To wake each day in darkness is a plight you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy, yet that’s what many of us do routinely throughout winter. Getting up in the dark decouples our life from our circadian rhythm (our body clock), with bodily processes such as cognition and metabolism put to work before they’re fully prepped.
Thank heavens, then, for sunrise alarm clocks. These “dawn simulation” devices glow with gradually intensifying brightness as your wake-up time approaches, kickstarting your circadian rhythm before you get out of bed. For many users, this results in a happier, healthier start to the day.
Sunrise alarm clocks can differ vastly – for instance, only some are bright enough to be medically certified as light-therapy devices for Sad (seasonal affective disorder) and other disorders. We’ve indicated the two alarms that have this certification in their specs below.
I tested 10 wake-up lights from Lumie, Beurer, Philips, Dreamegg, Blueair and Lexon to find out which would make the most difference to my mornings, and these are the eight I recommend. As a lifelong reluctant riser, I’ve found the experience of testing these devices a gamechanger – in fact, I’m now using one daily. Perhaps mornings aren’t so bad, after all …
At a glance
Why you should trust me
Mornings, eh? I’ve often felt lousy first thing, after waking up to a minutes-long medley of smartphone alarms.
When, at last, I drag myself out of bed, I frequently spend the day reviewing all kinds of gadgets, from Sad lamps to electric heaters. It’s a freelance job I’ve been privileged to do since 2017 – and as we tumbled dimly into 2025, the Filter gave me one of my most quietly life-improving assignments yet: reviewing sunrise alarm clocks. I tested three additional models in winter 2025/26, and one of these has emerged as my favourite of all.
The extent to which these gadgets have improved my mornings has surprised me – although it was greater in some cases than others. Frankly, I’d like other groggy wakers to feel the same benefit, and my reviews are written and ranked with this in mind.
Some brands did not want the sunrise alarm clocks I sourced for testing back, so those will be donated for fundraising to Cat Action Trust 1977, a small national charity dedicated to the welfare of feral cats.
How I tested
The only proper way to test a sunrise alarm clock is by using it to wake up each morning – so that’s what I did.
I used each model for at least two nights, testing out multiple light and alarm sound settings, and assessing the quality of wake-up for each device. I considered the brightness of each alarm, how close the glow felt to real sunlight, and the audio quality. Above all, I reflected on how lively and refreshed I felt after waking up with each one.
Many sunrise alarm clocks also have a sundown function, so I used this where available too. I also tried using each sunrise alarm clock as a reading light, to help me finish the day – as well as start it – smartphone-free.
Some sunrise alarm clocks go even further, with additional features such as app operability, multiple alarm profiles and mood lighting. To ensure a thorough review of each sunrise alarm clock, I played around with every possible customisation option and functionality.
The best sunrise alarm clocks in 2026
Best sunrise alarm clock overall:
Lumie Bodyclock Glow 150
Lumie
Bodyclock Glow 150
from £118.96
What we love
Superior sunrise simulation; pleasant alarm tones
What we don’t love
It’s relatively expensive
Lumie is the brand that pioneered consumer-grade sunrise alarm clocks in the early 1990s, and that pedigree still shines through.
Equipped with a comprehensive set of wake-up sounds and medical-grade sunrise simulation, the Bodyclock Glow 150 is the best sunrise alarm clock of the many I’ve tested. It comes at a premium price, but could pay dividends for your sleep cycle.
Why we love it
The sunrise effect is among the most convincing I’ve experienced, rivalling the less fully featured (but slightly cheaper) Lumie Bodyclock Spark 100, which is reviewed below. It feels like waking to daylight, or emerging into a clearing after walking through dense woodland.
I found this model easy to control and configure via the five buttons surrounding the digital display. All of the personalisations that really matter are available, including sunrise light intensity and duration.
Crucially, there’s a great selection of alarm tones to choose between – not always the case with Lumie models – ranging from the wonderfully gentle to the brusquely rousing. I preferred “tropical birds” and “waves” to “beep” or “steam train”, although I enjoyed imagining a train enthusiast waking contentedly to the latter.
