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Light impacts the ticking of our internal clock — it tells our brain to be awake, while darkness signals that it’s time to sleep. That’s why screen time before bed can interfere with your sleep. “In the evenings, you want absence of light so your brain can release neurotransmitters that make you sleepy,” explains Dr. Mandana Mahmoudi, clinical director of sleep medicine at NYU Langone Health. “In the morning, you don’t want darkness — you want lots of light so your brain actually understands it’s time to get up.”
Light isn’t the only thing that affects our internal clock. “The main thing is what we’re doing on our screen,” explains Dr. Dianne Augelli, sleep-medicine expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York–Presbyterian. “There’s just so much on there, like TikTok, your work email — there’s so much generation from our phone that can cause anxiety or excitement and that can really interfere with our sleep.”
If you’re like me and trying to become a morning person, or if you sleep in a room that doesn’t have plenty of natural light, a sunrise alarm clock might help your sleep routine. “If you’re a night owl and you want to push back your body clock, you can use light therapy — including sunrise clocks — to advance your body clock,” Mahmoudi says. These clocks mimic the light from the sun, which can signal your body to awaken, and many models come with calming wake-up noises and audio tracks in lieu of jarring alarms. Some clocks also have features to help you fall asleep, like ambient noise and calming modes designed to replace screen time before it’s time to hit the sack.
To find the best sunrise alarm clocks, I tested several models and tapped our sleep and tech writers to get their testing notes on their favorites. The most popular brands in the space are Hatch, Lumie, Loftie, and Philips, but each model has a unique design and set of features.
Update on August 27, 2024: Updated prices and checked stock for all products.
What we’re looking for
Light features
The main feature of a sunrise alarm clock is a light that mimics the sunrise. Some models also allow you to adjust the temperature of the light.
Interface
Each clock has a different way of setting the alarm and programming the light, be it through buttons and a small LED display, with dials, or via an app.
Sound options
A common accompanying feature of sunrise alarm clocks is the audio selection, from different wake-up tones to ambient noise to radio.
Smart features
I’ll note if the clock pairs with an app and/or has Bluetooth compatibility.
Best sunrise alarm clock overall
Light features: Low-blue white, blue-enriched white, orange, red settings; auto dimming/shutoff; 15–90 min. sunrise/sunset duration | Interface: LED display, two dials, buttons | Sound options: 27 sleep/wake sounds | Smart features: Bluetooth compatible
The Bodyclock Luxe is my top recommendation because of its ease of use and high-quality design. While it‘s the most expensive single alarm clock on this list (not counting the Loftie clock-and-lamp combination), I think it’s well worth the extra cost. When it’s time to wind down, I don’t like fussing with my phone to set my alarm and ambient-noise presets — after all, one of the major benefits of a sunrise alarm clock is that it can keep you away from screens. The Bodyclock Luxe FM simplifies this whole process with its easy-to-use interface. Navigating between sound options and alarm settings reminds me of a car-stereo system with its dials and preset buttons. You can choose from 27 sleep-and-wake sounds, use Bluetooth to play music from your phone, or use the built-in FM radio (I like to wake up to NPR’s “Morning Edition”). The Lumie has a glass lamp cover that gives the LED bulb a soft glow even on its brightest setting. One thing you may want to consider is its size — it’s nine inches wide, eight inches tall, and five inches deep, so it’s generally more suitable for a nightstand rather than the top of a headboard.
Best (less expensive) sunrise alarm clock
Light features: Warm white, orange, and red settings; auto dimming/shutoff; 20, 30, or 45 min. sunrise/sunset duration | Interface: LED display, five buttons | Sound options: ten sleep/wake sounds | Smart features: None
If you like the general design of the Luxe FM but don’t need Bluetooth compatibility, FM radio, a larger selection of audio choices, or a nicer build, then the Bodyclock Glow 150 is a great alternative. The setup is simple: There’s a button to set up your nighttime routine, a button for your alarm, a settings button, and two volume buttons. It offers a warm glow for sunset and sunrise, and its smaller size (7.5 inches wide, six inches high, 4.7 inches deep) fits on my headboard. One of my favorite features is the tap function, which lets me snooze the alarm with a gentle touch on the plastic cover.
Best even less expensive sunrise alarm clock
Light features: Sunrise and sunset features, 20 brightness settings, auto dimming/shutoff | Interface: Buttons on plastic cover, tap to snooze | Sound options: Five wake-up sounds | Smart features: None
The SmartSleep light is a simple alarm clock with sunrise and sunset capabilities and a selection of five wake-up sounds. It’s not the most customizable clock (there’s no app or Bluetooth connectivity), but it does have an FM-radio setting and a large, bright light. Strategist sleep writer Amelia Jerden has tested the SmartSleep and likes its straightforward design, describing the light as “very vibe-y and warm” and not overly complicated to use (it’s all controlled through touchscreen buttons on the clockface itself, with one physical button on the side).
