Harnessing the Power of Light for Better Sleep

September 29, 2024

by Cathe Friedrich

In the stressful age of harsh smartphone alarms and traditional alarm clocks, hearing the squawk of an alarm in the morning does nothing for our mental health. Could you use a gentler way to awaken? Enter the sunrise alarm clocks. Sunrise alarm clocks (often referred to as dawn simulators) are gadgets that simulate the sun rising by gradually lighting up your bedroom in the morning. These less intrusive timekeepers help you wake up naturally. But are these gadgets simply another wellness trend or do they truly help us sleep better and improve our health?

The Science of Sleeping and Waking Up with the Light

To understand how sunrise alarms operate, you must first understand the intricate connection between light and our natural sleep-wake cycles. The circadian rhythm is a 24-hour internal clock that your body runs on. It’s your body’s internal timekeeper controlled by light exposure, specifically to the blue light wavelengths in sunlight. When you expose your eyes to light in the morning, the blue wavelengths of sunlight stimulate your pineal gland to stop making melatonin. (the hormone that tells us it is time to go to sleep). Instead, it begins to produce more cortisol, a hormone that helps you awaken and feel more energized. This is the crucial first stage in our natural wake-up routine. It’s a luxury so many of us miss when we live according to society’s timetable and block out any physical exposure from sunlight!

How Sunrise Alarms Work

Sunrise alarm clocks mimic the natural process of waking up in the morning. They do this by increasing light exposure over a span of about thirty minutes or an hour leading up to your desired wake-up time. The light begins with a gentle red hue akin to that at sunrise. It gradually becomes more powerful until it mimics white or yellow light in its full beaming strength. Most models also feature soft sounds that start out soft and slowly get louder as the sun rises, using another of your senses to tell you it’s time to awaken. Advanced models can even give you a customized “sunset” to help slow you down at night, moving in the opposite direction with light that becomes increasingly dimmed.

Pros of Being Gently Awaken

There are several benefits to waking up slowly to increasing light, according to research:

Increased amount of deeper, restorative sleep: A study in the journal Chronobiology International concluded that subjects awakened by a dawn-simulating light woke and felt less groggy and had significantly better quality of sleep than those awakened by a normal alarm.

Mood and cognitive performance: The same study also found that awakening with dawn simulation significantly enhanced mood and cognitive performance in the hours following wake-up.

Regulate Circadian Rhythms: Exposing your eyes to morning sunlight every circadian day may help align your internal clock, which could contribute to a more stable sleep architecture over time.
Less Morning Grogginess: Sleep inertia, the grogginess upon waking may be less when using a sunrise alarm. This slowly increasing light can help us improve our readiness for wakefulness, easing the process from sleep to waking.

Sunrise Alarms and the Winter Blues

Imagine if you live in the northern latitudes, or somewhere with notoriously long winter nights — a sunrise alarm could work wonders. SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), a form of depression, is correlated with the lack of natural light. Experts believe that sunrise alarm clocks may not be a substitute for using the large light therapy boxes that some SAD patients rely on to help their symptoms. Still, they could be a long-term complement to treatment. They could work by helping people affected stay on a regular sleep-wake schedule and prevent some symptoms of SAD.

Selecting the perfect Sunrise Alarm

Ideally, you will want some (or all) of these features in a sunrise alarm:

Brightness: Edit it to suit your taste and size of the room.
Color Temperature: Certain options have a warm glow for red light, and a rejuvenating cool feel for blue.
Natural Wake Up Sound Choices: Good alarms come with sound options (nature sounds, or pleasant sounds of gentle music) as in addition to the light.
Smart Features — Some of the pricier models can be linked to your smartphone, also monitor your sleep patterns, and fit into a smart-home system.
Sunset Function: As the name implies, this feature can make you go through sunset by making it slowly dim.

Using a Sunrise Alarm

Though a sunrise alarm can help jumpstart your day in a more positive way, they work best when you combine it with other sleep hygiene practices. The following ideas can help you to create an end benefit:

Be consistent: Wake up at the same time daily including weekends as it helps to set your circadian rhythm.
Minimize Evening Light Exposure: Blue light from screens before bed can disrupt your body’s readiness for sleep.
Sync with Other Healthy Sleep Habits: Keep the room cool, skip caffeine later in the day, and develop a calming bedtime regimen.

Wake Up Tech Future

With the march of progress in sleep science, technology has arrived to help us both fall asleep and wake up more consistently. Here are also a couple of potential fancy features of future spinning sunrise alarm clocks:

Alarm clock featuring integration with sleep tracking tech so it wakes you when your sleep time cycle is best.
Custom light and sound attributes for individual preferences and physiological responses
Systems that adapt with the natural light occurring through late spring-early fall

Conclusion

Sunrise alarms are not a one-size-fits-all cure for all issues with sleep, but they’re a “softer,” less obtrusive way to greet the morning. Plus, they have potential circadian benefits. Like any wellness trend, take a balanced perspective on sunrise alarms. They’re not a replacement for good sleep hygiene habits or medical diagnosis of and treatment for sleep disorders such as apnea. Work out what works for you, whether that’s a gentle glow of a sunrise alarm or the morning light peeking through your window and stick to it.

References:

Leppämäki S, Meesters Y, Haukka J, Lönnqvist J, Partonen T. Effect of simulated dawn on quality of sleep–a community-based trial. BMC Psychiatry. 2003 Oct 27;3:14. doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-3-14. PMID: 14577838; PMCID: PMC270037.
Avery DH, Eder DN, Bolte MA, Hellekson CJ, Dunner DL, Vitiello MV, Prinz PN. Dawn simulation and bright light in the treatment of SAD: a controlled study. Biol Psychiatry. 2001 Aug 1;50(3):205-16. doi: 10.1016/s0006-3223(01)01200-8. PMID: 11513820.