The 7 best sunrise alarm clocks, tried and tested by us on dark winter mornings for 2026

If you're struggling to get up during the dark winter mornings, you're not alone. One of the best sunrise alarm clocks could be the answer to waking up naturally and making those cold, dark mornings just a little bit brighter.

So, why are so many of us TATT (tired all the time)? Well, we lead indoor-centric lives that prevent us from getting the daylight we need, and we’re glued to screens that emit blue light, which disrupts our body’s natural clock and keeps us awake past our bedtime. Our sleep-wake cycle is constantly disrupted and, as a result, SAD lamps and sunrise alarms have become increasingly popular.

Of course, aside from our busy modern lives, rising in the dark has always disrupted our circadian rhythms. To address that, these smart alarm clocks essentially simulate sunrise and reset it. The small device makes for one of the best sleep aids to help improve your routine for the new year.

Not all sunrise clocks are made equal, though. We tested a range of clocks from top brands, including Hatch, Lumie, and more, assessing them for ease of use, sound quality, range, brightness, features, and charging capabilities to compile our list of the very best.

The quick list

The best sunrise alarm clocks in 2026

Best sunrise alarm clock overall

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Dreamegg is a staple sunrise alarm clock brand, and the Sunrise 1+ is the sexier version of Sunrise 1, which is £40 cheaper but offers fewer soundscapes and comes without app control. Some sunrise alarms can be a little clunky-looking and plasticky, but this one, with its simple cotton-linen design, is one of the chicest I reviewed, and it has all the features to pull it into the top spot.

The sunrise/sunset modes enable you to wake up or wind down gradually to brightening or diminishing light. Not all sunrise alarms offer the sunset option or a lengthy duration, but the Sunrise 1+ offers up to 120 minutes, allowing for a slower dimming in the evening or a longer wake-up. Being woken by this device is a great way to start the morning. I tried the 15-minute sunrise, and bird sounds on work mornings to wake me up on time, and the 60-minute sunrise with Mozart on weekends to wake me gradually. The linen helps diffuse the light, so I didn’t ever turn over in bed to face the light that can be quite harsh on other devices. I also used the mood lighting while I slept with some white noise on night as there was a party nearby.

I also have it on good authority from my teenager that it has an "excellent speaker", although it doesn’t have a radio or Bluetooth function to play your own music, which it could benefit from, given its smart status. Some sunrise alarms repeat a sound on a loop, and there’s a click or a pause before it replays that can be jarring, but the sounds on the Sunrise 1+ are seamless.

The app is easy to navigate (I’m a Luddite and I managed it) and arguably more convenient than locating touch buttons, which can all feel the same in the dark. The app lets you make changes to times, alarms, volume, colours and soundscapes, and you can preview any changes so it’s easy to adjust the settings to get a balance that’s right for you. The Dreamegg Sunrise 1+ is one of the more expensive devices I tested, but visually, it is elegant, with great sound, calming soundscapes, and a wide range of lighting options, making it an easy buy for 2026.

Best multi purpose sunrise alarm clock

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Touted as a “fast charger, alarm clock and reading lamp in one”, this mid-price alarm has lots to offer. For starters, it frees up space on your bedside table by enabling you to ditch the phone charger and a bedside light. It has sunrise and sunset alarms, as well as mood lighting in singular or mixed colours, and its modern design makes a welcome change from other sunrise alarms. Instead of a block of light by your bed, it’s a glowing ring, which is kind to tired eyes (Dreamegg also offers a similar style). The ring isn’t just for aesthetics either. It acts as a touch button - tap it to cycle through the colour options or hold it to increase or decrease brightness.

When I tested the sunrise alarm, I found the muted white, which gets brighter over time, gently stimulating. Where the WL65 falls a bit short is the limited soundscape. The melodies are nice enough and feature nature sounds such as birds and water, but they don’t offer much variation. The sunrise sounds can’t be listened to on the sunset setting and vice versa, and the speaker doesn’t share the same quality as some of the other alarms I reviewed.

If you are looking for simplicity and minimalism, this is a worthy choice. It has a great quality light, is easy to use, and looks impressively modern on any bedside table. I enjoyed the interactive nature of the ring, and the lead-free charger really is fast.

Best budget sunrise alarm clock

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The Groov-e Light Curve offers a decent range of features considering it's the cheapest sunrise alarm I tested. If, like mine, your bedside table is cluttered with books and skin creams, you may find it a bit large, but on the plus side, it doubles up as an FM Radio, which is handy if you like waking up to music or people chatting.

