Sunrise alarm clocks: what to look for before you buy
It is 6:15, the alarm is going, and the room is as dark as it was at midnight.
A sunrise alarm clock changes one thing: a bedside lamp brightens gradually before your alarm, so the room is already lit when the sound starts, or instead of it. What changes your morning is how long and what colour the sunrise is, whether you can keep a backup sound, and what the battery does. What changes your night is a sunset fade and a display that goes properly dark.
We have not tested any of these clocks. This guide draws on 12 UK listings we read on 2 October 2026, ours included, and three credited reviews. And in case you are wondering, a sunrise alarm is not a SAD lamp.
How the sunrise works, and what to check
Length. How long the light takes to build to full, finishing at your alarm. Of the 12 listings, 9 state it: our AuroraRise and NatureRise list 5 to 60 minutes, our DayLuma 10, 20, 30 or 60, the Lumie Sunrise Alarm a fixed 30, and the Lumie Bodyclock Shine 300 15 to 90 [1][2]. Nothing we read supports one ideal length. An adjustable range lets you try shorter and longer ones; a fixed one does not.
Colour. Some lamps start deep red or orange and move towards white; others simply brighten a single colour. DayLuma describes this on its listing: its light "moves gradually from warm red and orange tones towards brighter white light". Only 5 of the 12 listings describe the colour at all, three Lumie Bodyclocks among them [2]. No Sleepless Nights, comparing five models, calls this "the most important difference between them" [5]: one reviewer's view, but reason to look for colour words.
Brightness. Several listings give levels rather than a measurement: DayLuma lists 20, the Lumie Sunrise Alarm ten levels of white bedside light. Only one of the 12 gives lux, the amount of light landing on a surface: the Philips HF3500 page says "up to 200 lux", with no distance, and the model was listed as out of stock [3]. Lux changes with distance, so a figure without one tells you little; our guide to lux and lumens explains why.
Light on its own, or a sound as backup
Eight of the 12 listings say you can wake to light alone.
Our rule: if being up on time matters, for work or a train, choose a clock that lets you combine light and sound, and keep a sound on as a backstop. If an occasional late start would not hurt, light alone is worth a try.
AuroraRise, one of ours, says you can "use light alone, sound alone or both together"; our NatureRise calls its light-only setting a "silent sunrise".
Sounds vary: built-in wake sounds (AuroraRise lists 24), FM radio, a Bluetooth speaker, or night-time sounds such as white noise (NatureRise lists 26; more in our guide to white noise for adults). Check the volume: the Guardian's tester found the Lumie Spark 100's tone "piercing at the higher three of its five volume levels" [6].
Evenings and nights: sunset fade and a display that goes dark
A sunset mode dims the lamp gradually towards bedtime. A sleep timer simply switches it off after a set time; on two timer-only models, No Sleepless Nights found the light "turns off very quickly" at the end [5]. AuroraRise and DayLuma list a sunset mode, and the Lumie Sunrise Alarm fades to off over 30 minutes [1]. Our NatureRise has a sleep timer you can set from 5 to 180 minutes.
Then the clock face. "Dimmable" alone does not say whether it goes fully dark. NatureRise answers plainly: "Can I dim the display completely? Yes." The Lumie Sunrise Alarm display can be set to high, low or off by hand [1], and Lumie says its light-sensitive Bodyclock display "fades to low or switches off entirely at night" [2]. DayLuma's display "can be reduced substantially".
Buttons, apps and two people sharing
Only 2 of the 12 listings say no app is needed: AuroraRise ("No app is required") and NatureRise ("no app required"). None states app control in its text. The Guardian's January 2025 roundup found one model whose sunrise was app-only [6].
Two checks come from reviews, not listings. The Guardian's tester noted the Lexon Mina's buttons sit on the base and "can't be seen in the dark" without a phone torch or other light [6]. Optimize Your Biology, a US review site, found the Lumie Rise 100 and Glow 150 alarms "have to be re-enabled every single day" [7].
If two of you get up at different times, count the alarms. Our DayLuma lists "Up to 4 programmable alarms" for "weekdays, weekends or two people sharing the same room".
Power: what the battery is actually for
Picture a power cut at 5am on a work day. Of the 12 listings, 6 mention a battery, and on four it keeps the time and settings.
Our AuroraRise, DayLuma and NatureRise are among those four. AuroraRise runs on USB-C power; its backup battery keeps the clock memory during an interruption, "not for running the clock continuously". DayLuma's CR2032 cell "supports time memory; it is not the main power source". NatureRise runs on a mains cable, with a backup battery for settings memory.
