It feels like there are more tools to track and improve your sleep than there’s ever been, fromwearable devicesto smart mattresses, but one of the simplest ways to improve your sleep is keeping a consistent schedule and winding down for bed without your phone. It prevents you from staying up late scrolling through things you absolutely don’t need to see and makes the process of getting ready in the morning that much faster and less distracting.
Improving your sleep doesn’t need to involve a new purchase, you might already own a pretty fantastic alarm clock and not even know it.
We build our lives around charging our devices, and I understand that it’s very easy to keep a USB-C cable by your nightstand, creating a permanent spot for your phone. But switching to a dedicated alarm clock rather than relying on a preinstalled app can make a huge difference to your sleep hygiene.Smart alarm clockslike Loftie or theHatch Restore 2introduce sleep aids like white and brown noise, and gentle wake-up methods designed to smoothly bring you out of sleep feeling less groggy. But improving your sleep doesn’t need to involve a new purchase, you might already own a pretty fantastic alarm clock and not even know it.
Hatch Restore 2 didn’t fix my mornings, but it’s a nighttime game-changer
It might be pricey, but the viral Hatch alarm completes my nightstand tour, morning and night routines, and combats my mid-day slump.
That’s because, by default, Sonos speakers can act as an alarm, playing a selection of pre-programmed sounds, your favorite song, or even a whole playlist, just with a little bit of setup in the Sonos app. Speaking from experience, it’s an excellent change of pace if you’ve gotten too comfortable having your smartphone in arms reach, and it’s absolutely worth trying.
Sonos Roam
The Sonos Roam can play music over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and works surprisingly well as an alarm clock if you make a few tweaks.
How to use a Sonos speaker as your alarm clock
I first learned that Sonos speakers could even play alarms when testing out all the must-try features of the company’s ultra-portableSonos Roam. Looking at Sonos’ whole lineup, the Roam or theSonos Era 100make the most sense as something you’d keep on your nightstand, but you can set an alarm on a home theater soundbar if that floats your boat, I won’t judge.
7 features every Sonos Roam user needs to try
The Sonos Roam supports voice controls, alarms, its own radio, and more. Here are the features that add up to its price tag.
To set up an alarm, you’ll need to have a mobile device with the Sonos app installed. With that in hand, here’s how to do it:
How to personalize your Sonos alarm
Use your own sound library or presets
I went back and forth for quite a while on what song to pick. There is merit to picking something loud and jarring, so you’ll have to get out of bed, but one of the things I’ve enjoyed most about using a Loftie before this was the soothing music and nature sounds it uses to wake me up. It’s relaxing, which is how I want to feel, even if I don’t sleep enough.
My ultimate pick came from a surprising source, at least to me. After being suggested multiple TikTok videos with the song"Plage Coquillage"by Tao Mon Amour playing under them, I decided its mellow vibes and repetitive beats would be the perfect thing to be eased out of sleep with, and as it turns out, I was absolutely right. I almost didn’t want it to stop when I hit snooze in the morning.
While the basic function of this Sonos setup isn’t radically different from the smart alarm clocks and phone apps I’ve used previously, or even just a radio alarm clock my dad used to use, it is a lot of fun to wake up to music instead of a generic sound or tone. And more than just improving my mood when I woke up, using a Sonos speaker as an alarm clock changed my experience of listening to music during the day.
While the basic Sonos setup isn’t radically different from the smart alarm clocks and phone apps or even just a radio alarm clock, it is a lot of fun to wake up to music instead of a generic sound or tone.
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If I was streaming a song and thought it might be fun as an alarm, I’d consider throwing it in a playlist of songs to try as alarms. I’ve stuck to my initial pick so far, but I plan on throwing on this playlist eventually to find other options.
Not a radio alarm clock, but also not a smart one
While this Sonos speaker trick works far better than I expected, there are a few compromises to be aware of. If you use a sleep tracking app or your phone’s built-in health app to schedule your bedtime and when you want to be woken up, you won’t be able to track your sleep without wearing a wearable device to bed.
The Sonos app has no integrations with these existing apps, and can’t share any information about when you wake up.
How to properly reset your Sonos speaker
Whether your Sonos speaker is acting up and needs a fresh start or you’re preparing to sell it, here’s what you need to know for a proper reset.
Because the Sonos app is a third-party app rather than pre-installed as part of your phone’s operating system, it only lets you know your alarm is going off with a notification.
You can long press that notification to silence the alarm (or just press the Play/Pause button on your speaker) but you won’t see any of the big fumble-proof software buttons that Apple’s Clock app can pull up, for example.
Tempted to permanently snooze and rise with Sonos
Setting up an alarm on your Sonos speaker could require some extra work, both in moving a speaker to your bedroom if you don’t already have one there, and fiddling with your Sonos settings and music library. But what I’ve found is that it’s work that’s worth it. Sure, it’s more complicated than using my iPhone, but it’s ultimately more enjoyable, too. I still have to decide if I want to move my Loftie back in or keep a Sonos Roam on my nightstand, but having the fun ritual of building a wakeup playlist for my speaker is definitely tempting.
