Darker and colder mornings means it can be harder and more painful for many of us to get out of bed in the morning. The shrill of your phone alarm going off abruptly earlier than you’d ideally want it to, can make you feel groggy and reluctant to face the day. We feel you, we’ve been there.
You might benefit from getting a wake up light. For the uninitiated, these are alarm clocks that wake you up using, you guessed it, a light. It mimics natural sunrise, which, in theory, allows you to rise and shine as if you lived in perpetual summer (or somewhere closer to the equator).
[Read More: 8 things you need to know about Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)]
Wake up lights have been reported to help with symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a type of depression linked to shortened day light hours and a lack of sunlight. It is believed to affect up to 1 in 3 people in the UK and one of the most effective treatments is light therapy, which has up to an 80% success rate in diagnosed cases, according to Anxiety UK.
Like clockwork, with the changing seasons and darker starts to the day, here are three wake up lights that will get your morning off to a brighter start.
Lumie Bodyclock Starter 30
The most basic and cheapest of the Lumie family (some of which cost hundreds of pounds) is well worth your cash.
More expensive models may offer a range of alarm sounds, radio and even music streaming options – but if all you want is a wake up light, then this is more than enough.
It has both a sunrise and a sunset feature, both of which are set to 30 minutes, and the dimmable display means you can sleep in darkness – is there anything worse than having that annoying clock light flickering away? And it has a snooze function. Result.
Dimensions: H15 x W19 x D12cm
Comes with a 2 year guarantee.
Lumie, Argos, £56.99.
Lumie
Philips Wake-up Light HF3520/01
What we really like about this light is the coloured sunrise simulation – from red, to orange, to yellow – which gently eases you into the morning. What’s more you can choose from five natural-sounding wakeup sounds, which is more soothing than an alarm buzzing.
If the mood takes you, it’s also really easy to snooze – just tap the product to get another 9 minutes kip.
The display automatically dims itself as your bedroom gets darker, and it doubles up as a great bedside light.
Dimensions: 19.2 (height) x 19.9 (diameter) x 14.6 (depth) cm
Phillips, £75.
Phillips
Coulax Wake Up Light
We love the wood finish on this alarm clock, although there is something of a trade off with the huge display.
If the light isn’t enough to stir you, you can switch on the natural sounds of birds, waves or forest to immerse you in nature – as well as sunshine – or an FM radio, if you’d prefer. It also has a multicolour night light for kids (or big kids) and works well as a bedside lamp.
The cheapest of our round-up, it’s great for those who want a wake up light but not splash too much cash.
Coulax, Amazon, £26.99
Coulax
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