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Tag: alarm clocks

  • I’m a Heavy Sleeper, so I Tried 6 Extreme Alarm Clocks That Shock and Roll

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    Extreme Alarm Clocks to Avoid

    Photograph: Molly Higgins

    Flying Alarm Clock for $18: The idea behind this alarm is funny—when the alarm goes off, a propeller ejects from the top and the sleeper is forced to get up, find the propeller, and place it back on the top to get the alarm to stop beeping. However, during the week I used it, the alarm did not stop beeping when the propeller was placed back on the top, when the snooze button was pressed, or when the alarm button was switched off. The only way to get it to stop was to find a screwdriver and take out one of the five required AA batteries (not included). By the end of the week, I had my screwdriver handy in the mornings. At least it kept me up, but not for the right reasons.

    Alarm Clock App (In-App Purchases): This is a puzzle-style alarm app similar to the Alarmy app, but it has fewer features and is buggier. The alarm lets you hit snooze three times before it forces you to actually complete a task, which wasn’t helpful for a chronic snoozer like me. The biggest issue, though, was that the alarm didn’t sound when my phone was in vibrate or silent mode. For this reason, I had to have a backup alarm throughout the majority of the week I tested. When I did remember to turn on the ringer, the app glitched almost every morning and either froze or shut down the app entirely.

    EC Vision Lock N’ Load Gun Alarm Clock for $28: This is another gimmicky clock meant to be a fun, interactive alarm. You set it up across the room, the alarm sounds off, and a target springs up—the sleeper must then shoot the target with a toy gun to activate the snooze feature. However, shooting the alarm just controls the snooze; to turn off the alarm, the sleeper has to press an actual button on the alarm clock—making the whole shooting part ultimately unnecessary to the clock’s functionality. Even by placing the alarm on the other side of the room and using the aiming and shooting element, this clock didn’t really force me out of bed as effectively as some of the others on this list.

    Which Extreme Alarm Is for You?

    Well, that all depends on your problem with getting out of bed.

    If you are a chronic snooze-pusher, opt for alarms that physically make you get out of bed. Many types incorporate movement to get your blood pumping and shake off some of that sleepy grogginess—like Clocky, the alarm on wheels, or an alarm clock that requires you to shoot a target to turn it off.

    If you are hard of hearing, some of these alarms have adjustable pitch and volume, which are useful for hearing loss in certain ranges. Some of these alarms also have a vibration pad, which can be inserted between the mattress and box spring or under the top sheet, that wakes the sleeper via vibrational movement. There’s even a wrist clock that shocks the sleeper, which can be helpful for those sleeping with partners who don’t want to be disturbed by noises.

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    Molly Higgins

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  • Christian Influencers Are Throwing Their Hatch Clocks in the Trash

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    Treasure to Trash and Back Again

    According to Erin Merani, Hatch’s vice president of marketing, this series of events was not, in fact, a planned marketing stunt, and Hatch is still figuring out the ramifications of the demon discourse. While Merani is glad the ads and programming “caught people’s attention,” she wants to clarify they were all meant for fun, and she’s heartened by how many users have rushed in to defend Hatch.

    “We saw a lot of community jumping into the comments and saying, ‘Wait a minute, we missed the plot here!’” she says. “This is a Halloween-themed ad about their adult—not baby—product actually being the thing that will save you from the real evil: your phone. Your phone is actually keeping you up at night.’” To be clear, Hatch makes two devices, one specifically for kids and the other for adults. Any pop culture references, like Twilight, are exclusive to adults only via Hatch’s Restore 2 and 3 devices—they can’t be accessed on the Hatch Baby.

    Then, a new trending topic arose about 48 hours later: “If you’re going to throw your Hatch device away, send it to me.”

    Hatch took it and ran with it. “We used the cues of the community and sort of rode that wave with this idea of, ‘Hey, we know this is happening, and we wanted to address this while also pointing at having a little bit of fun with it,” Merani says.

    Enter Hatch’s new “RePossession Program.” “We saw this overwhelming outreach of people who wanted to be ‘repossessed,’” Merani says, “so we were able to point people to our refurbishment program, to be able to keep those devices out of landfills and send ‘repossessed’ units out.”

    So far, Hatch has had more than 10,000 related social media inquiries about receiving “repossessed Hatch devices,” and only 10 requests to send Hatch devices back to the company.

    Ultimately, if you have a Hatch device and would like to send it back, you can contact customer service to arrange a return. On the other hand, you can now purchase refurbished machines (from the repossessed campaign and otherwise) here. No matter what side of the conversation you find yourself on, we can all agree on one thing: sleep is important, and you should definitely spend less time on your phone.

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    Julia Forbes

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  • Forget the Nintendo Alarmo, Casio’s Throwback Alarm Clock is the Real Must Have

    Forget the Nintendo Alarmo, Casio’s Throwback Alarm Clock is the Real Must Have

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    Time to hit up your favorite Japanese import site. Exclusive to Casio Japan, the unceremoniously named DQD-851J-8JF is a bedside alarm clock that looks like the company’s famous A158WA digital watch from the late ’80s. It has a radio function to keep its time in sync (though the clock can work without the feature). It also has a thermometer and hygrometer.

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    Lambert Varias

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  • The 5 Best Sunrise Alarms to Help You Rise and Shine

    The 5 Best Sunrise Alarms to Help You Rise and Shine

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    If you aren’t feeling rested when your alarm goes off, the problem could be the alarm clock itself. Waking up to a sudden loud alarm isn’t exactly a fun way to start your day, and the disruptive jolt might not work to tell your body it’s time to rise. I’m a chronic snooze button kind of gal, and I find a sunrise alarm clock is helpful, since the growing light helps tell my body it’s time to wake up—and that bright light is much, much harder to ignore.

    After weeks of sleeping with a sunrise alarm clock at my bedside, I’ve seen a nice improvement in how alert I feel in the mornings. I’m still not a hop-out-of-bed morning person, but I find myself actually staying awake after my alarm in the gentle glow of these sunrise lamps rather than just going back to bed for another hour. Plus, as someone who has trouble falling asleep at night, alarms with a sunset routine option have become a boon to help me both go to sleep and wake up.

    While you’re here, don’t miss our other sleep guides, including the Best Sheets, Best Pillows, Best Weighted Blankets, Best Sound Machines, and Best Mattresses.

    Updated September 2024: We’ve updated this guide with all new picks and testing.

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    How Sunrise Alarms Work

    Your body is built to wake naturally with the sunrise and feel sleepy as it sets. The light at both the beginning and end of the day is a warm, golden tone, unlike the midday bright, slightly blue sunlight that keeps you wide awake. A sunrise alarm clock mimics this transition from morning to bright daytime light, helping to signal your body to wake up (or fall asleep, if the clock also has a sunset option).

    Each alarm below offers a sunrise routine, meaning you choose a time to wake up and then the alarm clock will start displaying a deep, orange glow and transition to a bright light by the time your alarm is set for. Some offer customization, allowing you to choose how long you want that artificial sunrise to be, while others have set timers. Some also allow the reverse option with a sunset routine and can double as sound machines. Most of these plug into the wall like a classic alarm clock and stay put, though sometimes there’s a companion app or recharging capabilities (if it’s not mentioned, though, assume it doesn’t).

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    Nena Farrell

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