Sunrise alarm clocks

Badgergal

I hope this is the right place, please move if not.

Does anyone have any experience with these clocks that start to light up gradually 30 mins before you want to wake up, and are supposed to have a sunshine effect that wakes you up, and make it easier to get up on the dark mornings?

The Lumie ones seem to have good reviews on the web, and the cheapest I've found is £60, but it would be worth it if it made getting up for work easier - I just wanted to know if anyone had any personal experiences?

Ta!

sabbykins

YES!! We have one

They are FAB. My hubby has SAD and it helps enormously. In winter the dark mornings can be awful if you have to get up at 5.30 like he does but with this it wakes him up gradually and naturally, and so he's more awake and in a better frame of mind than if he'd woken up to total darkness
I find it helps me get up in a better frame of mind too, and i dont even have SAD.

I can't remember where we got ours becasuse we've had it for about 3 years now. But you can get them here: Lumie Bodyclock for £59.95 with FREE P&P.

Hopefully some may know of better offers for you. I definately would recommend them to all.

Sarahsaver

try https://www.healthy-house.co.uk for all kinds of daylight effect things. You can get daylight bulbs cheaper than a specialised lamp, and put them in a lamp with a timer plug on it. My sis uses them for sewing so she can see better what she's doing.

Ted_Hutchinson

While many people do benefit from these dawn simulator lights, most of the research on light therapy is pointing to bright light (of any quality, not necessarily full spectrum or daylight) through the eyes (which must be open) being the really effective means of treating SAD.
So for the light to be really effective it must be as close to your eyes as you can stand and as early in the day as you can manage. Wearing tinted glassess defeats the object and free sunlight is available outdoors if you walk in the morning.

Badgergal

I don't have SAD, I don't think, I just find dark mornings and evenings as depressing as the next person I guess. My problem is when it is pitch dark in my bedroom at 6.30am and I need to get up for work.

I know some light does get in through my eyelids certainly (I live in a studio flat and find the flickering of the telly when my boyf watches is when I I am trying to sleep very annoying - I sleep with my eyes very slightly open apparently) and feel the light in the mornings would help.

I seem to remember learning in the sleep element of my Psychology A-level about this too (leaving curtains open so that sunlight in the mornings helps wake you up) but obviously this is a problem in winter when there is no sunlight at 6.30am....

Zziggi

Badgergal wrote:

I seem to remember learning in the sleep element of my Psychology A-level about this too (leaving curtains open so that sunlight in the mornings helps wake you up) but obviously this is a problem in winter when there is no sunlight at 6.30am....

Yep, melatonin release. From what i remember of that section of the course is the wierd things sleep deprivation can do to you (did you also do the 1950s NYC radio DJ that tried to stay awake for a week? Hallucinating and feeling exceptionally cold by 72 hours.....)

Badgergal

Yep I did that Zziggi - made me feel tired just studying those people!!

solarstone

Badgergal, they're absolutely great these things. You wake up feeling refreshed and just like you would on a summer's morning.:j

It's worth noting that they do a "sunset" feature too that slowly dims the light over a set period when you go to sleep.:shhh:

skintchick

I have a top-of-the-range Lumie clock (thanks to Mum as she got me it for Christmas) and it is marvellous. I am DREADFUL at getting up in the mornings, but this wakes me gradually (although I do use the alarm too) so I feel less miserable about gettin gup, although not happy about it!

I wanted the expensive one (£100!!) as it has a snooze button and I simply have to have one of those....I really do hate mornings!

Totally recommend them anyway.

Savvy_Sue

I bought a cheap one from Boots and it was hopeless, the light wasn't bright enough AND the wretched clock didn't keep good time either. So I had to take it back.

It played birdsong as you went to sleep if you wanted it to.

So DON'T buy a cheap one from Boots, go for the real thing if you want one. I haven't bothered, but I like the idea of a light on a timerswitch. We sleep with our curtains open, but I hate getting up in the dark.

Badgergal

Thanks Sue. Someone on another forum was also going on about how rubbish the Boots one was!