Alarm clock apps

Alarm clock apps – making it easier for you to get out of bed

Why have an alarm clock app when every phone has an alarm clock?

While every phone includes an alarm clock feature, they are limited to basic functions. You can set a time and be woken up by one of the few and usually unpleasant alarm sounds. If you can handle that, the set alarm clock function is enough. But if you want more than being abruptly jerked out of sleep by your alarm clock, you should check out different alarm clock apps.

What do I expect from an alarm clock app?

There are many different alarm clock apps out there, and they all have different features that they want to impress you with. Very simple apps can basically do the same as the pre-installed alarm clock on your phone. So with them, you’ll probably just change the selection of ringtones and otherwise stay the same. Some apps, on the other hand, take a more scientific approach to waking you up and study your sleep or sleep phases to determine the optimal time to get up. Other apps try to set a gentle wake-up and similar to a light alarm clock with a light show to get the body out of sleep. These are just a few variants of the alarm clock apps on the market to give a rough overview.

Alarm methods of some alarm clock apps

Social media embarrassments

Believe it or not there are alarm clock apps that with your credentials, allows itself access to your gallery and social networks. There, it then posts sayings about you not getting out of bed or privately reaches out to friends and sends them messages to make sure you get up if you don’t set the alarm fast enough. If words aren’t enough, the app can also post random images from your gallery. This is probably enough of a reason for anyone to get out of bed, so it’s a method for those who would otherwise rather refuse to get out of bed.

Soft light and nature sounds

From our light alarm clock test, you already know the principle of how we want to wake up with the light alarm clock. Similar functions are also available in some apps. These start to emit a soft light some time before the set wake-up time, which gets brighter and brighter. In addition, at some point birdsong or the sound of the sea or another nature sound is heard, which should also acoustically help to initiate the wake-up process. If these gentle sounds are not enough to wake you up for good, a normal ringtone will sound at the set alarm time and make you wake up. This way of waking up is not suitable for everyone, but if you are relatively sensitive to light, it might work very well for you.

Sleep analysis

Some alarm clock apps are designed to analyze your sleep using sleep trackers, for example, and then optimize it to determine the appropriate time to wake you up. They achieve this by monitoring your sleep to figure out when you are in which sleep phase. Through these calculations, the app figures out when is the best time to wake you up. Many people are pulled right out of a deep sleep phase in the morning and need to function quickly to follow their usual routine. Mornings are more relaxed when you wake up from a light sleep phase, and in doing so, you feel less tired. In order for the alarm clock app to determine a suitable sleep phase, you don’t have to set a specific time here at which you will be woken up, but a time range from to, so that the app can determine the optimal time at which you will then be woken up.

Gentle alarm clock

A gentle alarm clock starts with a quieter ringtone even before the specified wake-up time, so you can wake up in a lighter sleep phase. This ensures that you are less likely to be pulled out of a deep sleep phase. So you wake up more relaxed and don’t feel so tired and exhausted. This method sort of combines the idea of looking for the optimal sleep phase in which to wake you up and the method of starting a quieter and slower wake up over a longer period of time.

Voice alarm clock

Some alarm clock apps allow you to turn off the alarm with your voice, so you don’t have to startledly reach for your phone and probably throw it down in the process, presumably still ringing. Many such apps have other features and can, for example, read you news or the weather report of the day. However, this is a feature that is not necessarily related to this type of alarm clock app and is also present in many other apps.

Flash – Alarm Clock

The name of this alarm clock is probably self-explanatory. This alarm clock starts a flashing light to wake you up and get you to get up by the recurring light. This flashing light can be used alone or in combination with a normal ringtone. This type of alarm clock is especially good for you if you are sensitive to visual stimuli, as the light should successfully wake you up in this case.

Math – Alarm Clock

You’re probably familiar with waking up and turning off your alarm clock, and then falling back into the pillow. It’s a dangerous situation if you want to get out of bed on time. But you can’t expect to be wide awake just because you swipe your phone screen once. A math alarm clock makes higher demands. To silence this alarm clock, you have to solve a more or less complicated math problem. In the state of a just awakened person they are probably rather complicated, but that’s exactly the idea. The alarm clock will ring until the task is solved and in the process you will inevitably become more and more awake, so you can just get up right when your alarm clock is off.

Other functions of an alarm clock app

Clocks

Besides alarm clock, many alarm clock apps can do more. Typical functions of the clocks are stopwatch and timer to set. This allows you to use the app for other purposes and times of the day. Also a typical feature is the world clock. In most cases, this is more of a gimmick where you can look at the time difference to the different time zones. However, if you travel a lot and pass through different time zones, the app can be useful to see what time it is at your next destination.

Night Mode

Overnight, many of the alarm clock apps need to be called to wake you up in the morning. Some alarm clock apps therefore light up the whole night or the screen light is on. If you are a light sleeper and are quickly awakened by your surroundings, such a light can cause you to wake up at night and sleep restlessly. You take this inner restlessness with you into the day, leaving you additionally tired and exhausted. To avoid this, some alarm clock apps have a night mode. This darkens the display so that only a slight glimmer is present or turns the display off completely, so that even very sensitive sleepers can enjoy their nights.

Snooze mode

The popular snooze button can be found on most alarm clocks. So why not in an alarm clock app as well? That’s probably what many alarm clock app producers thought too, because most alarm clock apps have such a snooze function. So when your alarm goes off, you can turn around and a few minutes later your alarm will go off again to remind you to get out of bed.

Alarm Clock App Xtreme

This app is an all-rounder among alarm clock apps. Here you can set your alarm clock very individually by compiling your own playlist to wake up to or be woken up with a radio station of your choice. This way, the app can be turned into a radio alarm clock and won’t annoy you with a monotonous beeping. In addition, the app has typical alarm clock functions, such as the snooze function or more complicated tasks to turn off the alarm clock so that you really wake up. You can download the trial version for free from the App Store and try out how you like the available features. If you are convinced, you can buy the full version for just under three euros. By the way, you can find a great comparison of other sleep apps on Matratzenschutz24.