Travel Products Travel Accessories The 7 Best Gentle Alarm Clocks of 2024 For a calming wake-up that will help you start your day off right, consider these gentle alarm clocks. By Stefanie Waldek Stefanie Waldek Stefanie Waldek is a freelance space, travel, and design journalist with expertise in aviation, meteorology, and polar regions. She was a former editor at Architectural Digest, TripAdvisor, and ArtNews. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines Updated on January 22, 2024 Fact checked by Rich Scherr Fact checked by Rich Scherr Rich Scherr is a seasoned journalist and editor who has traveled across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and spent more than a decade reviewing hotel room. Travel + Leisure Fact Checking Process In This Article Expand Jump to a Section Our top picks Reviews Tips for Buying FAQ Why Trust T+L We independently evaluate all recommended products and services. If you click on links we provide, we may receive compensation. Learn more. Travel + Leisure / Amazon / Walmart Chances are you'll need to use some form of an alarm clock at some point in your life, whether that's a traditional device, your smartphone, or even a smartwatch. But most of those devices play rather harsh tones to wake you up, which isn't ideal for your mental and physical well-being. You're better off choosing a gentle alarm clock. "Gentle alarm clocks are designed to wake you up more gradually with light, soft sounds, or a combination of both," says Dr. Shelby Harris, director of sleep health at Sleepopolis. "They are made to minimize the negative effects of traditional alarm clocks and reduce sleep inertia and are also beneficial in improving your mood, sleep quality, as well as symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), insomnia, and jet lag." We've researched many different types of gentle alarm clocks, from sunrise lamps to coffee makers, to find the best ones that will rouse you in a calming manner. Our top pick is the Philips Sleep and Wake-up Light HF3670. We love that it wakes you up in the most natural way possible — with light — but also comes with high-tech elements like monitoring your bedroom environment and light-guided breathing programs to help you fall asleep at night. Our Top Picks Best Overall: Philips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wake-up Light at Amazon ($179) Jump to Review Best Sunrise: Philips SmartSleep Wake-up Light at Amazon ($90) Jump to Review Best Scented: HoMedics SoundSpa Slumber Scents Alarm Clock at Walmart ($85) Jump to Review Best Vibrating: Bellman & Symfon Vibio Bed Shaker at Walmart ($120) Jump to Review Best Sleep Sounds: Loftie Clock at Amazon ($150) Jump to Review Best Light: Casper Glow Light at Amazon ($90) Jump to Review Best for Kids: Hatch Rest at Amazon ($60) Jump to Review Best Overall Philips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wake-up Light Amazon View On Amazon $179 View On Walmart View On Philips.com Why We Love It It's a sunrise alarm that also helps you sleep better at night. What to Consider All those extra features come at a higher cost. "Light-based alarm clocks, also known as sunrise alarm clocks, are specifically designed to simulate the natural sunlight, which plays an important role in the regulation of our sleep-wake cycles and provides you with a more natural and gradual way to wake up," Harris says. That's why our top pick for the best gentle alarm clock is a sunrise alarm. This one pairs a gradually brightening light in natural sunrise colors with soothing sounds (you have a choice of eight) to wake you in the morning. But this alarm clock goes far beyond the act of waking you up (and telling time). It also monitors the environment you're sleeping in, checking on things like temperature, noise, and humidity levels — with that information, you can tweak the settings in your room for the ideal sleeping conditions. Plus, it has a sunset setting that can help your body settle in for the night. Sunrise alarm clocks like this one are great for helping you beat jet lag, too, as light is a natural way to reset your circadian clock. The Details: 11.1 x 12.05 x 5.43 inches | Plug-in Best Sunrise Philips SmartSleep Wake-up Light Amazon View On Amazon $90 View On Walmart $135 View On Philips.com Why We Love It The digital display automatically dims in a dark room. What to Consider The wake-up light doesn't get as bright as our overall best pick. Philips has an entire collection of sunrise alarm clocks at different price points, and we think this is the one that's the best bang for your buck if you don't want to splurge on the top-end model. Like our top pick, this gentle alarm clock uses a natural-looking, red-toned light to rouse you in