Gadget of the week: Make those winter mornings a little easier with the Philips Wake-up Light
Price: £95 (RRP)
Rating:
Nobody likes getting up in the morning. That's a fact. So spending money on anything that makes it less painful is probably a sound investment.
Literally so, in the case of the new Philips Wake-up Light, an alarm clock with a difference.
It features a sunrise simulation which is designed to wake you naturally, by starting to light up 30 minutes before the time you set your alarm for.
Stylish: The alarm clock has a round face, is coloured white and has smooth, sleek edges
Settings: You use a switch on the side to choose one of the two 'natural' alarm sounds or the radio
There is also the choice of two different alarm sounds, as well as the option of FM radio.
The website claims: 'It helps you to feel more refreshed, so that it is easier to get out of bed'.
First things first - sadly, there is no substitute for getting enough sleep.
You can use whatever aids you like, but if you don't sleep for long enough you will still feel tired.
But with that in mind, and assuming you've got the minimum sleep that you can function on, the wake-up light does make good on its promise.
It's nice to wake up and not be dazzled by the first light you switch on, whether it's the bedroom, bathroom or kitchen.
The light itself, whilst being able to shine very brightly (there are 10 settings you can adjust it to), never upset me upon waking.
Presumably your body adjusts to the increasing brightness, even during sleep.
If I woke up before my alarm and could see a glowing, I'd also know that the alarm was going to be going off soon, which was useful.
It's quite unpleasant to wake up in the night, go back to bed and instantly be stunned by your alarm going off.
With mornings now cast under winter's darkness, if you're the sort of person that needs all the help they can get in the early hours, then this will be a useful tool.
Bedside glow: You can also use the Wake-up Light at night if you want to do some bedtime reading
The design of the clock is quite sleek, it's white and stylish, with smooth surfaces and a clean look.
It features buttons on the face, which are quite sensitive to the touch.
The one issue I have with the clock is the alarm sounds.
You might find - and I did - that the natural sounds are not enough to wake you up, even with the addition of the light.
The first time I woke up to the birdsong sounds, I had forgotten about the alarm's 'natural' wake-up call, and thought there was just a lot of birds outside my bedroom window.
'Shut up,' I thought, crawling under my duvet covers and trying to go back to sleep. Then my second alarm - on my phone - went off and I realised what had happened.
But if I use the FM radio it wakes me up every time - and you can also adjust the volume for all three alarms if necessary.
All in all, it's quite difficult to imagine getting up not using the Philips Wake-up Light now, especially with winter heading our way at a rate of knots.
Follow Rik on Twitter here: @riksharma_ or contact him rik.sharma@dailymail.co.uk
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