Quick answer: If you want the brightest, most room-filling light, buy a sunrise lamp. If you mostly want to stop waking up in pitch darkness, or you're not sure wake-up lights suit you, try a phone app first. It's free, and two weeks will tell you whether to spend £100 on a lamp.
What a sunrise lamp does
A sunrise lamp (also called a wake-up light or dawn simulator) is a bedside lamp that slowly gets brighter before your alarm, usually over 20–40 minutes, often shifting from red to yellow-white as it goes. Well-known makers include Lumie, Philips and Hatch. Popular Lumie models such as the Bodyclock Spark 100, Glow 150 and Shine 300 typically sell for around £90–£140 in the UK, and Hatch's Restore is around $170 in the US. Prices vary a lot with sales.
Lamp vs phone, point by point
| Sunrise lamp | Phone app (Glow Alarm) | |
|---|---|---|
| Brightness | Wins. Lights the room. | Lights your side of the bed. |
| Colour change | Most models | Fixed warm colour free; Sunrise Colours with Pro |
| Cost | About £50–£200 | Free, optional Pro |
| Travel | Stays at home | Goes everywhere |
| Sounds | Built-in set | Built-in, or your own with Pro |
| Independence | Separate device | Phone must stay open and charging for the light |
Who should buy a lamp
- You sleep far from your bedside table, or you want the whole room lit.
- You want your phone out of the bedroom.
- You've tried waking with light and know it works for you.
Who should try a phone first
- You've never used a wake-up light and aren't sure it's for you.
- You travel often, or split time between two places.
- Your phone already lives on your bedside table every night.
Other alternatives
Smart bulbs with a wake-up routine
Smart bulbs from Philips Hue, IKEA and others can fade on at a set time. They can light the whole room, but you'll need the bulb (and sometimes a hub), and the fade is often less gradual than a dedicated lamp.
A plug-in timer and a warm bedside lamp
The cheapest hack: a lamp on a timer plug. It switches on rather than fading, which is less gentle, but it does get light into the room before your alarm.
Curtains open
Great in spring and summer. From November to February it doesn't help much in most of the UK and northern Europe: the sun rises after most people's alarms.
The fair verdict
Lamps are better at being lamps. Phones are better at being free, portable and already there. For most people, starting with the phone is the sensible order: if after a couple of weeks you want more light, you'll know exactly what kind of lamp to buy.
Try Glow Alarm free on the App Store or read Can an iPhone replace a sunrise alarm clock?