Stop Using Your Smartphone and Snag a Real Alarm Clock Instead

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Wanting to get the most out of your sleep might look like researching the plushiest mattress or tracking your R.E.M. cycles. While these are a step in the right direction, a simpler way to get better sleep is to get your phone out of the bedroom.

Many people rely on their smartphones for their alarms and don’t think twice about it, but so many of us are glued to our phones we don’t notice unhealthy habits that compromise our sleep hygiene. If you scroll before bed, the bright blue light and overstimulation can throw off your ability to fall asleep fast, and turning off the phone alarm in the morning usually leads to checking missed notifications, emails, or social media as soon as you wake up.

This sleep study concluded that restricting phone use before bed “reduced sleep latency and pre-sleep arousal and increased sleep duration and working memory.” In short—the nightly scroll is negatively affecting your sleep. While having a phone within reach isn’t proven to be the direct cause of bad sleep, removing it altogether is an adjustment that will automatically improve pre- and post-sleep habits, which can in turn help you sleep better and more restfully.

Alarm clocks were created for the sole purpose of waking you up and it’s about time we let them do their jobs once again.

The Best Alarm Clocks

• Best Overall: Jall Wooden Alarm Clock

• Best Budget Option: Jall Cubic Alarm Clock

• Best for Heavy Sleepers: Roxicosly Loud Vibrating Alarm Clock

• Best Splurge: Hatch Restore 2 Sunrise Alarm Clock

• Best Analog Option: Peakeep Analog Alarm Clock

What to Consider

Alarm Sounds

See how customizable the alarm is and if it suits your wake-up style. Some alarm clocks use radio or alarm tones, while others have built-in soothing sounds to choose from if you prefer a gentle wake-up.

Sunrise alarm clocks use a light cycle that gradually adds more light to wake you up naturally while other clocks use vibrations, which is handy if you’re a heavy sleeper who tends to hit the snooze without realizing it. Check if the volume of the alarm is adjustable if you’re a particularly heavy sleeper, and consider one that has alarms and vibrations like our pick below.

Clock Display

You’ll want a display that is clear and easy to read. Light sleepers should check if the brightness of the display is adjustable because they’ll probably want it dimmer than those who aren’t sensitive to light. Some alarm clocks, like our Best Gentle Wake-Up pick, have an auto display that’ll adjust to the light in the room without you needing to do anything.

Telling the time is the priority, but some alarm clocks also give you the temperature, weather, and humidity at a glance. Analog clocks of yore have zero adjustability, but some now come with a backlight feature—but most analogs don’t have adjustable volume.

Power

Many alarm clocks are corded but have disposable backup batteries to keep the time and ensure your alarm goes off if your power goes out. Some come with just a USB power cable for you to use with device chargers you already own, so don’t be disappointed if your clock doesn’t come with a charging block.

How We Selected

We, too, are afflicted by the screen-time conundrum, so finding a good alarm clock was personal. We considered what our wake-up routines looked like and how we wanted them to change, scouring through different models of alarm clocks to find a range, from the most simplistic designs to clocks that mimic the rising sun and the morning birds (which we tested and loved).

Our recommendations cover that gamut at various price points, so you’re sure to find one that fits your specific needs. I’m a light sleeper who struggles with getting a restful night. These alarm clocks didn’t help me fall asleep faster, like a fistful of melatonin gummies does, but I did notice a considerable change in my quality of rest once I started leaving my phone out of the bedroom and not immediately scrolling in the morning after turning off the alarm.

Wooden Alarm Clock

This wooden alarm clock from Jall has a modern look with a classic, simplistic display. Its subdued look will fit into any bedroom decor and it comes in several finishes if you want something more customized to your space.

You can adjust the brightness between six levels on the digital display; the volume of the alarm is also adjustable to five different levels. In addition to telling the time, it also tells you the humidity and temperature inside. You can set up to three alarms at once and it has a weekday mode so it doesn’t go off on weekends.

It must be plugged into the wall to work and there’s no battery backup, so you'll have to reset it if there’s a power outage. Still, the looks, functionality, and price are plenty to be happy about.

Cubic Alarm Clock

This solid cubic alarm clock is perfect for minimalists who are just interested in the basics without any extra features. It comes in a portable little cube shape and multiple wood finishes that look great in any room. Six levels of brightness are controlled by a spin wheel and you can set three different alarms.

The unobtrusive design is great for those with a small nightstand or prefer to keep things simple next to their bed. It has a USB port so you can charge your phone or other devices and it can pull double duty as a desk clock. This alarm clock has a backup battery built in so if the power goes out you can rest assure your alarm will still go off and you won’t need to reset the time.

Centre of Earth Alarm Clock

This minimalist alarm clock has mod appeal with its rounded shape. I liked the simplicity in both the design and functionality on this alarm clock. The display is attractive and easy to see and can be turned off completely when I sleep.

The alarm is just a beep sound that speeds up and it jolts you awake which some may not like but I don’t mind. The only gripe is that it doesn’t come with the adapter to plug into the wall.

It won’t take up a lot of room on small nightstands and gives you simple functionality in a sleek little package. Setup is fast and easy; there’s no hooking up to Wif-Fi or Bluetooth—you just plug it in, set the time, and it’s good to go.