There are eight alarm options – six natural sounds, such as birds and waves, an inoffensive beep, and the radio. The sunrise and sunset simulation can be set to 10, 20 or 30 minutes, which, while limited, is perfectly adequate. I liked how easy it is to set the sunset option using the crescent moon symbol on the front of the device, and three options for sunrise (light and alarm, alarm only, light only) keep things simple. The touch screen on the front of the device is handy, but the icons on top of the device are hard to see.

When I tested this device, I set the sunrise light for 20 minutes, then Classic FM switched on. On my day off, I set the light to increase for over 30 minutes, followed by wave sounds as an alarm (there are no annoying clicks when the sound loops on the Groov-e). Both made for a pleasant start to the day and undoubtedly gave my sleep hygiene a boost. You can listen to the radio (but not any sounds) during sunset mode. When the light has fully diminished, the music switches off, but hopefully by then you’ll have drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

Best sunrise alarm clock with medical grade light

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Lumie is a trusted brand in light therapy. For the past few winters, I’ve used a Lumie SAD lamp to combat signs of seasonal depression, with great success, so I was curious to see how I’d find the company’s sunrise alarms. I reviewed the Bodyclock Glow 150 and the pricier Lumie Bodyclock Luxe 750 DAB. Both made my list of the best sunrise alarm clocks for 2026 as they helped improve my core sleep time.

All Lumie Bodyclock wake-up lights are Class I medical devices* and the company makes a point that the ‘fading sunset promotes melatonin and helps you to unwind naturally’ and that it’s ‘recommended for SAD and winter blues sufferers’.

This is certainly true of the Glow 150. Although this product doesn’t have mood lighting, it has a superior sunrise/sunset light with a gorgeous graduated hue of red-to-yellow colours. Even at its brightest and most stimulating, the light wasn’t overwhelming, and the reading lamp didn’t prevent me from dropping off. Although the sunrise/sunset duration is limited to 20, 30, or 45 minutes, it felt as slow and steady as the real thing and waking up felt natural and unforced.

Sounds include nature sounds, white noise, and even the hum of a busy café. This range is relatively limited compared to other products, but the speaker is good. Nothing sounded tinny or ‘recorded’. In fact, when the Blackbird Audio came on at 7 am, my cat woke up and started hunting for the source. It’s simple to use, too. The controls are on the front, which I find easier to use than controls on top of a device.

It’s made of plastic, which may be a turn-off for the style-conscious, but it blends into a bedroom setting, and it feels well-made. It doesn’t have the bells and whistles of some of the other alarms I reviewed, but what it lacks in extra features it makes up for in its quality and medical-grade light.

*Certified to UK MDR 2002 and EU MDR 2017/745

Best advanced sunrise alarm clock

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I had high hopes for the Bodyclock Luxe 750 DAB, being the most expensive I reviewed and made by the leading light therapy brand in the UK. Luckily, these expectations were met on each of my testing points.

So, what does £229 buy? For starters, a superior product with a glass globe, an impressive speaker, DAB radio, Bluetooth and – most importantly for SAD sufferers – a Class I medical device wake-up light. While sunrise alarms vary greatly in their effectiveness, per the Lumie site, one study “confirms the efficacy of using a dawn simulator such as a Lumie Bodyclock… for treating SAD as an alternative to bright light therapy.”

It feels solidly built and, while it is on the large side, when you walk into a dark bedroom and see it lit up, it feels like your own harvest moon. It has more sunrise/sunset duration options, ranging from 15 to 90 minutes. There’s adjustable lighting for sunrise, bedside light and a nightlight and – significantly – a low-blue white light, which filters out the blue light that can cause wakefulness and eye strain. What it lacks is mood lighting, but you could argue that this is a serious device that demands to be taken seriously.

Much like the other Lumie device, this one has a ‘light-sensitive auto-dimming’, which is a handy built-in sensor that adapts to light levels in a room, so the display is bright during the day, then dims (or even turns off, if you wish) at night so as not to disturb you.

Unsurprisingly, given the price tag, you get more options than with the Lumie Bodyclock Glow 150. Namely, 34 sleep/wake sounds that range from crickets chirping, to kittens purring, or halyards (I looked it up for you – it’s the sound of ropes and cables being hoisted on sailboats). White noise can be very effective at helping us sleep, though I was intrigued by some of the options. For example, I'm not sure I could drift off to the sound of ping pong or racing cars.

