Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I purchased this light in 2015 upon moving to Boston. I've never been a morning person and noticed that it was much easier for me to wake up on days when the sun was up early than long winter days in New England. A friend stated she used this light to "become a morning person" so I decided to give it a try. HOW IT WORKS This unit requires a cord--batteries are not an option. You have custom settings for the duration of the "sunrise" (20-40 minutes), as well as options for no actual alarm noise, a radio station, or five nature sounds (birds, forest sounds, piano, water, and garden noises). You can adjust the volume of the sound you've selected, and when it's time for the alarm, it starts off quieter then builds quickly to that volume. If you set that you want the sunrise option to take 20 minutes, the SUNRISE WILL BEGIN 20 minutes PRIOR to when you've set your alarm to sound, so you will be up at the time you've selected. SNOOZE is an option, which if activated, you can initiate by touching the reactive face of the lamp (the light portion). The light stays on after pressing the snooze option, which will sound again after 9 minutes (this time is NOT adjustable) until you turn off the alarm or reset it for the next day. A gentle touch anywhere on the face of the light puts the alarm in snooze mode. You have the option of two preset alarm times, and can also adjust the brightness of the clock face (which is red on mine, not the yellow-orange shown in the photos). Once set, you can preview what your choices will be like in a much quicker timeline using "demonstrate" mode. This is a nice feature to make sure you've set the sounds options to a high enough setting you'll be able to hear, and that the light is neither too light or too dark. When you've set up your profile for alarm A and alarm B, all you have to do to initiate all the choices you've made is press a single button on either the left or right side of the light to turn them on. SETTING THE ALARM FOR THE NEXT DAY There seems to be confusion in the comments about having to set the sunrise features above every night before use, but once your personal preferences are entered it's as easy as any normal alarm: 1) Press the option you've set up (A and/or B), 2) Sleep, 3) Turn alarm off and get up. You don't have to re-set the "sunrise" timing and brightness every night before you use the alarm. TURNING OFF THE ALARM When you are ready to get up, you can press the alarm button, the FM button, or the Menu button to deactivate the alarm. I personally use the alarm button because it's the easiest for me to tap quickly. If you chose the alarm button, you'll need to reset it again that night (or just press it twice so it deactivates then resets). The light stays on when pressing the alarm button as well, so I leave it on while gathering my things during the morning, and then turn it off as I leave the room by pressing the sun symbol on the top of the alarm. I've read that the other two buttons turn it off without deactivating it, but I've gotten into the habit of using the alarm button and don't see myself changing that. ADDITIONAL FEATURES The alarm can be used as a normal room lamp, and on the brightest setting is light enough to illuminate the entire room (the brightness is adjustable, if you like it dimmer at night). There is a "sleep" option which allows you to select a time you'd like for the light to turn itself off. If you're prone to reading before bed and falling asleep while doing so, like me, this is a nice option. LIGHT COLOR The sunrise feature does cycle through the colors mentioned in the description (red, orange, yellow). The lightest color is a little softer than the harsh white they show in the photos and is more a very slightly off-white. WAKING SPOUSE While my husband was still working in a nearby town the time it takes for the "sunrise' to happen and the alarm to finally sound wasn't an issue at all, but he's an extremely light sleeper and that means he always gets woken up 20 minutes prior to whenever I need to get up because he's awake the moment the light starts to come on (I have the duration set at 20 minutes). He has used the alarm in the morning too though, and it didn't wake me up from his side of the bed, but I'm both not a morning person and a heavy sleeper. He doesn't mind it because he's naturally a morning person and an early riser. If your husband isn't, or if they get to bed much later than you do, I don't know how they'd like this. If they aren't a light sleeper, like I am, they might still be okay, but I'd keep the box that first night just to make sure it works out. BECOMING A MORNING PERSON I do think this light has made the transition to an earlier morning much easier than when I did so with a normal alarm. I don't awake as groggy as before, and actually get up MUCH earlier than my earliest wake time prior to getting this alarm. I feel more rested when it finally sounds so I'm less likely to hit snooze a bunch of times, as the light in the room is also already on, which further pushes me into getting out of bed. I slowly dialed back the alarm in 15-20 minute intervals every 2-3 days to and managed to go from a 7AM alarm (rolling out of bed at 7:30AM) to a wake time of 4:50AM without any real difficulty and without going to sleep any earlier than before. This was particularly helpful during the dark mornings from November to March. This isn't really a comment on the light, but I like having the extra time in the morning. I do laundry in a busy building without having to wait, I prep for coming home so I don't have more obligation waiting for me after a long day at work, and I get to spend a little extra time with my husband, who has always been a morning person. CONS Because this alarm works best when it's relatively close to the sleeper, and level with the bed, one person is going to get a better experience using the sunrise feature than the other, even with the two alarms set. Having the option to set the days of the week, not just two time options would be nice. I still get up pretty early on the weekends, but it would be nice for it to automatically transition from "A" to "B" based on the day of the week. This is pretty minor, considering it's just a second button, but if that is already set for a spouse's wake time, it means resetting one of the two preset options. A cordless/ battery powered option would also be nice, considering not everyone has convenient plugs right next to their bed. A slightly longer cord would also accomplish the same thing. These few things are what dropped it from a five star product, to a four star for me. RECOMMEND? If you're looking for something to make getting up a smoother transition, I'd recommend this product, and if given the chance, it's something I would repurchase.