It’s a shame that … there’s only one colour available: black (with a white lamp). This will suit some bedroom design schemes better than others.
Certification: UK MDR 2002 and EU MDR 2017/745 medical classification
Modes: sunrise alarm, sunset, bedside light
Footprint: W19 x D12cm
Features: light-sensitive auto-dimming display
Brightness settings: five
Sunrise duration: 20, 30 or 45 minutes
Lumie
Bodyclock Glow 150
from £118.96
What we love
Superior sunrise simulation; pleasant alarm tones
What we don’t love
It’s relatively expensive
Read our full Lumie Bodyclock Glow 150 sunrise alarm clock review
Best budget sunrise alarm:
Lumie Sunrise Alarm
Lumie
Sunrise Alarm
from £39.99
What we love
Great value, with good sunrise simulation and sounds
What we don’t love
Less bright than swankier Lumie models
Imagine telling one of your ancestors that you were awoken this morning by your lamp, which was purring at you. I’m not pulling your leg, you might say, it’s all thanks to the Lumie Sunrise’s “kittens purring” alarm tone, which sits sweetly alongside four other natural sounds, including goats bleating and birdsong.
Why we love it
In all seriousness, this is an excellent sunrise alarm clock, and it comes at a standout price. Its sunrise light subtly brightens during the minutes leading up to your chosen alarm time, producing a lovely awakening that really did remind me of natural light.
I found it easy enough to set the Sunrise Alarm’s time and alarm, although pressing some of the buttons can be fiddly. Do keep the instruction manual handy, as there are lots of options and buttons to get your head around.
It’s a shame that … it lacks a little bedside table appeal. But having said that, this sunrise alarm clock has incredible performance for the price.
Certification: none
Modes: sunrise alarm, sunset, mood, bedside light
Footprint: W17 x D9cm
Features: mood lighting (six colours)
Brightness settings: 10
Sunrise duration: 30 minutes
Lumie
Sunrise Alarm
from £39.99
What we love
Great value, with good sunrise simulation and sounds
What we don’t love
Less bright than swankier Lumie models
Best sunrise alarm clock for heavy sleepers:
Lumie Bodyclock Spark 100
Lumie
Bodyclock Spark 100
from £98.46
What we love
Outstanding sunrise simulation
What we don’t love
Lack of gentler alarm sounds
I woke up feeling great when I used the medical-grade Lumie Bodyclock Spark 100, which bathes the room in gradually intensifying, sun-like light for a set period before the alarm goes off.
Why we love it
The device is supposed to realistically imitate the lightening shades of a sunrise – and it does so more convincingly than any other brand’s sunrise alarm clock. Depending on your chosen light intensity setting, it can get very bright.
The Spark 100 also has a sunset feature that graduates through the same red, orange and white light colours used with the sunrise function, but in reverse order. After the sunset cycle, the light can either switch off entirely or remain in a gentle night-light mode, whichever you choose.
Besides performing brilliantly as a wake-up light and sunset simulator, the Spark 100 is simply a nicely designed, well-made thing. I appreciated its soft-edged yet robust construction and handy features such as the cable organisation in the base. It’s a pleasure to have on the bedside table.
It’s a shame that … the alarm tone sounds piercing at the higher three of its five volume levels. I found myself settling for a 2/5 – though very heavy sleepers may prefer (or even relish) the louder options.
Certification: UK MDR 2002 and EU MDR 2017/745 medical classification
Modes: sunrise alarm, sunrise, sunset, bedside light
Footprint: W19 x D12cm
Features: tap to snooze, auto-dimming display, adjustable sunrise/sunset duration, adjustable digital display brightness
Brightness settings: five
Sunrise duration: 30 minutes
Lumie
Bodyclock Spark 100
from £98.46
What we love
Outstanding sunrise simulation
What we don’t love
Lack of gentler alarm sounds
Best sunrise alarm for late-night reading:
Philips SmartSleep
Philips
SmartSleep
from £181.99
What we love
Solid design and good sunrise simulation
What we don’t love
One of the most expensive options
This lamp soon felt like part of the furniture on my bedside table. In typical Philips fashion, it’s a good-quality, dependable product, with a solid middle-of-the-road design that won’t look out of place in many bedrooms.