Because the Lumie Bodyclock Luxe has DAB/DAB+ radio (with preset buttons), Bluetooth, a USB port and an aux-in socket, you get more bang for your buck. You can ditch your radio and charger and use this 3-in-1 device.

Best sunrise alarm clock for purifying the air

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Is this an air purifier, or a sunset alarm? It’s actually both. While there are limited alarm and lighting functions, what you lose in mood and sunset settings, you gain in an excellent air purifier with HEPASilent Dual-Filtration technology. It cleans an area of 31 m² in 30 minutes. This makes it a wise choice if you suffer from allergies or live in a high-pollution location. The purifier has four fan settings, a filter (the lifespan is monitored on the app) lasts 9 to 12 months, and it’s quiet – only 18 decibels on the lowest setting. Added bonus: I had the fan on at night, and the white noise lulled me to sleep.

The sunrise alarm seems to be more of a useful addition than the main reason you would buy this. That’s not to say it is not effective – the sunrise light emits a lovely golden hue that gets brighter in the lead-up to the alarm, and there are 11 pleasant nature sounds and harmonies to wake up to, including ‘midnight rain’ and the intriguing-sounding ‘blue awakening’. However, there are only two duration settings for sunrise – 15 and 30 minutes – although you can set multiple alarms for the time and purifier. It can be used as a reading light and nightlight, too.

Although the device is stylish, it is quite big for a sunrise alarm, though not for an air purifier, putting it in a slightly awkward middle ground. At around 28cm tall, it can overwhelm a small bedside table and, because the light and time are on top, you can only tell what time it is by looking over it, rather than at it. To remedy this, I put it on the floor beside my bed and glanced down to tell the time. This also meant the sunrise came up from below, rather than directly at me while I slept.

Best sunrise alarm clock for experience

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This sunrise alarm is stylishly understated to look at, has a myriad of features, and is celebrity-approved (with Cat Deeley confirming it's an essential in her daily routine). It’s easy to set up once you’ve downloaded the Hatch Sleep app, and while the content library is so extensive that you’ll need to play around with it, you’ll reap the benefits. This top-quality product offers an excellent quality light with sunsets and sunrises, a reading light, a nightlight, and abundant mood colours (more than any other device I tested). There is aksi an ever-expanding library of music, soundscapes, colour noises (e.g. white noise), ASMR, sound baths and guided content such as bedtime stories, meditations and podcasts – you name it. The app includes many features and settings to unwind, sleep and wake up to, and you can create multiple alarms, mixes and cues and even listen to stories that come with an immersive light experience.

However, you have to pay for a subscription, which starts at £4.49 a month. This will definitely put some people off, but if you already use comparable apps, such as Calm and Headspace, you’ll get the same or more from the device. Plus, you'll see the benefits of a sunrise alarm. It’s also mainly app-based, although once you’ve created the settings you want, you don’t need your phone nearby. There are also useful touch buttons on the device.

I loved using the Restore as there is so much to choose from. I was woken to a woman singing in Spanish one morning, and to rainfall the next. The sunrise light was gentle yet effective and got really bright without being overpowering. In the evenings, I listened to crickets or drifted off to ‘Little Women’. It’s fun, modern and varied – a great choice if you can handle the dual cost of the device and the monthly subscription.

How I tested the best sunrise alarm clocks

I treated all the clocks I tested with the same standards. I used each device for four days and nights, set alarms at different times and with various sounds, and tried all functions.

I also tested the Momcozy Sunrise Alarm clock, and it would have been in my guide, but it was out of stock everywhere when we came to publish.

When testing the best sunrise alarm clocks for 2026, I looked at the following:

• Size: Sunrise clocks will be bigger than a regular alarm clock, but they shouldn't feel bulky, oversized, or unnecessarily small on your bedside table. I made sure to test a range of sizes to ensure there's an option for most bedrooms.
• Alarm: This was perhaps the most important feature in my testing. Did the sunrise alarm clock actually wake me up? Only the ones that did so pleasantly, without a startling bright light or sound, were included in my guide. I also checked the snooze functions on each clock.
• Sounds: Most sunrise alarm clocks come with sound functions to ease you into the day. I tested all sounds on each device, and only those with a decent range were included. Volume also played a role in this - could it be turned up/down? Customised? If so, that's a point.
• Brightness: There's little point in a sunrise alarm clock that isn't bright enough. I tested each of the sunrise and sunset settings on the devices to make sure they were bright enough to serve their purpose.
• Colour-changing: Could the device differentiate between the colours of a sunset and sunrise if it offered both options? Did the clock offer mood lighting? I made sure to include devices that offered a range of options.
• Charging port: How was the device charged? I included options for wall charging and wireless USB charging, so you can find one for your bedroom set-up.
• Weight: While it's not the most important feature, since you don't move alarm clocks around too often, I took note of the weight of each clock. Too light and you might find it lacks durability, or falls off your bedside table with an accidental knock.

