For most hitting our bed after the end of a long eventful day is one of the best feelings in the world ….. you are sleeping so soundly head nestled in your pillow dreaming of sugar plums ….
When all of sudden out of know where comes the most annoying sound in the world beep, Beep, BEep, BEEp, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!
All you can think is “Make it stop, please make it stop”!
But it never does ….
Some of us like to jump up turn our alarms off and start our day. While others are turtles who believe that slow and steady wins the race.
Some of us need an atomic bomb to go off to wake us up, while others hear a pin drop and we are awake.
With so many sleep patterns, Where do we even know where to start ….
Right below….
Best For Zombies
Sonic Boom Analog Alarm Clock $43
Wakes you by Shaking your mattress while emitting intergalactic sounds and flashing blue lights
The test Attached by a 7-foot wire to the clock is a disk I shove under my mattress. The claim: This gizmo will make my bed vibrate like it’s ready to launch. With my 19-inch-thick Stearns & Foster (plus pillow top), I seriously doubt it. But the next morning my entire body is shaking to the sound of techno and the glare of blinking lights. I leap out of bed as if Al Sharpton and Howard Dean were spooning next to me. This is my kind of alarm! Then I notice that John is also standing, naked and shivering. Though effective, the Sonic Boom is declared out of the question.
Pros Could awaken the dead.
Cons Forces you to start the day in a state of shock and awe.
Best For Getting Up Fast
Sleeptracker Watch $150
Wakes you by Tracking your sleep patterns and beeping at the ideal time
The test After hearing me babble about my A.M. quest at a party, a tech geek recommends the Sleeptracker. A movement sensor inside the watch triggers the alarm when you fidget within a half hour of your wake-up time. The science: If your arm is moving, you’ve shifted out of a deep-sleep phase and should therefore have less trouble getting up. I put the watch on, thinking the plastic band will be uncomfortable, but quickly forget it’s there and nod off. It beeps at 7:01 and I’m instantly awake yet still dead tired. I could have slept another 29 minutes! When you’re clocking only 5 or 6 hours a night, that’s a big chunk of rest to miss out on. Because the watch doesn’t have a snooze option (major perk for John), I resentfully roll out of bed.
Pros You’re less likely to feel groggy, supposedly making it easier to get up.
Cons No snooze means you’re screwed if you fall back asleep.
Best For Light-Sensitive Sleepers
BioBrite SunRise Clock $120
Wakes you by Gradually getting brighter
The test My sister, a new mom, loves the SunRise because it wakes her without disturbing little Josh. Instead of using sound, the orb starts glowing a half hour before wake-up time and gradually brightens. And when I stir at 8:10, John confirms it did exactly that—for him, at around 7:25. Curled up in fetal position with a pillow over my head, I hadn’t noticed. The clock does have a backup buzzer. But if you have to use it, what’s the point?
Pros Unless the backup alarm kicks in, it’s totally silent.
Cons Sleep facing away from the clock and you’ll easily miss the sunrise.
Best For Ipod Addicts
XtremeMac Luna $150
Wakes you by Playing the video of your choice
The test WH’s beauty editor, Liesa Goins, turns me on to the very slick-looking Luna. It’s the only alarm clock/stereo system I’ve seen that starts your day with media stored on your video iPod (Nanos and Shuffles need not apply). As I learn the first morning, a House rerun is more likely to trigger a sex dream starring Hugh Laurie (yeesh) than bring you around. On morning two, John and I cuddle in bed for almost an hour watching The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The next day, I wake to a silly 3-minute National Geographic video short featuring wrestling lizards (free from iTunes) and get out of bed giggling and in a good mood. Unfortunately, I proceed to leave my iPod at work that evening. Without it, the Luna is reduced to a pretty clock radio.
Pros Short videos and podcasts keep your eyes open and kick-start your brain.
Cons Movies and TV shows glue you to your pillow.
Best For Snooze-Button Junkies
Nanda Clocky $50
Wakes you by Rolling off the table and onto the floor, like the proverbial meatball
The test You can snooze Clocky once, but the next time his alarm sounds he rolls onto the floor, forcing you to chase him. I disarm the snooze—why delay the action?—and hit the sack. I wake to clicks, beeps, and whirs, followed by a thud. When I sit up, I see Clocky whiz under the bed. I hit the floor swearing and grab the annoying-but-fun droid. Not exactly a poetic way to seize the day, but it just might be perfect for me.
Pros Cute, and gets you out of bed fast
Cons Stirs up dust bunnies
Best For The Easily Roused
Zen Timepiece $150
Wakes you by Striking a subtle B-note (according to my untrained ear) on a brass bowl
The test According to now-zen.com, this “bowl-gong” will “summon my consciousness” with “complex tones.” In reality, a hammer in the wooden base will strike the bowl. At 1 a.m. I put the bowl on the base, set the clock, and pass out. The next thing I see is the number nine followed by two zeros. Crap! I’m late for work. The bowl was off center, so the hammer hit nothing but air. Take two: The next morning I come to as a B-note resonates…and lulls me back to sleep. The bowl continues to chime at closer intervals until I finally turn it off. My consciousness may have been summoned on time, but I didn’t drag my ass into the shower until after 8.
Pros Gently nudges you out of la-la land
Cons Not 100 percent reliable
So Fit Ones what alarm clock best suits you?
Sleep and find out!
Fit Chic