How can I wake up to long-playing birdsong or similar without a smartphone?

I feel like death when I wake up and never know what time it is (too short-sighted to read my alarm clock, and my bedroom shutters keep my bedroom dark).

If I knew it was time (or past time) to get up, I'd drag myself out and would start feeling better once I was moving around.

But I can't stand waking up to a horrible beeping alarm clock.

I'd like to wake up to realistic birdsong or nature sounds that would just keep going and going until I stopped them.

Is there a UK CE certified gadget that will do that? (I've read horror stories about some alarm clocks catching fire due to electrical faults).

I don't have a mobile phone. I have a Sansa Clip+ MP3 player but it doesn't seem to have an alarm function.

 

What pops to mind is a Rube Goldberg invention involving live songbirds.

There are alarm clocks with various sounds. I have one (old, no longer available) with birdsong on it; a definite waker-upper. I had it in my truck, and nearly swerved off the road when my cab was filled with bird chirping.

 

Maybe you can do it with your laptop? When I was a student in the 2000s, I used my PC to wake me up. I'm sure you can set an alarm with the clock of your laptop, the question is whether it allows you to pick your own sound (or whether you find the available tunes nice enough). Worth a try though.

 

I've also got an alarm clock with birdsong on it but it's quite clearly artificial and just repeats over and over and then stops after a while. I'm hoping that there's something more realistic and long-lasting.

 

That's a good idea about laptops but there's no room for mine in the bedroom and it's quite awkward to move it from where it lives. That might work well for some people here, though!

I'm hoping to get just a tiny gadget that I can park on my bedside table.

 

TBH, I don't really want to leave the laptop running overnight.

 

There are electronic alarm clocks for sale by e.g. Sony that an iPod can be fixed to and presumably produce any recording including birdsong. They look to be about £50 new but eBay has things for under £10.

I have never used an iPod myself so don't know the details. You really need a twenty-year-old who is used to buying stuff on eBay and who knows how to programme an iPod for you to find something and get it to work for you I suspect. There ought to be member here with the skills?!!

 

I don't even know what an iPod is so I'm really going to need that 20-year old (or even 7-year old, they probably know all this tech stuff). I am feeling like a bit of a dinosaur!

Good idea about Ebay, whatever I go for.

 

Apps like Free Alarm Clock can wake it up from Sleep mode, so it doesn't need to actively run. Unless you want the laptop to be completely turned off.

 

If they're the dock type (e.g. Sony Dream Machine), you'd literally just sit the iPod on top of it. The dock connects directly to the iPod's Thunderbolt port and charges the device up whilst also being able to access the music library to use as an alarm. It would either come with setup instructions, or they could be downloaded from one of those instruction manual repository sites.

It would be easy to do, assuming @Sasha has an iPod. I don't know anything about the Sansa Clip, but it wouldn't connect to a dock designed for iPod/iPhone (the Thunderbolt connector is specific to Apple). But there might be similar multifunction alarm clocks/docks that will connect to MP3 players with a different type of connector; this is likely to be a mini USB, since most non-Apple devices seem to use it.

 

Thanks, everyone, for all the suggestions so far! Even if they're not ideal for me, they will be very helpful for other people.

Alas, for me, it's not practicable to involve my laptop, and I don't have an iPod. I could buy one, but then I'd have to learn to use it. But I just phoned Currys and had an online chat with one of their assistants (they are always very knowledgeable and helpful). He didn't have anything that didn't involve a smartphone but he did mention the Philips Lumie range, which they don't sell.

The Lumie clocks have a light that comes on at the time you want to wake up, and gets stronger. At least some of the models also have birdsong, waves crashing, other nature sounds, music, and radio options. There appear to be cheap knock-offs by other brands (the sort of brands we've never heard of) but I saw online that at least one of these was withdrawn due to an electrical fault that posed a fire risk.

So I'm going to take a look at the Philips range (I trust them to be safe and to meet UK CE certification). I don't think Amazon links work on the forum but 'Philips Wake Up Light' is showing me various models from £72 to to £123.

Edit: Doh! Philips and Lumie are two different companies.

 

haven't read this but might be of use
Wake to Nature with a Bird song alarm clock

https://naturalhome.co.uk/bedroom/gentle-wake-alarm-clock/

 

Thanks! That led me to looking at Philips and Lumie products and I've just ordered a £50 Lumie Sunrise Alarm from Amazon. It comes with optional sounds, including birdsong, which is what I wanted. I think that the 'sunrise' takes 30m and then the alarm sound kicks in, again for 30m but I'm not sure about any of that!

Anyway, either the gradual light or the birdsong will be way better than a screeching alarm, so, fingers crossed...

 

Just wanted to sing the praises of this clock, now that I've got the hang of it. You set the alarm for a certain time and the sunrise effect starts half an hour before that and reaches full brightness at the alarm time, and stays on until you switch it off. The alarm sound (I chose the birdsong, which is nice) sounds at the alarm time, and stays on for 30m. You can preset its volume.

For the last couple of days I've woken up in a much better state than usual. Very pleased with it, and I think it's going to help me establish a more regular sleep/wake routine.

 

I have a basic Lumie - no special sounds but does the sunrise. When I used to have to get up before sunrise in winter it was great!

At night it can also do a sunset, so you turn it on and over half an hour it fades off, which is relaxing.