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 (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.
Lumie Bodyclock Luxe 750DAB Wake up light, yellow: was £199, now £159.2 at John Lewis (save £40)
The Lumie Bodyclock Luxe 750DAB Wake up light sits at the top of the Bodyclock range. It comes with completely customisable sunrise and sunset modes, low blue light for evenings, over 20 wakeup noises and DAB radio.
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.
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Ruth is a lifestyle journalist specialising in sleep and wellbeing. She has tested more mattresses than her small flat can handle and will talk at length about them to anyone who shows even a passing interest, and has had to implement a one-in-one-out pillow policy for fear of getting smothered in the night. As well as following all the industry trends and advancements in the mattress and bedding world, she regularly speaks to certified experts to delve into the science behind a great night's sleep, and offer you advice to help you get there. She's currently Sleep Editor on Tom's Guide and TechRadar, and prior to that ran the Outdoors and Wellness channels on T3 (now covered by Matt Kollat and Beth Girdler-Maslen respectively).