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Up until a few months ago, I had always been one of those unhinged people who set several alarms on their phones to wake up (terrible, I know). As a heavy sleeper who’s no stranger to accidentally sleeping through alarms, I believed this chaotic alarm routine was the best way to ensure I wouldn’t miss something important. I would set anywhere from 10 to 15 alarms, the earliest starting an hour and a half before needing to get up. They went off in increments of 10, 15, or 20 minutes (if you’re cringing right now, don’t worry, I am too). In an attempt to preserve my roommates’ sanity by ending the staccato of alarms that echoed through our apartment each weekday morning, I began my search for a real-life alarm clock.
I knew I wanted the clock to have the capability to set more than one alarm (old habits die hard), a chic enough appearance that it wouldn’t be an eyesore next to my bed, and the feature of mimicking a sunrise. I quickly found the TITIROBA Wake-Up Light.
The first night I used it, I was skeptical. I didn’t believe a light would be enough to wake me and was worried I wouldn’t hear the alarm tones. I set a couple of backup alarms on my phone, just in case, and was pleasantly surprised when I woke up a few seconds into the first alarm the next morning. Not only was I awake, it felt like I had woken up on my own versus the usual feeling of being yanked out of REM by a loud set of artificial chimes, sirens, and/or beeps. It turns out that the gradual increase of a fake sunrise, paired with the sound of birds chirping (my personal choice out of the seven alarm options), works significantly better than any chaotic array of my phone’s most incessant and abrasive tones.
The sunrise simulation can be set to varying brightness levels — the lowest being a deep orange at level one and the highest sitting at a nearly white light at level 20. You’re able to set two different alarm times and customize the sound and sunrise brightness for each, as well as an option to snooze, if you still want that. At the end of the day, if you’re someone who likes or needs help easing into a soothing snooze, you can turn on the sunset simulation: a low light that will gradually dim as you attempt to fall asleep.
A couple perks that I didn’t necessarily need but definitely appreciate? There’s a USB port on the back that makes it easy to remember to charge my phone while I’m sleeping, you’re able to dim or entirely turn off the digital clock face display, and the sunrise light can be turned on sans-alarm to serve as a bedside light.
It’s been nearly four months since making the switch and my mornings are much less chaotic. I actually wake up feeling rested, I’ve finally deleted the string of alarms that once lived in my clocks app, and my roommates no longer want to throw my phone out of the window each morning. It’s safe to say, I’m never going back.
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