the morning, and you have the option of pairing that with one of five different soft alarm sounds, including chirping birds and piano music. While it doesn't have sensors to monitor the environment, the alarm clock does have a nice bonus feature: its display automatically dims in dark rooms, so you won't be distracted by the bright lights of a digital clock at night. The Details: 6 x 10 x 10 inches | Plug-in Best Scented HoMedics SoundSpa Slumber Scents Alarm Clock Walmart View On Walmart $85 View On Homedics.com View On Kohls.com $56 Why We Love It This is an all-in-one device that doesn't take up much space on your nightstand. What to Consider It's not actually the scent that wakes you up but gentle sounds. If coffee isn't your preferred morning scent, this essential oil diffuser, white noise machine, and alarm clock combo allows you to pick your favorite scent. Just note that it doesn't actually emit scents at certain times of day to wake you up — you'll have to rely on the six white-noise sounds and the glowing lights for that. The sounds range from campfire crackling to a babbling brook, or you can sync your phone to the device via Bluetooth to play your own audio selection, whether a song or a podcast. As for the LED light, which can be set to six different colors, it's primarily used as a nightlight, but you can set it so that it turns on in the morning with your alarm. The Details: 6 x 5 x 10 inches | Plug-in Best Vibrating Bellman & Symfon Vibio Bed Shaker Amazon View On Walmart $120 View On Bellman.com Why We Love It This is ideal for hard-of-hearing folks and heavy sleepers. What to Consider You have to charge the device regularly. This alarm clock isn't actually a clock, but it still can wake you up in the morning; it's a silent alarm that rouses you with vibration instead of noise. In order to set it up, you pair it with a free app, which can also sync the device with your phone to alert you of incoming texts or calls with vibration and LED lights (they aren't bright like sunrise alarm clocks, just little indication lights). Don't worry — if you have do not disturb on, the device will comply. Do note that you'll have to charge the device for 1.5 hours via USB to power it up, but it'll last up to 10 days under your pillow on a single charge. The Details: 3.7 x 3.7 x 1.1 inches | USB charged, battery operated The 12 Best Luxury Hotel Pillows, Tested and Reviewed Best Sleep Sounds Loftie Clock Loftie View On Amazon $150 View On Byloftie.com $149 View On Huckberry $149 Why We Love It It's very design-forward. What to Consider It needs Wi-Fi to function, and it requires a very specific type of Wi-Fi connection. Loftie has the best sound library of all the alarm clocks out there, and it's continually being updated so you can discover new sounds all the time. This is great not only for morning alarms (Loftie uses a two-phase system that combines very gentle sounds with slightly louder ones to wake you up), but also for falling asleep at night. One thing we really love: You can listen to some of the sounds online before purchasing the clock. But one thing we don't love is that this clock must be connected to a 2.4 gHz connection in order to tap into those sounds, which isn't great if you're traveling. Keep it at home on your nightstand, where you know the Wi-Fi will work. A nightlight is the only other feature besides the clock and the sounds. The Details: 2.75 x 6 x 2.75 inches | Battery-operated Best Light Casper Glow Light Bed Bath & Beyond View On Amazon $90 View On Target $90 View On Casper $129 Why We Love It There's nothing complicated about this light at all. What to Consider There's no clock. Some gentle alarm clocks go a little too hard on the frills, but that's not the case with this one. In fact, there are essentially zero frills — not even a clock. In essence, this is a timed light that can be used both as a nightlight and a sunrise alarm. In manual mode, you can wiggle the light to adjust brightness, using it as a nightlight for a midnight bathroom run. Then you can twist it if you need a brighter light, such as for reading in bed. And finally, there's the alarm portion. You'll need to connect the device to an app, but once you do, you can set dimming and brightening timers to help you fall asleep at night and wake up in the morning. The Details: 5.25 x 3.75 inches | Plug-in Best for Kids Hatch Rest Hatch View On Amazon $60 View On Target $60 View On Nordstrom $60 Why We Love It Though it's designed for kids, the clock doesn't look "kiddie" at all. What to Consider You can't play your own music or sounds, just the pre-programmed ones. This gentle alarm clock is designed with kids in mind, though you wouldn't be able to tell from its elegant, minimalist