Sunrise alarm clock didn’t make waking up easier—but made sleeping more peaceful

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  The Hatch Restore 2 with one of its lighting options on. [credit: Scharon Harding ]

To say "I’m not a morning person" would be an understatement. Not only is it hard for me to be useful in the first hour (or so) of being awake, but it’s hard for me to wake up. I mean, really hard.

I’ve tried various recommendations and tricks: I've set multiple alarms and had coffee ready and waiting, and I've put my alarm clock far from my bed and kept my blinds open so that sunlight might wake me. But I’m still prone to sleeping through my alarm or hitting snooze until the last minute.

The Hatch Restore 2, a smart alarm clock with lighting that mimics sunrises and sunsets, seemed like a technologically savvy approach to realizing my dreams of becoming a morning person.