Top 8 Best Wake Up Light Alarm Clocks: for a jolt and shock-free gentle wake up

Samuel J Tan Bedroom, Clocks, Fitness, Sports & Leisure, Health & Personal Care, Home & Kitchen 0

To be effective during the day, a restful sleep is a must. A proper sleeping schedule will help with this. In the same vein, waking up slowly to the sunrise means feeling better and more comfortable in the morning. Use one of these best wake up light alarm clocks to do the job. It will imitate the slow rising sun for a natural way to start your day.

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Next Generation Wake-Up Alarm Clocks

Conventional alarm clocks give you the jolt, causing you to jump up from your slumber. What if there is a better, more subtle way that does not involve a scare or loud ringing noises. Here, in this post we explore five of the best next generation wake-up alarm clocks. They help you wake up slowly by imitating the stages of the sun as it rises.

Get a smooth and gradual wake-up experience with one of these new wake-up alarm clocks.

There is no denying that waking up to the sun rise is the most natural and effective way. But, as not all of us go to bed at the same time or have the curtains drawn at night before going to sleep, it is not practical to do that. Fortunately, to answer the needs of the many, companies like Philips, HeimVision, LBell and Titiroba rose to the challenge. They came up with clever wake-up alarm clocks.

What to Expect from Wake-Up Alarm Clocks

To understand more about these new generation wake-up alarm clocks, take a look at the feature list below. Beyond the variable lighting, there are many useful and great features that you may decide to look for when choosing a suitable wake-up alarm clocks for yourself. Not all models will have the complete set of features so when picking one, weigh in the features that matters to you most.

Some Common Features on a Wake-Up Alarm Clock

Gradual wake-up lighting that simulates the sun rise
Gradual fading light that simulates the night to fall asleep to
Doubles as a bedside lamp for some light reading before going to sleep
Multiple pre-set sound effects to choose from to gently wake you up for the day
Option to use FM radio as wake up tune or to fall asleep to, Classic FM comes to mind
Further to the above, option to program and remember your favourite stations
Sleep timer function to turn off the radio after a preset amount of time to help you fall asleep.
Snooze option for those few extra minutes of much needed sleep
Light intensity setting allows you to customise the brightness level or lux setting
Colour settings on top of brightness levels above to choose the perfect hue for the room
Cost may be a deciding factor. You can end of spending over a hundred or two on one of these
USB charging port for mobile devices such as smartphone, tablet, smart watch or power bank
Auxiliary input to use the onboard speaker to play your own music from your own music player or music screaming device.

Making the Wake-Up Alarm Clock Smart

To take the Wake-Up Alarm Clock further, some manufacturers have enabled smart lightning and voice control support. In other words, you can control the light or FM radio on the alarm clock using nothing more than your voice. This is made possible with the Alexa and/or Google Home support built-in. This means, you can use voice command to turn on and off the light or alarm and turn on and off the FM radio. The catch here is you must already have an Echo device or Google assistant enabled speaker.

Top 8 Best Wake Up Light Alarm Clocks

Here is eight of the most sought after and best wake up alarm clocks in the market right now:

Philips HF3520 Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock
LBell LB01 Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock
HeimVision Sunrise Alarm Clock WORKS WITH ALEXA/GOOGLE HOME
TITIROBA Wake Up Light
Philips HF3650/60 SmartSleep Sleep and Wake-up Light
LATME Sunrise Alarm Clock Wake Up Light WORKS WITH ALEXA/GOOGLE HOME
XIRON Wake Up Light Alarm Clock
Philips HF3500/60 Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock

Lets take a closer look at each of these.

1. Philips HF3520 Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock

First on the list is the Philips HF3520 Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock. The unit is capable of simulating both sunrise and sunset. Using light therapy techniques, it simulates natural sunrise and sunset to improve sleep, energy and well being. Relax and drift off to sleep with dimming sunset and sounds.

Then, after a good sleep, rise to gradually brightening light with natural light lamp and one of five wake up sound effects. Besides that, you can also choose the FM radio to wake up to. In short, you wake up more refreshed after a good sleep.

Don’t worry if somebody unplugs the alarm clock by accident or that is a power cut. The Philips HF3520 comes with backup power and will continue to work for up to 8 hours ensuring that you don’t miss your appointment.

