The best way to get yourself up in the morning is no longer a mystery. As the days get shorter, starry skies last longer and the mornings are dark, dragging yourself out of your warm bed becomes a serious struggle. Luckily, we found these awesome alarm apps that will get you up and literally moving, or at least get your brain in gear for the day. Regardless of which you choose, you’re definitely not going to be hitting snooze when these alarms go off.
1. Cuukuu: With Cuukuu, you can sync your schedule with your friends’ agendas and motivate each other. You can add pictures, chat and share alerts to make sure your friends don’t forget about important events like Sunday brunch. Challenge your friends to see who wakes up the fastest or reaches the next level first.
DL It: Free on iOS + Android
2. SleepCycle: When you put your phone under your pillow, SleepCycle tracks your sleep so that it can wake you up when you’re in your lightest phase of your sleep cycle. That means a blaring siren won’t jolt you from REM dreamland. The gentle wakeup makes it much easier to pull yourself out of bed in the morning. As an added bonus, the app also tracks your sleep, so you can keep an eye on your sleep patterns.
3. Wake ‘n Shake: The Wake ‘n Shake alarm is serious. There is no snooze button, and you can’t lower the volume. In order to turn off the alarm, you need to vigorously shake your iPhone. You can adjust the intensity, earn achievements and also set quick naps. The Wake ‘n Shake will have you wide-eyed at any hour, albeit a little jumbled.
4. Morning Routine: This app combats the snooze habit by requiring an activity to turn the alarm off. Scan a barcode, set it to send you directly to another app like Brit + Co or set up a sequence with multiple steps that each have their own requirements. If you’re worried about waking up the whole house, never fear! Morning Routine has a “smart feature” that mutes the alarm while you’re in motion. Your roommates will be grateful.
DL: Free on Android
5. Wakie: Conversations wake up your brain and force you to think. The creators of Wakie have taken that concept and run with it. With Wakie, you can wake up to a phone call from someone in a different part of the country — or a different part of the world. The phone calls go through Wakie, so nobody ever sees your phone number or anything more than what you put on your profile. You can choose to wake someone else up, or just use it to help you get out of bed. The calls are only a minute long (Wakie shuts it down after that), which is just enough time to get your neurons firing.
6. Pandora: You probably already have this on your phone, but did you know it has an awesome alarm function? You can set the Pandora alarm to wake you up to your favorite station every morning, or pick a new station every night so that your morning entertainment is always a surprise. If you’re generally grumpy in the morning, set it to your favorite comedian or comedy station and wake up with some laughs!
7. Morning Sun: This app mimics sunlight to give the illusion that the sun is rising when you are. It controls your screen’s brightness, gradually glowing brighter 30 minutes before you are due to wake up. The slow increase in light helps you wake up naturally, like you would if the sun was actually shining through your windows in the wee morning hours. You can also wake up to the sound of birds chirping. It’s way better than the blaring alarm horn we usually set.
DL It: Free for iOS
8. Swiftime: This app was made for people who struggle to get places on time (#guilty). Swiftime features voice alerts that count down how much time you have left until you head out. It’s like a butler for your time management. Whether you’re just trying to hold yourself accountable or trying to manage a whole family, this app will be a huge help.
Which app do you want to try? Tell us in the comments below!
