10 Alarm Clocks for Heavy Sleepers

Alarm clocks that work 

 

No one loves an alarm clock. But if you've missed more than a few morning meetings, you may be ready for one you love to hate.

A money-shredding alarm clock might fit the bill: It shreds bills if you don't get up. Or how about one that dials random numbers, like your boss's, from your cell phone until you wake up? In truth, these are only design concepts. (Whew!)

Instead, consider one of these 10 real alarm clocks that use nightmarish methods to rouse—or at least seriously annoy—heavy sleepers.

Wake Up, Work Out Alarm Clock

 

The last thing you may want to do is pump iron before breakfast. That's too bad, if you set this 1.5-pound dumbbell clock ($30; gadgetsandgear.com).

It will shut off only after you've done 30 bicep curls.

What's more, it has internal motion censors too—so you can't cheat!

Blender Alarm Clock

At first stroke, Met's speaking clock bill will be... £17,000

The Met last year spent nearly £17,000 in 55,000 calls to the speaking clock, figures show today.

Officers and staff also spent more than £95,000 calling directory enquiries, according to details released under the Freedom of Information Act. The sums involved were branded a "waste of taxpayers' money".

The force's spending on the speaking clock last year, which costs 31p a time, was £16,879. The amount is down on the previous year, when £18,401.65 was spent on the speaking clock and £121,501.10 on directory enquiries.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said both premium-rate services were essential to the day-to-day requirements of employees, adding: "There are evidential and operational reasons for officers and staff requiring the exact time and contact details.
"It must be remembered however that a huge number of our officers will not have direct access to the internet as they are not office-based. We are committed to reducing such costs wherever possible and all directory enquiries from landline tele-phones are routed to one service."

The story of the speaking clock in Britain

Precisely! It needed just four words to tell you this article is about the speaking clock. Known officially as Timeline and more commonly as plain TIM, the speaking clock is one of those essential features of everyday life to which you give scarcely a second thought It's there when you want it and that's it, isn't it?

Well, yes and well, no. In fact it hasn't always been there and it has changed over the years. And there's quite a bit more to TIM than history, as I found out when I started to dig out a bit of information about this national institution.

Synchronised

Institution is probably a fair word since as a nation we seem to be remarkably keen on ringing up the speaking clock. Even in its first year, 1936, the service registered nearly 13 million calls and it was not a nationwide service then—that came six years later. Today we make more than 135 million calls a year and that's a lot of watches being checked.

Major organisations such as British Rail and London Weekend Television have permanent feeds of the clock from BT into their private internal phone systems so employees can check the time without making an outside call. The timing of all ITV television programmes is synchronised to TIM

Speaking Alarm Clock

Introduction

Alarm application is a fully featured computerized alarm clock. It has unique interface and is stylish. It is based on my first program that I created in 1984 when I had the great Sinclair Spectrum 48K. That alarm clock was noisy when it was not in action . This one is hardly usable as a regular alarm clock. That is because of the noisy fan in the computer, I will never get used to sleep with the computer on . The digits are created from a bitmap taken by a digital camera (the original bitmap from it was quite dirty (because of the JPEG lossy compression)).
This application is not written for any reuse in mind.
It seems that the alarm letters are not clear on some monitors

Features

1. Alarm is capable of keeping people awake .
2. Digits interface is processed from digital image of electronic alarm clock (my stereo clock).
3. Unique Interface (UI) (region adjusted with SetWindowRgn).
4. Snap to invisible grid (when the window is moved).
5. Applicable interactive option dialog.
6. Speak clock with regular intervals (Icelandic) (class CSpeakNumber decodes all whole digit numbers).
7. Filtered "edit" entry for clock "__:__".

The best alarm clock apps for Android

The days of the standalone bedside alarm clock are numbered, with the simple inclusion of a “clock” app on every smartphone taking over. But there are so many options out there, why settle for the app pre-loaded on your phone? Your alarm doesn't just have to be a bland beeping sound that makes you want to throw your phone across the room. Read on after the break and see the best alarm clock apps available for your device.

Best Free Timer and Alarm Clock

Introduction
Lots of people use their computer for almost anything. So why not use it as an alarm clock, waking you up from your dreams? And what about reminding you to go for an appointment right away before it's too late while being engrossed in something else on a computer?

There are lots of alarm clocks on the internet, but most of them don't wake your computer from standby or hibernation. Why leave your computer running all night just for one important task: to wake you up?!