The Lumie Sunrise Alarm takes three AAA batteries as a "back-up power source if the electrical power supply fails" [1], but does not say what keeps running.
Our rule: unless a listing says its light or alarm runs on the battery, assume both need power. If a power cut on a work morning would matter, keep a phone alarm set too.
Our sunrise alarms, and four UK alternatives
Seven listings, read on 2 October 2026; three are ours. "Not stated" means that listing does not say, not that the feature is missing. This is what listings state, not how lamps perform. Sources: our product pages and references 1 to 4.
| Listing | Price (2 Oct 2026) | Sunrise length | Light only | Evening light | Display at night |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AuroraRise (ours) | £79.90 | 5-60 min | Yes | Sunset mode | Dimmable 0-100%, "very low setting" |
| DayLuma (ours) | £64.90 | 10, 20, 30 or 60 min | Yes | Sunset mode; sleep timer | Dimmable, "can be reduced substantially" |
| NatureRise (ours) | £109.90 | 5-60 min | Yes (silent sunrise) | Sleep timer, 5-180 min | Dims completely (0-100%) |
| Lumie Sunrise Alarm | £49.98 | 30 min (fixed) | Yes (sounds optional) | 30-min fade to off | High, low or off, set by hand |
| Lumie Bodyclock Spark 100 | £99.00 | 30 min | Yes (beep optional) | Fades to off or to a nightlight | Auto-dims to low or off |
| Lumie Bodyclock Shine 300 | £149.00 | 15-90 min | Yes (audio optional) | 15-90 min fading sunset | Auto-dims to low or off |
| Groov-e Light Curve | £34.99 ("Back in stock soon") | Not stated | Not stated | Sunset and sunrise simulation | Not stated |
Our WarmRise is a different kind of product: a bedside lamp with a sunrise alarm built in, for anyone who wants one device on the bedside table.
Prices we saw on 2 October 2026, grouped:
- Under £30: unbranded lights in Google Shopping (listings not read).
- £30 to £60: Groov-e Light Curve £34.99, Lumie Sunrise Alarm £49.98, our WarmRise £59.90.
- £60 to £110: our DayLuma £64.90 and AuroraRise £79.90, Lumie Spark 100 £99, our NatureRise £109.90.
- Over £110: Lumie Glow 150 £119, Shine 300 £149.
Hold any listing against this:
- a sunrise length you can change
- colour words, not just "brightness levels"
- light only, sound only, or both
- a sunset fade, not just a sleep timer
- a display that switches fully off
- what the battery is for, in plain words
- buttons or app, and how many alarms
Who it suits, and who can skip it
It suits you if you want the room lit before the alarm and will keep a sound on when it matters. It suits couples on different schedules, if it holds an alarm each, and heavy sleepers with the sound on: Optimize Your Biology, which would skip the audible alarm itself, says "most heavy sleepers should keep an audible backstop" [7].
Skip it if your phone alarm genuinely works and you would rather not add another device by the bed. A gradual light before your alarm is all a sunrise alarm clock does. If that is not what your mornings are missing, you do not need one.
A gentler start, with the right questions
Take the checklist to any listing, ours included. If a gentler start, even when the sky is still dark, appeals, browse our alarm clocks with those questions in hand.
References
- Lumie, "Sunrise Alarm" product page. https://www.lumie.com/products/sunrise-alarm (read 2 October 2026)
- Lumie, "Bodyclock Spark 100" and "Bodyclock Shine 300" product pages. https://www.lumie.com/products/bodyclock-spark-100 and https://www.lumie.com/products/bodyclock-shine-300 (read 2 October 2026)
- Philips UK, "Wake-up Light HF3500/01" product page. https://www.philips.co.uk/c-p/HF3500_01/wake-up-light (read 2 October 2026)
- Groov-e, "Light Curve GV-CR01" product page. https://www.groov-e.co.uk/groov-e-wake-up-light-alarm-clock-with-radio/gv-cr01-we (read 2 October 2026)
- Ethan Green, No Sleepless Nights, "The Best Sunrise Alarm Clocks: I Compare 5", updated 20 March 2025. https://www.nosleeplessnights.com/best-wake-up-lights/
- Pete Wise, The Guardian (The Filter), "Rise and shine with the 10 best sunrise alarm clocks in the UK, tried and tested", 29 January 2025, with winter 2025/26 additions. https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2025/jan/29/best-sunrise-alarm-clocks
- Derek Antosiek, Optimize Your Biology, "Best Sunrise Alarm Clocks 2026: I Tested 15 With a Light Meter", updated 29 September 2026. https://optimizeyourbiology.com/best-sunrise-alarm-clocks