Best Sunrise Alarm Clocks of 2026
If you’re tired of being jolted out of bed by your current alarm, a dawnlike wake-up light just might brighten your mornings in more ways than one. Here’s our take on five popular models.
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Whether you struggle to get a good night’s sleep or are simply not a morning person, a sunrise alarm clock could be your new best friend.
Sunrise alarm clocks gently emit light at your designated time, glowing ever brighter like the rising sun, with the goal of gently rousing you from your slumber. Many give you the option of replacing the jarring sounds of a typical alarm clock with pleasant nature sounds, such as chirping birds, wind chimes, or even glorious silence. In short, they’re designed to create a natural-feeling alternative to the rude awakening offered by a conventional clock.
“Light is responsible for regulating our sleep-wake cycles,” explains Dr. Nilong Vyas, a board-certified pediatrician, sleep coach, and founder of the family sleep consulting service Sleepless in NOLA. “The type of light and the amount of lux [a measure of illuminance an object produces] can stimulate the retina of the eye and give signals to the body that it is time to wake up or go to sleep.”
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As the category has continued to expand, sunrise alarm clocks have also evolved to help you sleep. Some of the best sunrise alarm clocks come with a white noise option or calming nature sounds (ocean waves, rain), breath-work guidance, even an assessment of your room’s temperature, humidity, and noise and light levels. (Most of the models from CR’s tests have at least one of these capabilities.)
CR members can keep reading for our takes on five of the best sunrise alarm clocks (and one to skip). You can keep reading beyond the picks to learn more about how they work and how CR tests sunrise alarm clocks.
@consumerreports Tired of being jolted out of bed by your current alarm? See the best sunrise alarm clocks from our tests through the link in our bio. #sunrisealarmclock #alarmclock #sleeptok
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Best Sunrise Alarm Clocks
To make a fair comparison, we limited our roundup to stand-alone devices with a clock interface. Ultimately we landed on popular models from six brands: hOmelabs, iHome, JALL, La Crosse, Lumie, and Philips. All have backup-battery capabilities (though a battery may or may not be included) that save the clock’s time and alarm settings in case of a power outage, or if the clock is accidentally unplugged.
Here, we list the clocks in order of how they fared in our evaluation, from most to least user-friendly. (This test did not assess brightness levels or light color or quality of the audio.) Prices below are approximate and may change.
