Getting up on winter mornings comes with its own kind of pain. Not only is it really too cold to be venturing from under your duvet, but the fact that it's still dark out feels like a clear signal that staying in bed is the way to go.
Sadly, your employer probably disagrees. But there's a solution, and it's to invest in a wakeup light. And there's more good news, the best wake up light around has had a big Black Friday price drop: the Lumie Bodyclock Luxe 750DAB Wake up light is currently 25% off at John Lewis (opens in new tab) (the site says it's 20% off, but the RRP is £199, and it's down to £159.20, so by our maths that's a solid quarter off). This price drop is only on the Turmeric colourway. If you want boring grey, you'll need to shell out full price.
I have the model down from this one, and it has been a major game-changer on winter mornings. Wakeup lights work by slowly betting brighter over a set period of time in the morning, to rouse you gently to a softly lit room. If you're not quite awake by the time it hits max illumination, you can choose for it to play some nature-y sounds to nudge you into consciousness. Think of it like an alarm clock, but 500% more soothing. I fully recommend this range to anyone who struggles to feel alert on cold, dark mornings.
(opens in new tab)At the crux of the design is the wakeup feature. You can set the duration over which you want the light to come on, and Lumie has used realistic sunrise colours to make the experience extra soothing. There are over 20 wake-up sounds to choose from – everything from white noise to tree frogs to goats. You can go for a traditional beep if you're feeling less whimsical.
Not only will this lamp wake you up gently, it'll also help you drop off at night. There's a Sunset function that essentially does the same thing as Sunrise, but in reverse, and a low-blue light option for before bedtime. Finally, it doubles up as a general audio device, with DAB/DAB+ radio, Bluetooth for streaming personal music, and a USB port you can use to charge your phone from your bedside table.