form. But it is enabled to be a two-way audio monitor as well as a sound machine and a nightlight. As for the alarm, which can be used for both mornings and naptime awakenings, you can select a light color from 10 options and pick between 11 soothing sounds that include rain and lullabies. To set the alarm clock, you can use your voice via Amazon Alexa or do so with the phone app. There is a clock on the device, but you can adjust its brightness or turn it off entirely to ensure total darkness for your little one. The Details: 4.2 x 4.2 x 6.61 inches | Plug-in Tips for Buying a Gentle Alarm Clock Be prepared to test it out on low-stakes mornings If you're transitioning from a loud alarm clock to a gentle one, do it when you have nothing going on the following morning, just in case the gentle one isn't enough to wake you up. (That is, do not tempt fate if you have an early morning flight the next day!) It might take a few mornings — or even more than a week — to get the settings on your new alarm clock just right. "Some gentle alarm clocks allow you to adjust the intensity of the light and wake sounds, so it’s important you make sure that you can set the brightness levels to be bright enough to wake you up in the morning," Harris says. Consider portability for travel If you plan on taking your gentle alarm clock on the road — most hotels only have loud alarm clocks, so make sure you take its size and portability into consideration. Ideally you'll want a small alarm clock that's battery-powered in case there's no outlet near your nightstand. Frequently Asked Questions Is it better to use a gentle alarm clock? Yes, it's better to wake up in a gentle manner rather than a jarring one. "The problem with traditional loud alarm clocks is that they trigger your stress response, increase adrenaline levels, and essentially shock you into waking up. This forced awakening can increase sleep inertia and lead to high blood pressure and an elevated heart rate," Harris says. How did people wake up before alarm clocks? Before alarm clocks were invented, people typically relied on the sun to wake them up — followed by the sounds of animals like roosters, which were roused by the sun, too. During the Industrial Revolution at the end of the 18th century, humans were used as alarm clocks. People called knocker-ups would walk around town and use a stick to tap on the window of their clients, waking them up. Some knocker-ups would throw pebbles at windows or even use a peashooter. This practice continued into the mid-20th century, when alarm clocks became largely affordable to the masses. How do I stop sleeping through my alarms? "There are ways to train yourself to wake up to an alarm clock if you have an especially tough time getting up," certified sleep science coach Becca Fair, the sleep accessories editor at Mattressnerd.com says. "Moving your alarm clock away from your bed is a type of ‘forcing’ you [to] get out of bed. Following a morning routine is always a good habit as your body will adjust to the new routine and make it easier to wake up each morning."But more importantly, you should be looking at why you're sleeping through your alarm — and the answer is likely that you're not getting enough sleep. "Research shows the more sleep deprived you are, the more difficult it is to be roused from sleep and the worse it feels," Jeff Kahn, co-founder and CEO of Rise Science says. "Keeping your sleep debt [low], or the amount of sleep you’re missing out on relative to your unique sleep need, is an excellent way to 'train' yourself to better wake up to an alarm."If you find that you're getting a quality sleep for a sufficient amount of time each night but you still can't wake up for an alarm, you might need to see a sleep doctor to be assessed for a potential sleep disorder. Why Trust Travel + Leisure Stefanie Waldek is a freelance travel writer with nearly a decade of experience. For this article, she evaluated alarm clocks based on their features and read dozens of customer reviews. While researching alarm clocks, we spoke with Dr. Shelby Harris, director of sleep health at Sleepopolis; Becca Fair, certified sleep science coach and sleep accessories editor at Mattressnerd.com; and Jeff Kahn, co-founder and CEO of Rise Science. The 10 Best Kids' Headphones for Travel Love a great deal? Sign up for our T+L Recommends newsletter and we'll send you our favorite travel products each week. Updated by Taylor Fox Taylor Fox Taylor Fox is a Commerce Updates Writer at Travel + Leisure where she tests, researches, and writes about travel products. Taylor holds a Master’s in Geography and has been a writer and editor for over seven years. learn more Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit