A Pleasant Way to Wake Up
by Vin Miller
Do you wake up in a panic every morning to the loud and obnoxious noise of an alarm clock? If so, there’s a much nicer alternative that can make a significant difference in the start of your day.
Waking up Naturally
Humans have lived outdoors for millions of years and have evolved to function according to the rhythms of the planet, particularly the cycle of night and day. The light of sunrise naturally stimulates us to awaken while the darkness resulting from sunset provokes us to slow down and fall asleep. In other words, we’ve become biologically programmed to function according to the presence of sunlight.
If you’ve read my article about sleep, you should already be aware of the effects that light and darkness have on our hormones. Darkness provokes the release of melatonin and induces sleep while light triggers the release of cortisol and promotes alertness. This is scientifically proven and confirms that we’ve evolved to rely on sunrise to naturally awaken from sleep.
Starting the Day in a Frantic Panic
The only reason we’ve evolved to awaken through stimuli other than sunlight is to protect ourselves. Without this instinct, our ancestors would have been easy prey for hungry animals. As such, any noise that’s loud enough to awaken you is interpreted by the body as a sign of danger and invokes the “fight or flight” stress response to help you avoid disaster. People who rely on alarm clocks create this stressful disaster for themselves every morning.
As I described in my article about stress, frequent invocation of the fight or flight response is a significant burden to the body and is the reason why chronic stress is so unhealthy. In addition to starting each day in an unpleasant manner, awaking in a panic is an unnecessary and completely avoidable source of stress. With the abundant amount of stress that modern society provides, we certainly don’t need to add more by awaking to the jarring sounds of an alarm clock.
What if You Could Control the Sunrise?
Letting the sunrise shine through your bedroom window is the ideal way to awaken each morning, but for most people, it just isn’t practical. Bedroom windows are often covered with blinds, curtains, or shades to provide privacy and keep the bedroom dark at night, and few of us have the luxury and freedom to let the rising of the sun dictate the start our day.
Fortunately, there’s a simple solution. What if your alarm clock was also a light source that could replicate the sunrise? This is an excellent way to get yourself out of bed each morning because it allows you to start the day in a much more relaxed and pleasant manner, and it also eliminates an unnecessary source of stress. I’ve been using a sunlight alarm for about 2 years and it has made a tremendous difference to my morning routine. Although I’d rather wake up to the actual sunrise, I’ll never go back to the miserable and abrupt awakenings associated with a regular alarm clock.
How a Sunlight Alarm Works
Sunlight alarms replicate a sunrise by starting with a dim light and gradually increasing the brightness over the course of about a half hour. This allows you to wake up naturally and on your own terms which usually equates to starting off the day in a better mood.
Most sunlight alarms allow you to adjust the duration of the replicated sunrise and have an optional sound based backup alarm in case you’re worried about sleeping through the light. For those who have this concern, some models can even be connected to a lamp for a brighter source of light. If you typically awake before sunrise, another nice benefit of a sunlight alarm is that you’ll never have to stumble out of bed in the dark again!
Two Popular Sunlight Alarms
The alarm I’ve been using for the past few years is the Soleil Sunrise Alarm Clock. Although it has gotten some negative reviews, the primary reason I chose it is for the 300 Watt Controller that can be used to power a lamp from it. However, if you don’t purchase the controller, keep in mind that some of the complaints about this model are in regard to the light not being bright enough. Another common complaint is about the quality of the unit, but keep in mind that it’s one of the least expensive models available. It would be nice if it was a bit more solid, but I’ve had no problems with mine, even after traveling with it, and it meets my needs perfectly.
Another popular alarm is the BioBrite Sunrise Alarm Clock. While I don’t have any experience with this particular model, I’m mentioning it because of the good reviews it gets and because of the complaints about the Soleil alarm clock. The BioBrite alarm is supposedly brighter than the Soleil alarm, but I don’t think it can be used with a lamp.
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Can you also use the alarm/radio? I’m afraid that I will buy one and put my pillow over my head to block out the sun. I usually get up by 6am (there is no sun at that time) and really hate to hear the alarm. I would love to try this although really worried that I will over sleep. Also do they sell them in a store or do you have to order them online?
Hi Tracey,
Yes, both models have an audible alarm that you can set to go off at the end of the “sunrise” if you’d like. This will prevent you from sleeping through the light. The Soleil has both a buzzer and a radio while the BioBrite only has the buzzer.
I bought mine online and haven’t seen them locally. You can use the links in the article to buy them online.
I bought the biobrite 4 or 5 years ago. I highly recommend it. Worth every penny.
Hi Kris, thanks for your recommendation! Now that fall is here and most of us have to wake up in the dark, it’s a great time for a sunlight alarm.
I have the Soleil Sun Alarm clock. I got it several years ago. It seemed much smaller and cheaper looking then it looked online. It works okay but not the best. My Sun Alarm clock time tends to gain about a minute or two every month. Although, I would better it to be fast then slow but I expected it to be more accurate then that. Another concern I have with the Sun Alarm clock is the lighted digital read-out. I notice when I turn the lights out that the read-out is too bright. If you are trying to be as natural and mimic nature as best as you can by having a room that is as dark as you can get it then this will be of concern. I have to cover the digital-read-out with something so I can have a relatively dark room so as to mimic nature as best as possible which was the reason in the first place that I bought this alarm clock.
The radio leaves much to desire as well too. The stations come in much better when the alarm clock is in your hand then when it is not. A weaker station that seemed strong while setting it might not even come in at all when it is just sitting on your night table and when it is time to wake up in the morning. I found this out the hard way when I did not wake up at all one morning to just the light.
I have not been to their website in a while but I know that they had a more expensive one that was built into a real lamp.
Hi Maynard, thanks for your feedback!
I thought the same about my Soleil Sunrise clock and mine gradually gains time too. Like you, I expected more for the money, but I’m still happy with mine and neither issue bothers me. The brightness of the digital display is definitely a concern which is the case with just about any alarm clock. I always keep mine covered.
If you buy the 300W adapter and hook it up to a bright lamp, I highly doubt that you’ll need the radio anymore.