The slimline WL50 light from Beurer is a solid mid-range option, particularly if you’re keen on waking to the sounds of your favourite radio station. Equipped with FM auto-tuning, thirty radio memories and a built-in Bluetooth speaker, you can also use the aux input to play your own music if you fancy it. Want a ‘sunset’ experience when you go to bed? You can set the light to gradually dim from white to yellow, and then red, over either 15, 30 or 60 minutes. You can choose to accompany this with FM radio, a ‘Sounds of the Sea’ recording, or your own music played via Bluetooth or an auxiliary lead. Beurer WL50 Wake Up Light review: extra functions

The Philips Somneo Sleep and Wake up Light with Relax Breath Alarm has some unique features that help to wake up more comfortably in the morning and get to sleep easier at night. The light is completely dimmable and there is a low-blue white light that’s ideal for when you’re going to sleep. The display automatically adjusts to the light level of your room and will turn itself off when the room is completely dark. The Beurer WL50 Wake Up Light is a solid choice in a very crowded market. If you’re looking for a no-nonsense device that’s easy to set up and use, and doesn’t baffle you with too many options, you’ll struggle to find finer for this much money. Our body’s circadian rhythm is a repeating 24 hour cycle that helps us to carry out essential daily functions, including the regulation of when we sleep and wake. As it’s influenced by environmental cues, our ‘normal’ wake up time naturally occurs in tandem with the rising sun – and the same thing can also be achieved with artificially brightening light.A SAD lamp, light or light box uses light therapy to help improve your mood. They produce very bright lights to recreate the morning sunlight that you miss during the winter months. Whether you choose to use it in the morning or at night to get to sleep, the way the Beurer Wake Up Light WL50 slowly activates is a very gradual process. There's nothing bright or disconcerting about the way it glows; it seems to be cleverly designed to support the sleep rhythm as best as possible. This alarm also has a DAB radio as well as functioning as a Bluetooth speaker, so you can use it to play music from any mobile device. The speakers are very high quality and the sound is surprisingly powerful for such a compact device. The smart touch display makes it very easy to use this alarm and the aux connection means you can easily connect your phone or tablet so you can use it as a speaker. The light from the alarm means you can also use it as a table lamp and reading light, with fully adjustable light settings. Another feature to look for when buying a sunrise alarm is nature sounds. Nature sounds are typically things like forest sounds, rainfall, birds chirping etc. Waking up to sounds like this is better than a piercing alarm tone.

A sunrise alarm can be an excellent way to make sure you start the day off in the right way. A good sunrise alarm will have both sunrise and sunset modes, so you can get to sleep easier as well as waking up more gently in the mornings. With many models, you also benefit from being able to wake up to nature sounds or your favourite radio station. In addition to RelaxBreath, this alarm also features both sunrise and sunset simulation, as well as a variety of nature sounds and ambient music. There’s also an FM radio, so if you prefer you can set your favourite station to play when the alarm goes off. Whatever sound you choose to play, it will increase gradually over time as the light does.SAD lamps are bright lights which you sit in front of. Designed to mimic sunlight, they can help trigger the brain to release serotonin (the feel-good hormone) when it's dark and gloomy outside. Some can be placed on your desk during the day, while others are used as an alarm to naturally wake you up in the morning.