There are five buttons on top to set the time, adjust the alarm’s volume, and dim the display. Note the temperature shows inside temps which is a bit strange since many options show what it’s like outside, but it’s still a nice extra feature for a minimalist clock. You can put in disposable batteries so it works during an outage and doesn’t lose track of the time.

Loftie Alarm Clock

The Loftie doubles as a sound machine with preloaded white noises and sound baths to put you to sleep, and different zen-inducing alarm sounds to wake you up—my personal favorite is one with birds chirping and a gentle, rhythmic gong.

You have to download the app for the initial setup, but once that’s done you can control everything using the clock itself. It has the classic alarm clock look and reminds me of the ’90s one my dad had, but it’s modernized version with rounded edges, a glossy finish, and a sleek LED display instead of the antiquated red light.

The brightness can be adjusted manually or set to automatically dim and brighten depending on the light in the room. I set mine to automatic and it seamlessly adjusts between night and day. I’m a very light sleeper and the time on the display at night is just bright enough for visibility without being disruptive.

It comes preloaded with a bunch of different alarm sounds, sound baths, and guided meditations. I’m not one to really look for any of that in an alarm clock, but waking up to the birds and gong has been noticeably more enjoyable and I won’t be going back to the jolting beep any time soon.

It comes with a USB cable and a wall plug which I liked, but setup after that was a bit complicated. The app is user-friendly enough, but alerts me that the clock is offline even when it isn’t, which is annoying.

As such, I don’t mess with the app and control everything from the machine itself and haven’t had any issues. The design, functionality, and sounds make this my personal favorite and the one I’ll continue using after writing this guide.

Loud, Vibrating Alarm Clock

Deep sleep is great, but it can be a real issue if you’re one to sleep through your alarm or worse—turn it off without even realizing. This alarm clock gives you a one-two punch of a loud alarm sound and a vibrating disc that goes under your mattress to jolt you awake when sound alone just won’t cut it out.

The alarm can go up 106 decibels, which is comparable to standing next to a running motorcycle or power saw, according to decibel comparison charts.

The bed shaker attaches to the alarm clock with a 71-inch cord so you can easily place it under a mattress or pillow on either side of the bed. You can choose to wake up using just the alarm buzz, bed shaker, or combination of the two. The buttons are user-friendly for setting the time and alarms, and the interface looks like a standard minimalist alarm clock.

If you need even louder sound we previously recommended the Sonic Alert Sonic Bomb, but some found it to be less user-friendly and its design is rather tacky.

Restore 2 Sunrise Alarm Clock

Nobody sleeps better than babies (that is, when they sleep). The brand that makes one of the most popular sleep machines for infants now has this alarm clock for adults. It has a plethora of features to curate not only a gentle wake up, but also a relaxing nighttime routine to bookend your sleep time.

The Restore 2 is an alarm clock, wake-up light, and sound machine all rolled into to one. It gently wakes you up mimicking the sunrise but it’s a bit gentler than other wake-up light alarms since it’s covered in linen that diffuses the light. You can choose from a bunch of different sounds to wake up to like chirping birds or lo-fi beats. You can customize your ideal wake-up plan in the app and activate it just by pushing one button on top of the machine.

On the flip side, the Restore 2 has nighttime settings like lighting that mimics a sunset, white noise, and even bedtime stories. The sound is crisp and doesn’t have any crackling sounds.

The machine itself is sleek with touch-control volume on the left and right sides and the wake and sleep buttons (for the one-touch routine we mentioned) on top. A sliding shut-off switch on the back lets you turn the alarm on and off if you don’t want to use the app.

Setting up a wake-up and nighttime routine has to be done through the app along with pretty much any other function. This is a drawback if you’re trying to disconnect from your smart phone and only rely on the alarm clock.

Analog Alarm Clock

This analog Peakeep clock is ideal for fans of post-mod design. It clock has a large, clear analog face that has some modern updates like a backlight. It also doesn’t tick, so you can assure your sleep won’t be interrupted.

This clock is also great for those who have trouble waking up, since the alarm is pretty loud and there is no snooze button, though this may be a downside to some.

It also comes in a few fun colors, so you can pick one that best suits your bedroom decor. The retro functionality of running on a replaceable battery means it won't fall prey to any power outages.

Wake-up Light Alarm Clock

Waking up to loud beeping alarm clock can be pretty unpleasant. Enter the Philips SmartSleep wake-up light. This alarm clock simulates the sunrise so that you wake up naturally with light instead of sound. Of course, you can also use one of its five natural wake-up sounds if the lights don’t work for you.

It functions as a great bedside lamp with its 20 different light settings that provide ambiance morning or night. The built-in FM radio gives you an option for music and news. The time display automatically brightens or dims to the light in your room and can be turned on with a touch.

The time display is a bit small and may be hard to see for some but it shouldn’t be an issue if you keep it close. The overall design could use improvement, though—while it’s functional and works great, it resembles a flood lamp when it sits on your nightstand during the day.

Compact Digital Alarm Clock

This alarm clock is a great pick for the elderly and anyone with a vision impairment because it’s a breeze to operate and easy to see from far away thanks to the 2-inch jumbo illuminated LED digits. The clock is very straight-forward, with one alarm sound available, and a 9-minute snooze available, though you can adjust the volume of the sound. The brightness on the display is also adjustable but only between two settings.

The clock comes with a USB charging port, which allows you to charge your smartphone and other devices. If power goes out, you can ensure the clock will keep ticking thanks to the battery backup.

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