Along with a sunset mode that's similar to the Lumie’s, the Somneo offers a light-guided breathing mode to promote pre-bed relaxation, giving you seven rhythms of light intensity or sound to follow. If the Philips Somneo is too expensive for your tastes, or you just don't like the design, here's a cheaper option that's nonetheless packed with features. For mornings, you can choose how long your light takes to get to full brightness, as well as selecting your own maximum brightness from an impressive 25 levels. Lumie is perhaps the biggest name in this field, although Beurer also makes a wide range of excellent models. While it’s not got all the features that some of these clocks do, this is a great budget bird song alarm clock that would suit those of you who like something simple and want to steer clear of digital electronics.

Wake to Nature with a Bird Song alarm clock - Natural Home Wake to Nature with a Bird Song alarm clock - Natural Home

However, it offers pretty much everything we think you need from a wakeup light (and a few more bits besides), without having to pay a premium for those features you don't necessarily need. The alarm comes with 6 wake-up sounds to choose from, including birdsong, frog and river sounds- so you can choose whichever your kids prefer- or vary it to keep things interesting for them. There are some differences in functionality here compared to cheaper models – this model has a low-blue light mode for the evenings, and offers 30+ sound options while the Shine 300 only has 15, for example. You're also sacrificing some of the added extras that appear on pricier models – there's no low-blue light for bedtime, and no Bluetooth functionality, for instance. It’s affordable, comes in a choice of different colours and has a battery backup option in case the mains power should fail.From the comfiest mattresses to what strange things you can cook in an air fryer, Beth covers sleep, yoga, smart home, coffee machines, grooming tools, fragrances, gardening and much more. For example, if you find the digital display interrupts your sleep, you can dim it and heavy sleepers can make sure they don’t sleep through the alarm by setting the volume louder. Some of them are designed as sleep sounds to help you relax and fall asleep alongside the sunset mode to facilitate healthy sleep. If it's something that goes in your house, chances are Beth knows about it and has the latest reviews and recommendations!

Best wake up light 2023: sunrise lamps to help you wake naturally - T3 Best wake up light 2023: sunrise lamps to help you wake naturally

We appreciated that the display auto-dims based on how bright the room is, and switches off totally at night unless you set it otherwise.

The Coulax wake-up light combines gradual sunrise simulation with a range of nature-inspired sounds, making for a pleasant wake-up experience. It’s also ideal if you need to wake up a bit quicker during the week but want a bit of a lie in at weekends- which is helped by being able to set two different alarms for certain days of the week. That said, if you're looking for something basic, this still represents an incredible bargain in our eyes.

COULAX, daylight alarm clock, wake-up light, Yellow COULAX, daylight alarm clock, wake-up light, Yellow

For sunrise and sunset, you can adjust the duration (15-90 minutes), and explore any of an impressive range of wake up and sleep sounds (including, interestingly, 'goat') or the option to play FM radio instead. You can choose different time ranges for your wake-up light between 10-60 minutes depending on what suits you best. When going from white light to no light, you have to pass through the ‘coloured light’ option, which means that I can’t avoid a flash of super-bright green. The LED display time shows the time in either 12 or 24hr time and also shows the date and temperature- perfect for teaching kids to tell the time and how to keep track of the date, and also whether or not it might be a sunny day! The HF3531/01 SmartSleep Wake up Light uses a coloured sunrise simulation to help you wake naturally, gradually increasing the light over 30 minutes, from a soft dawn, through orange and eventually bright yellow light.

Or a colour-coded system that gives your toddler the green light (literally) to come and hassle you in bed only after a pre-approved wake up time? Whether those extras are enough to make you want to shell out the extra dosh for this range-topping model is up to you, but we'd probably only be swayed if we found it on sale. I have to get up pretty early for work and in winter it's even harder but with this gradual gentle light it's much easier to wake up.