Features:

Colored Sunrise Simulation and Sunset Fading Night Light.
30 mins from dim to light and vice versa.
20 brightness settings, light intensity up to 200 lux
5 wake up natural sounds or FM radio
Tap anywhere to snooze for 9 minutes
PowerBackUp+ to maintain internal clock settings and back-up alarm for at least 8 hours

ALSO: Philips Somneo Connected HF3670

For a smart connected version choose the Philips Somneo Connected HF3670. The flagship wake up light alarm clock has 4 sun and light themes, relax breathing and wind-down function, midnight light function and 8 natural wake up sounds plus FM radio. Most importantly, it comes with Ambitrack bedroom environment monitoring feature, USB charging, auxiliary in and more brightness up to 300 lux.

2. LBell LB01 Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock

Next, we have the equally popular wake-up light alarm clock from LBell. The LB01 has all the features you will need on a wake-up light alarm clock at a fraction of the price compared to its competitors. It does two both sunrise and sunset, changing gradually from red to bright yellow and the reverse.

Moreover, the music or alarm gets the same treatment too. These will become louder or softer to help you wake up or fall asleep accordingly. You can set the lighting time, brightness and alarm volume to suit. The unit will remember to 40 FM channels and supports up to two alarms. In other words, on can be set for weekdays and another for weekends.

A feature that makes the LBell LB01 stands out from the rest is the support for dual alarm setting. Meaning, you can set one for the weekdays and a different alarm for the weekends. Plus, you can pick from 7 different nature sounds. For instance, there is birds singing, ocean waves, steams, beep, wind bell, soft music and piano music apart from FM radio to wake up to.

Features:

8 colored sunrise simulation & sleep aid
20 levels warm light
Dual alarm clock
7 natural sound or FM Radio for alarm. Saves up to 40 FM channels.
Snooze for 9 minutes
USB port to charge devices

3. HeimVision A80S Sunrise Alarm Clock – WORKS WITH ALEXA/GOOGLE HOME

Third on our list is the Smart Wake Up Light Alarm Clock from HeimVision. It is not very different from LBell 01 above in terms of look. But, that is as far as it goes. The biggest difference is this is a smart and connected wake up light alarm clock.

As a sleep aid, it has a sunset and sunrise simulator. For sunrise, it gradually glows from red to white light so you feel less groggy when you wake up. On the other hand, as a sunset simulator, it prepares you for sleep with light brightness slowly turning from preset brightness to dark.

A small button cell battery is used for memory function to ensure that the unit maintains the time and alarm settings during power outage. But the best feature we found is the ability to control the light remotely via an app and support for voice controls via Alexa or Google Home.

Features:

20 brightness levels
7 alarm sounds (bird, ocean, stream, beep, windbell, soft, piano) or FM radio with presets
Set quadruple (4) alarms, create your custom schedule using the companion Smart Life app
20 volume levels
Snooze for 15 minutes
Night light function
USB charging port
Smart features; remote app setting and voice control via Alexa or Google Home

4 .TITIROBA Wake Up Light

The Titiroba is available in white, see above or wood grain, see below. The latter stands out from the rest here with its wood grain finish on the back. This gives it a modern touch with a wooden look that will go nicely in any bedroom and styled to work with any furniture. However, beyond that, the Titiroba looks no different to HeimVision or LBell offerings above. The same can be said about its features too. It has a variable brightness lamp, multiple alarm clock sounds and 9 minutes snooze function. The lamp is capable of producing 8 different coloured lights.

For the alarm, it offers 7 natural and calming sounds; piano music, windbell, stream, bird singing, soft music, waves and beep. Apart from that, you can also assign your favourite FM radio channel to wake up to. The lamp can be used as ambient lighting or to simulate sunrise or sunset for wake up or wind down light. Like LBell, it supports dual alarm clock settings and has a USB charging port but does not come with WiFi connectivity or voice control via Alexa or Google Home and App support.

Features

8 colored sunrise simulation & sleep aid (sunset simulation) with accompanying sound
10-60 minutes sunrise duration
20 levels warm light brightness settings
Dual alarm clock
7 natural sound or FM Radio for alarm. Memory for up to 20 stations.
Tap to Snooze for 9 minutes
USB port to charge devices

5. Philips HF3650/60 SmartSleep Sleep and Wake-up Light

The second Philips on our list, the SmartSleep light therapy lamp is capable of simulating natural sunrise and operating as a sunset fading night light based on set duration. The award winning design with its doughnut light shape not only light up the bedroom but gives it that futuristic and minimalistic feel. Above all, what really sets it apart from other wake up light here is the RelaxBreathe function.