Why we love it
Setup is slick – I was able to set my alarm time, sound and brightness by following the simple prompts on the device’s display, without having to consult the manual. Subsequently tweaking your alarm(s) takes practice, but you’ll master all the controls you need after a few days.
The SmartSleep’s wake-up capabilities are impressive, combining brilliant light with a diverse choice of alarm sounds. It also has FM radio and 3.5mm auxiliary audio input options for the user who has tired of Alpine and gong bath soundscapes. There’s a 5V USB charging outlet at the rear of the lamp, too, which could free up a valuable bedside power socket.
I loved using this model as a reading light, as well as a sunrise alarm. Even when a bright setting is selected, the light seems relatively mellow and restful, which helped me get to sleep after reading pulpy detective novels late at night. The light can be deactivated with a press.
It’s a shame that … it costs such a lot. The SmartSleep has a hefty price to match its impressive performance.
Certification: none
Modes: sunrise alarm, sleep mode with sunset simulation, bedside light
Footprint: W22 x D12cm
Features: FM radio, Aux audio input, “RelaxBreathe” breathing exercises, adjustable sunrise duration, snooze, up to two wake-up profiles (with separate alarms)
Brightness settings: 25
Sunrise duration: 20, 25, 30, 35 or 40 minutes
Philips
SmartSleep
from £181.99
What we love
Solid design and good sunrise simulation
What we don’t love
One of the most expensive options
Best mini sunrise alarm clock:
Lexon Mina Sunrise
Lexon
Mina Sunrise
from £77.94
What we love
Cute, chic design
What we don’t love
Awkward controls
My only general gripe with sunrise alarm clocks is that many of them are an aesthetic downgrade on a conventional bedside lamp – but this charming mini model from French brand Lexon is a stylish exception.
Why we love it
The obvious draw here is the design, which comprises a cute, mushroom-shaped light and colourful metal base with a wraparound digital display. It fits very neatly on to a small or well-utilised bedside table.
The sunrise light function roused me gently before the alarm tone (also gently rousing) sounded, and I got up feeling alert. Even though this isn’t a very bright light, it evidently did the trick, and it was suitable for bedtime reading, too.
You can choose from five alarm tones, all of which sound pleasantly full and rich. These include birdsong and water sounds, as well as some loud, piercing alarms that will suit particularly heavy sleepers. Beautifully finished and stoutly made, the Mina Sunrise is a cut above the rest in terms of build quality.
It’s a shame that … the control buttons are on the base, and can’t be seen in the dark without a secondary light source such as a smartphone torch. You’d struggle to adjust the settings in the middle of the night.
Certification: none
Modes: sunrise alarm, sunset, bedside light
Footprint: W11 x D11cm
Features: mood lighting (nine colours), snooze, cordless operation
Brightness settings: five
Sunrise duration: 30 minutes
Lexon
Mina Sunrise
from £77.94
What we love
Cute, chic design
What we don’t love
Awkward controls
Best sunrise alarm clock for couples:
Beurer Wake-up Light WL 50
Beurer
Wake-up Light WL50
from £54.99
What we love
It’s packed with features
What we don’t love
Not all the features are useful
Thanks to its capability to save two alarms for different times (each with its own sound and light settings), the Beurer WL 50 is a great choice for couples who get up at different times. That’s a rare feature in any sunrise alarm clock – let alone in such a reasonably priced model.
Why we love it
The sunrise mode itself is gentle yet effective, and it’s easy to activate the device as a reading light with a simple, groggy tap. I really liked the alarm sounds you get with the WL 50 too – which is just as well, as there are only two.
