep on silent and only use the rumbler.

But yes completely agree with you, my Watch has been a game changer for an on-body alarm.

Oops sorry for the late reply. I went in on it and bought the more expensive, but not the most expensive model. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0093162RM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_7QvOBbZDSNWFZ)]

It was about $100 when I bought it, seems to be so now as well. I think the main difference in the prices is how bright they get

Thanks man, here ya go Digital Alarm Clock, with Wooden Electronic LED Time Display, 3 Alarm Settings, Humidity & Temperature Detect, Wood Made Electric Clocks for Bedroom, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RKTVQDR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_yvDUEX7OOwCDv

here ya go :) <strong>https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RKTVQDR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1</strong>