RelaxBreathe is a smart light and sound guided program to help you wind down and drift off to sleep. Choose from one of several rhythms of light or sound to relax and co-ordinate your breathing to. It will help you calm down and have a peaceful transition to sleep. Apart from being a wake up light alarm clock, it works as a nightstand reading light too. Additionally, it comes with a touch screen interface, USB charging port and auxiliary dock or input. The high resolution clock displays trumps any of the segment or dot based LED digital display here.

Features:

7 natural sounds including ambient music, nature-inspired sound, favourite FM station or music from phone
RelaxBreathe guide for light or sound guided wind-down
FM radio
power back up with alarm remaining active for up to 8 hours
USB mobile phone charging
AUX in for own music source
Customise smart display brightness or dim clock display.

6. LATME Sunrise Alarm Clock Wake Up Light – WORKS WITH ALEXA/GOOGLE HOME

This wake up light alarm clock from Latme is another unit that works with Alexa or Google Home. This means that you can use voice commands to control the light, the alarm and the FM radio. To start using the alarm, simply choose the time you wish to wake up and experience a gentle sunrise that will ease you into your day. You will wake up feeling refreshed. The wake up light duration can be set to come on from 10 to 60 minutes to your chosen time.

Like other light alarm clocks featured here, it also does the opposite, to simulate sunset and help you unwind and go to sleep. It does this by slowly dimming the light and reducing the volume of the sound. To top all that, it comes with up to 4 alarm settings per day. Besides that you can also set the snooze feature to vary between 8 to 15 minutes for those much needed extra sleep.

Finally, the onboard FM radio has memory for up to 15 preset stations. This can be used as the wake up alarm or choose from 7 natural sounds. You will also benefit from a sleep timer function with the FM radio. Set the FM radio to play for 10 to 120 minutes to help you fall asleep.

Features

7 colours
20 brightness intensity
simulate sunrise and sunset
works with Alexa or Google Home, use voice to control the light, alarm and FM radio
7 natural alarm sounds or FM radio
reading and night light function
USB charging port

7. XIRON Wake Up Light Alarm Clock

Moving away from the thick stem design for support is the XIRON wake up light. To prop the light up, it uses two legs, one on either side. This design is not new. In fact, we have seen this on the Harman Kardon Onyx portable bluetooth speaker among others. The iconic style makes it stand out from the rest.

However, beyond the stand, the Xiron is rather similar to the more generic wake up light alarm clocks featured here. In fact, the features are pretty similar too. Firstly it is capable of simulating sunrise and sunset, an essential feature for a wake up or go to sleep light. With the light gradually increasing in brightness from 10% to 100% over 10 to 60 minutes or the reverse, from 100% to 0% over 10 to 120 minutes.

Other features include 9 minutes snooze for up to 5 times, 20 level brightness settings and dual alarm function with one for week days and another for weekends. For the alarm, pick from 7 different natural sounds or use the FM radio. Finally, pick a

7 coloured lights for ambient or sunrise and sunset simulation
variable sunrise (10 – 60 minutes) and sunset (10 – 120 minutes) times.
20 levels of brightness settings
Dual Alarm support
7 natural sounds; piano, bird chirping, gentle waves, violin, frog croaking and beep or FM radio
16 level volume adjustment
Backup battery for memory
FM radio
9 minutes Snooze function
2A USB charging port

8. Philips HF3500/60 Wake-Up Light Alarm Clock

The last in our list is the pocket friendly, entry level unit from Philips. Being the entry level unit, the Philips Wake-Up Light HF3500 does not come with RelaxBreathe Wind-Down program or midnight light function. It does not come with coloured sunrise or sunset simulation, just variable lighting. Neither does it come with backup power or USB charging or support for Auxiliary input. In fact, it does not even have an FM radio tuner.

What it is, is a straight forward no-nonsense wake-up light alarm clock capable of sunrise simulation. With its onboard natural light, it goes up to 200 lux with 10 brightness settings. The light simulation begins 30 minutes before your pre-determined alarm setting. Once it reaches maximum intensity, a gentle beeping, bird song alarm kicks in for a comfortable wake-up experience.

If you want a wake-up light alarm clock purely just for what it is, then the Philips HF3500/60 is your answer.

Features

sunrise simulation with 30 minutes gradual rise in brightness in yellow (one colour)
10 light brightness settings up to 20 lux
gentle natural bird song alarm
tap anywhere to snooze for 9 minutes
no backup battery
bedside lamp function with 10 different light intensity