Perhaps that narrow choice of alarm tones sounds a little stingy, but it seems less so when you explore the WL 50’s alternative audio options. It doubles up as an FM radio, with space to save up to 30 station presets, which you can listen to throughout the day or use as a livelier alternative to an alarm tone. Bluetooth connectivity and an AUX input expand your listening options further.
Curiously, this sunrise alarm clock can be unplugged (when fully charged) and used on the go for up to three hours. It’s hard to imagine a situation wherein this would be useful, but I appreciate the gesture.
It’s a shame that … the sound quality isn’t great (but it’s good enough for the half-awake).
Certification: none
Modes: sunrise alarm, sunset simulation, bedside light, radio/speaker
Footprint: W11 x D11cm
Features: FM radio, AUX audio input, Bluetooth audio, portable use (up to three hours), LED mood light
Brightness settings: adjustable
Sunrise duration: 10, 20 or 30 minutes
Beurer
Wake-up Light WL50
from £54.99
What we love
It’s packed with features
What we don’t love
Not all the features are useful
The best of the rest
Blueair Mini Restful sunrise clock air purifier
Blueair
Mini Restful sunrise clock air purifier
from £169
What we love
Innovative sunrise and air purification combo
What we don’t love
Too bulky for the bedside table
Best for: an air-purifying sunrise alarm clock
Most of us spend around a third of our time in bed, so a sunrise alarm clock that also purifies your bedroom air seems like a good idea. This model, the Blueair Mini Restful, is heralded as the world’s first.
By sunrise alarm clock standards, it isn’t really mini. I found myself resting it on the floor, where I could see the digital display on the top, rather than putting it on my bedside table.
The sunrise function proved effective, waking me reliably with warm, increasingly bright light before the alarm sounded. As for the purification, the Mini Restful certainly made my air feel fresher after a windowsill-sanding session had kicked up untold volumes of dust. The fan works exceptionally quietly, although I still preferred to run it only during the daytime (this can be automated via the Blueair app’s schedule feature).
It didn’t make the final cut because … the sunrise alarm feature is only accessible via the Blueair app, and I feel that users should have the option to activate it manually. With that said, the app is a pleasure to use.
Certification: none; modes: night light, sunrise alarm; footprint: W17 x D17cm; features: air purification, app control, alarm schedule; brightness settings: scale of 0-100%; sunrise duration: 15-30 minutes
Blueair
Mini Restful sunrise clock air purifier
from £169
What we love
Innovative sunrise and air purification combo
What we don’t love
Too bulky for the bedside table
Dreamegg Sunrise 1
Dreamegg
Sunrise 1
from £62.99
What we love
Nicely pairs a textured front with mellow lighting
What we don’t love
Relatively dim light
Best for: soothing sleep sounds
This compact, great-looking device offers something different, with a selection of 29 ambient sounds that can be used as white noise to help you fall asleep. There are also five options for rousing you in the morning, including birdsong, a campfire crackling and, my favourite, waves breaking on a shore. For me, perhaps the only issue with this approach was that the sounds did a better job of putting me to sleep than they did of waking me up.
The Sunrise 1 is a beautifully designed alarm clock, with a softly textured front and foolproof dimmer controls on either side to adjust the light level and digital display brightness. Reluctant risers will be pleased to note there’s a prominent snooze button at the top of the device – though, personally, I’ve rarely felt the need to use this feature while testing sunrise alarm clocks.
It didn’t make the final cut because … its light is a little too dim for my taste.
Certification: none; modes: sunrise alarm, white noise/sleep sounds, bedside light; footprint: W15 x D7.3cm; features: sleep sound timer, nine light colours, five wake-up sounds; brightness settings: adjustable; sunrise duration: Up to 60 minutes
Dreamegg
Sunrise 1
from £62.99
What we love
Nicely pairs a textured front with mellow lighting
What we don’t love
Relatively dim light
What you need to know
Are sunrise alarm clocks a fad?
