the Lumie Bodyclock Shine 300, the Casper Glow Light and the Phillips Smartsleep Wakeup Light are a few great options. These can be especially helpful if you have to wake up before sunrise. Sunrise alarms simulate natural daylight, give you a similar effect to sunlight in the morning and stir up that morning serotonin boost. Use a sunrise alarm clock to mimic natural light. Not all alarm clocks rely on the traditional loud, irritating sounds to get you out of bed.Unless you need them so you can work the night shift, leave your curtains open and let the rising sun work its magic on your brain. Leave your curtains open to let light in as the sun rises. As tempting as those blackout curtains may be, they can interfere with your body's natural rhythms.Here are a few steps you can take to rely on light in the morning: Let's look at how light interacts with your body (it can even be therapeutic!) and how you can use real and simulated natural light to ease into your day.Īlina Bradford contributed to this article.īefore you use the sun for morning light therapy, you can take a few steps to use sunlight (and some artificial help) to boost your chances of waking up naturally without a normal alarm. This means you can use light in the morning to help you wake up more easily. Like it or not, light and darkness play an important role in our sleep-wake cycles. Since the time chance, have you noticed yourself feeling ready for bed earlier? There's a reason for that. Our lifestyles may be less reliant on natural light than at any other time in history, but our bodies are still stubbornly dependent on it. This harsh routine never gets any easier because it works against the human body's natural way of waking up. No matter how many times you hit snooze, it jars you half-awake again - no less groggy and just a little more irritated. Most of us know it all too well - that painful feeling when the alarm goes off long before you're ready to wake up.

This story is part of 12 Days of Tips, helping you make the most of your tech, home and health during the holiday season.

Hue go wake up routine