How to choose the best sunrise alarm clock

• Style: It’s easy to have your head turned by a swanky device, but avoid putting style before substance. Think about what you require and consider how much space you can spare on your bedside table. "For example, do you need it to function as an alarm clock or just produce the light?" says Dr Browning. If that’s the case, she says, perhaps a regular alarm clock and a SAD lamp would be sufficient.
• Light: If the strength of the light is most important to you, Dr Browning advises that you choose "a reputable brand to make sure that the light levels it's producing meet manufacturer's safety standards and are strong enough to be effective." Lumie, for example, has an excellent reputation, as the company is known for light therapy. If you don’t need a light, you could even consider wearing a Homedic WakeBand, which wakes you up by vibrating on your wrist.
• Functions: While most of the alarms tested have sunset and sunrise options, you might find you have little use for the evening function. Or you might get excited about mood lighting, only to find multi-coloured lights distracting. If you buy one with radio or Bluetooth, will you ditch Alexa or your Roberts Radio? Are you looking for one that enables you to leave your phone in another room, or one that can double up as a charger? Is the device intuitively designed, or does it seem complicated to use? Our advice? Opt for a good quality device and avoid extra functions that are superfluous to you.
• Price: Sunrise alarm clocks can be picked up for as little as around £20, but it can be a false economy to buy cheaply. More expensive devices tend to be better built, with a good quality light and more features, though there are still bargains to be had. Read online reviews to see what other buyers are saying, and shop around for deals.

Do sunrise alarm clocks actually work?

Yes, as a regular user of sunrise alarm clocks, I'll be one of the first to say that they can be a gentle yet effective way to wake up in the morning. Experts like Dr Lindsay Browning, a neuroscientist, sleep specialist, and the founder of Trouble Sleeping, agree. "The sunrise alarm aims to produce bright light soon after waking, which can reduce sleep inertia," she says.

"Bright light exposure, especially first thing, is critical for helping tell our circadian rhythm that it’s morning. When exposed to light soon after waking, it helps suppress melatonin, helps us feel more awake and alert, and helps us fall asleep earlier in the evening." This is particularly useful in winter when we don’t get much light exposure.

Why not switch on the overhead light or bedside lamp instead? The sudden, artificial brightness can be unpleasant and unhelpful. Sunrise alarms emit natural-looking low light that steadily increases over time (depending on your device) until a preset alarm goes off. "Even through closed eyelids we sense light, so when the sunrise alarm begins to light up before the alarm time, it can ease us from deeper sleep into a lighter and easier-to-wake-up state, decreasing sleep inertia and helping wake-up time feel less shocking and abrupt," explains Dr Browning.

Much like having one of the best pillows will improve your sleep comfort but won't be the bullet solution for being comfortable in bed, sunrise alarm clocks can help you sleep, but they won't be the cure-all for sleep problems. Speak to your doctor if you're having trouble sleeping.

If you have SAD, you may benefit from a light lamp, too. It’s largely agreed that they transition us out of sleep (as well as into it), which can regulate our sleeping patterns. In turn, this gives us more energy. Plus, the ambient light and soundscapes they provide are a welcome and calming addition to the bedroom.

Sunrise alarm clocks vs SAD lamps

SAD lamps and sunrise alarms are often seen as interchangeable, but they differ. "SAD lamps are therapeutic devices with 10,000 lux brightness to help combat seasonal affective disorder (SAD)," says Dr Browning. "Sunrise alarms are often not as bright and don’t have the same therapeutic effect."

Instead, sunrise alarms are great for people who don’t necessarily have SAD, but struggle to wake up or start their mornings feeling groggy. This is the case for many of us who – for example – work shifts, struggle with disturbed sleep patterns due to menopause, stress, kids, or responsibilities, as well as night owls, tweens and teens.