If you struggle to fall asleep or want to avoid blue light before bed, most models go a step further than your regular alarm clock and include a sunset simulation wind down program that lulls you into sleep (with various colored lights and sound options like guided meditations, bedtime stories, white noise, and sound baths). When shopping around, you’ll find wake-up lights with varying snooze times and customizable light intensities and brightnesses, and you can also add alarm sounds (such as nature sounds or a radio station). If you’re skeptical that a light is enough to stir you, there are all sorts of additional features for many sunrise alarm clocks on the market.

The use of a sunrise alarm clock could help you establish a regular rhythm of light exposure, which could impact your establishing more consistent wake-up and fall-asleep times, Phyllis Zee, chief of sleep medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, previously told The Washington Post: “That regularity is great for your circadian rhythms and for your overall sleep quality.” There are also potential benefits with morning-light exposure for anyone who has seasonal affective disorder or a delayed sleep-phase syndrome. Studies have shown that simulating sunlight may help improve sleep quality overall.

Instead of relying on a traditional alarm clock or phone to jolt you from sleep with a siren, beeping, or a song (therefore ruining that song for you), consider a wake-up light, which gently simulates the gradual glow of a sunrise over an extended period leading up to your set alarm time. If you’re not a morning person or are a heavy sleeper, finding the best sunrise alarm clock can be a game-changer for calmly transitioning into your day.

Kids alarm clock with radio