My Week with a Sunrise Alarm Clock
** Pictures from nytimes.com **
This post is coming to you because a former student said, after seeing my one-night review of this product on Instagram, "I need to see your reviews for the next few days before I'm convinced." This is understandable, so I decided to give it a go for a full week, using it as my primary alarm clock, and seeing if it made that much of a difference to my morning routine.
Just a couple disclaimers: (1) This is not a sponsored post. I bought this clock with my own dollahs. (2) I bought a more expensive alarm clock, but that is 100% not necessary. Amazon has a large selection for any budget, linked here!
Sunday Evening
I bought my alarm clock on Sunday afternoon. Set-up was easy and mostly intuitive - I had glanced over the directions, but found it was pretty easy to navigate once I plugged the clock in. This clock also has two alarms, which I thought was nice if you either had a spouse with a different schedule or your own schedule varied throughout the week. That night, I used its 30-minute "unwind" setting, which mimics a sunset. It also played a "soft rain" sound during this time. I sometimes take a 2.5mg melatonin gummy before going to bed, but didn't this night. I plugged my phone in when I started the unwind cycle. By the time the sun had "set," I was able to drift into sleep pretty easily.
Monday Morning
I had set a back-up alarm on my phone just in case the natural forest of bird noises and blinding light didn't wake me up. Turns out, when my alarm went off at 5:30 AM, the bird noises did the trick. This wasn't a gradual wake-up though, as I woke up abruptly and frantically wondered what the heck was going on. It was bright, loud, and not the peaceful wake-up I had imagined, but I found myself to be more naturally awake and not needing a snooze alarm like I normally do.
I was supposed to go to the gym, but my partner for the morning missed their alarm. So, for fun, I set my phone alarm for a later time and went back to sleep. Turns out, my phone alarm, even with this morning's sudden arousal, is still more jarring than a bunch of bird noises and a bright light.
Monday Evening
I had another 5:30 AM morning on Tuesday, so I tried to go to bed by 10 PM. This meant I turned on my "unwind" cycle at 9:30 PM. I also plugged in my phone out of reach, and took a melatonin gummy. Spoiler: this is the ticket.
Tuesday Morning
I slept great, and woke up not in a panic. Rather, I had rolled over at some point during the "sunrise," and woke up peacefully. I think slightly waking up and seeing the light coming on worked as a reverse snooze. I knew I would be waking up soon, so my mind took advantage of the time I had knowing I would be woken up precisely when I was supposed to be. I still felt a little tired (which sometimes happens if I get less than eight hours after taking melatonin), but I found that waking up and staying awake wasn't a problem.
I pretty much followed this same routine for the rest of the week: picking a time 30 minutes before I wanted to fall asleep, plugging in my phone, turning on the "unwind" setting, and going to sleep. I usually had a back-up alarm set on my phone, but found I didn't need it. Waking up felt easy most mornings, even if I still felt groggy afterwards, but I found my body was naturally ready to get up when my alarm went off. Here are some general lessons I learned during this week!
Maximum effectiveness took mindfulness. I had to plan ahead of time and be aware of what time I wanted to go to bed in order to get a full seven to eight hours of sleep. Then plan 30 minutes ahead. It ended up being worth it because the "unwind" feature is really helpful for me in calming my mind so sleep comes easily. This, paired with melatonin, turned out to give me my best nights' worth of sleep.
If it didn't have a sound trigger, I probably wouldn't wake up. I had always thought this alarm clock worked without sound and only with the gradual increase in light, which is apparently the ideal situation/purpose. According to the instructions, the alarm should be placed 16-24 inches from your head. That's not possible for me with the way we have our bedroom set up (no bedside tables), and there's a window right next to my head. As it turned out, on days where I slept past sunrise, the alarm's noise was the only thing that woke me up and it felt more sudden. However, I do see this alarm clock being really helpful during the winter months or for my husband, who will soon have a varied work schedule. If your room is kept super dark, and it's placed within those 16-24 inches from your face, there is a chance the light alone will work to wake you up!
I woke up with less sleep inertia. Sleep inertia is the confusion, grogginess, or general feeling of tiredness you have when you wake up suddenly. Mostly, it's that thing that immediately makes you want to hit the snooze button in the morning because you feel so tired. With this alarm, I felt naturally ready to get up. There were even a couple mornings when I got up, turned off the alarm, and went back to bed expecting to fall back asleep, but my body was already awake (this happened later in the week). Thanks to my subconscious registering a brightening room, the clock does most of the work for me, making getting up not as difficult. Brains are cool, man.
Everyone deserves to sleep well every night. The older I'm getting, the more I'm realizing how important sleep is for prime body function. When I was younger, I definitely had a "sleep when I'm dead" mentality, but I do feel so much better when I've slept my required amount and it's been a good sleep. Over the past year and some change, I've tried to make my bedroom a sanctuary that is quiet, calm, dark, and distraction-free. I would encourage everyone to do the same. For my husband and I, that looks like: no TV, sheets and a comforter that work with our body temperatures, our phones plugged in out of reach and on silent, thick blinds to block most light (next to buy: blackout curtains), and a ceiling fan. Make your space work for you, not against you.
So, in the end, do I recommend everyone go out and buy a sunrise alarm clock? Science tells us sunrise alarm clocks are specifically more beneficial for people with circadian rhythm disruptions or insomnia, mental health issues, women who are pregnant, people diagnosed with medical issues that affect the brain (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, dementia), people who work second or third shifts, or someone experiencing jet lag. I don't have any of these issues, at least severely, but I did find that it took the dread out of my morning routine. Waking up felt natural and not like a chore, which was great.
This is primarily why I don't think you need to go out and buy the most expensive sunrise alarm clock. It's a nice thing to have in our bedroom that makes the atmosphere nicer for sleep, and it helps with my overall morning routine. Is it necessary though? No. Am I glad I bought one? Yes!
If you own one, let me know what you think of yours. Has it helped? Do you notice a difference? Let's chat about it in the comments!
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