A cursory glance at Google Trends search data – or perhaps at your chosen social media platform – will tell you that interest in sunrise alarm clocks has grown sharply in recent years. You may wonder: is this overdue recognition for a useful technology, or is it a murkier wellness trend to file alongside mouth taping and stuffing onion slices into socks?
While there hasn’t been a great deal of academic research into sunrise alarm clocks, some studies suggest they may benefit our sleep health. For instance, researchers from Ohio University found that trial participants had significantly better sleep scores and lower perceived stress and burnout after spending two weeks waking with a sunrise alarm clock while also avoiding smartphone use in bed.
The ultimate test of whether sunrise alarm clocks are a fad will be time. I’m still using mine, as I approach a third winter.
Do sunrise alarm clocks help with Sad?
Sad bright-light therapy involves the use of intense light (in the region of 10,000 lux) to mimic the effects of bright sunlight. Sunrise alarm clocks tend to be far less bright than the average Sad lamp. With that said, light exposure around dawn and in the early morning can influence our circadian rhythms, so even a relatively dim sunrise alarm may still have benefits.
If you’ve been diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder and are looking for a light-therapy device, it’s best to ask your GP which product to use and how to get the most benefit. Sunrise alarm clocks that are classified as medical devices (indicated in the specs each product above) are more likely to suit users seeking a therapeutic effect than models with no medical certifications.
Why does it benefit us to wake with the sun?
Getting up in the dark can feel awful, which makes a lot of sense because light helps our bodies wake up properly.
Humans are diurnal, which means we’ve evolved to be more wakeful, energetic and capable of chasing mammoths over vast distances during daytime. When the brain recognises increasing light at dawn, it sends signals around other regions of the brain and to other organs to calibrate bodily processes including temperature regulation, hormone secretion and metabolism. And when darkness falls, the brain prepares us for sleep – a helpful effect that many of us compromise by looking at bright smartphone or laptop screens.
These processes follow roughly 24-hour cycles known as our circadian rhythms. The term is derived from the Latin words circa (approximately) and diem (day), meaning around a day.
So, the sun is the original and best alarm clock – activating our minds and bodies with light, rather than startling us awake with sound. Think of your sunrise alarm as a plucky stand-in to rely upon during the star’s shorter winter shifts.
Do sunrise alarm clocks work for heavy sleepers?
Some users find the light from their sunrise alarm clock more rousing than others do. If you’re a heavy sleeper, there’s a heightened chance that the artificial sunrise will not wake you (although it might still help you feel more alert on waking).
How you configure your sunrise alarm clock makes a difference. We all sleep more deeply during certain periods of our sleep cycle – and this includes particularly heavy sleepers. So, by setting your sunrise alarm clock to do a relatively long dawn simulation cycle (30 minutes is an option on several models), you give the gradually increasing light more time to rouse you. You’ll often have a choice between multiple light intensity settings, too, so select the brightest one available.
If you’re worried about waking up on time, all of the sunrise alarm clocks featured in this guide can conclude their sunrise cycle with an audio alarm tone. So, they could serve perfectly well as a wake-up alarm, even if they don’t successfully start rousing you before the beep. To be on the safe side, I’d recommend choosing a louder model, such as the Lumie Bodyclock Spark 100.
For more:
The best mattresses to help you sleep better
How to create the perfect bed: seven things our sleep expert swears by
The best sleep aids: 13 of the most-hyped remedies
Pete Wise is a journalist with more than a decade’s experience covering everything from global development and social causes to technology and music. He has written extensively on sleep-related topics, including Sad lamps, intermittent fasting, and the effects of caffeine consumption on sleep. Having felt better than ever in the mornings while researching this article, Pete is now a daily user of sunrise alarm clocks
This article was amended on 29 January 2025 to remove a sentence that incorrectly said the Lumie Sunrise Alarm has UK MDR 2002 and EU MDR 2017/745 certification.