Best sound options
Light features: Dimmable bedside light, color customization, auto shutoff | Interface: LED light display behind fabric cover | Sound options: Dozens of ambient sounds, meditation tracks, soundscapes (more available with subscription to Hatch+) | Smart features: Bluetooth compatibility, Hatch app
With its massive audio selection and app that lets you fully customize a nighttime routine, the Hatch Restore 2 is more of a bedside sound machine and sleep companion than a sunrise alarm clock. It can glow brightly, but because its LED bulbs sit behind a fabric cover, it doesn’t shine as vividly as the other alarm clocks on this list. Using the Restore 2 requires a Wi-Fi connection and the Hatch app. There are lots of audio tracks and light/color settings to choose from (I found selecting from the various lists overwhelming at times), but if you prioritize customization and don’t need an ultrabright light to get up in the morning, the Hatch 2 is a great choice for you. It’s also shallow (less than three inches deep), so it won’t take up a lot of space on your bedside table, nightstand, or bed frame.
Jerden tested an older version of the Restore 2 and agrees that it’s a better choice for folks who like to dial in their settings. “It has a ton of different color and sound options that you can mix and match for the wake-up and bedtime routines, so it’s really good for customizing,” she says. “But the intensity of the light never wakes me up — I’m a very deep sleeper, and my bedroom gets a lot of natural light in the morning — so it’s really the alarm sound that wakes me up, rather than the light.”
Best design
Light features: Customizable color settings, auto shutoff (lamp); nightlight (clock) | Interface: LED display with three buttons and snooze button | Sound options: Large selection of sleep/wake sounds, ambient noise, meditation tracks, 33 preset light settings | Smart features: Bluetooth compatibility, Loftie app
This pick is the most expensive option on the list and consists of two separate products, meaning it takes up more space than the others, but it’s one of the nicest looking from a design standpoint. I’ve been testing the Loftie Clock for three years, and I credit it with changing my sleep routine. Previously, I had used my phone as an alarm and never liked how it jolted me awake (the default iPhone alarms are jarring), nor did I like having my phone by my bed, which would lead to my scrolling before sleep and immediately after waking up. But the Loftie has ambient noise, calming snooze and wake-up tones, and multiple forms of guided meditation (which I use frequently before bed), and those can help me wind down, as opposed to using my phone. Plus the clock’s interface and soothing nightlight are simple and aesthetically pleasing.
While the nightlight feature on the Loftie Clock alone doesn’t have the sunrise capabilities of the other alarm clocks on this list, pairing it with the nice-looking Loftie Lamp (sold separately) allows you to turn it into a sunrise-alarm-clock system. “Besides automatically turning on and gently increasing in intensity to wake you up, it can be set to turn on when it’s time to start your nighttime routine,” says Strategist tech writer Jordan McMahon. He uses the lamp as the primary light source in his bedroom and loves how the entire body of the lamp lights up and casts a pleasant glow.
Best programmable bedside lights
Light features: Dimmable LED light, automatic dimming/shutoff | Interface: No buttons or screens, controlled by app and motion controls | Sound options: None | Smart features: Bluetooth compatibility, Casper app
While not technically an alarm clock, the Casper Glow Lights are a handy pair of smart lights that you can program — via the Casper app — to dim and turn on, and you can schedule them to wake you up in the morning just like the other devices on this list. For an audio alarm, you’ll need to use these in tandem with another device (your phone or another alarm clock) that you would set up separately.
Operating the lights is very interactive. Flip them upside down to turn on the warm, ambient light (I like to use them while I’m reading before bed). To dim or brighten the lights, you twist them (they don’t need to be on their charging base for this — any flat surface will work). At first, I was skeptical of the design — there are no buttons or screens — but after a night of using them, I fell in love with their simplicity and find them fun to use. Their portability means I can pick them up and use them as nightlights, and they auto-dim (which can be tweaked in the app) so I don’t have to worry about turning them off as I doze. I would recommend the Casper lights to folks who want to wake up to a bright, calming light but maybe paired with a phone alarm or some other audio alarm, which the Casper lights do not have.
Our experts
• Dr. Dianne Augelli, sleep-medicine expert at Weill Cornell Medicine and New York–Presbyterian
• Amelia Jerden, Strategist sleep writer
• Dr. Mandana Mahmoudi, clinical director of sleep medicine at NYU Langone Health
• Jordan McMahon, Strategist tech writer
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