These are freeware programs which might be useful and interesting to you if you don't like that waste of energy either.
Discussion


WakeupOnStandBy, like the name already says, it wakes your computer from standby or hibernation. You can set this program to run whatever you want after it wakes up. It's also possible to set it for different time schedules, using multiple instances of the program.
You could use it as an alarm clock by starting up internet radio or m3u-playlists. It works nicely in combination with another one of the developer's free tools, called Toff, which puts your system to sleep.

Alarm Clock of Justice is a computer alarm clock that can wake your computer from standby or hibernation to play a customized alarm. This includes any file type.
The program has a customizable snooze as well as a standard activated, volume-level control.
Not all soundcards support this volume control though, so you should test if your card supports it or you have to turn this option off.
Simple Alarm Clock, a really simple version from the same developer that just does what it's supposed to: Waking from standby/hibernation and running the file you want.

Free Alarm Clock has a clean and simple user interface, combined with useful functions such as loop and snooze, repeat alarm, wake up the computer from a sleep mode, turn on monitor power and adjustable volume.
You can set as many alarms as you need, choose the sound for each alarm, label it and indicate in the text field the activities you need to do at the times you set.

How to Wake Up Without an Alarm Clock

Of all sounds (including fingernails screeching down a blackboard and the shrill tones of the Emergency Alert System), few are as obnoxious as those of an alarm clock. Human beings have survived for most of our history without these confounded noisemakers —so why would you need one now? Using your natural circadian rhythms and employing other environmental signals other than sound can help you wake up without an annoying alarm.

Method 1 of 3: Getting Into a Rhythm

 
1  Determine what time you will need to wake up on most days. Make this your sleep goal for every day. Even if you don't need the time on a day or two, consider it a boost to your productivity. Step 1 for your routine -- check.
In order to set yourself to an alarm-less rhythm, there won't be any sleeping in on weekends, unfortunately (at least at the beginning). You need to program yourself, and that means 7 days a week.
2   Use your alarm clock to wake up at approximately that same time each morning. Our bodies’ physiological processes are governed by the circadian rhythm, a cycle that in humans is closely adapted to the 24-hour day. By training yourself to wake up at the same time each day, you

10 Alarm Clocks That'll Get You out of Bed

For most people, getting out of bed in the morning is a bit of a struggle. Luckily, the 10 clocks below are here to help. Some wake you up with an annoyingly loud noise, while others won't shut off until you complete a task--but they all promise to get even the sleepiest sleepyhead up and moving.
Start Your Engines

It’s full speed ahead as soon as this Genuine Hotrod Hardware drag-racing alarm clock goes off. The dashboard-inspired clock makes engine-revving sounds and flashes colored lights at the set time, so you'll feel like you're waking up right on the racetrack.

Hide and Go Seek

There's no excuse for waking up late with this alarm clock. As soon as you hit "snooze," Clocky jumps off your nightstand and begins moving around the floor, looking for somewhere to hide. Nothing like a little hide-and-go-seek to rouse you from your slumber.

Your Alarm Clock May Be Hazardous to Your Health

One overlooked culprit in the world’s obesity epidemic may be the alarm clock, according to Till Roenneberg, a professor at the University of Munich’s Institute of Medical Psychology.
He studies “social jet lag,” a term he coined, perhaps not surprisingly, on an airplane. But unlike the jet lag you get from shifting time zones, social jet lag is the chronic clash between what our bodies need (more sleep) and what our lives demand (being on time). And his research suggests that it’s playing havoc with our biological clocks.
In a study, published in May, Roenneberg and colleagues analyzed the sleep habits of more than 65,000 adults. Two-thirds of them suffered from social jet lag, experiencing at least a one-hour disparity between how long they slept on workdays and weekends.
The researchers also found that, over the past decade, people have been going to bed later but still getting up at the same time, losing about 40 minutes of sleep on workdays. They are also spending less time outside, which could account for why their circadian rhythms have become so late.
Previous studies have linked sleep deprivation with excessive weight, but Roenneberg’s team concludes that it isn’t just how much sleep people get that matters—it’s how much they mess with their internal clocks. For

The Rudely Talking Alarm Clock

I would like to share this bizarre and personally frightening event that happened to me just last month. It was close to my daughter's bedtime and she was sitting on the side of my bed while I was folding clothes at the other end of the bed.
I told her it was time to change into her PJs and brush her teeth for bed. She started stalling and leaned over and started to play with my radio/alarm clock. I thought to myself, Don't talk to her and she will get the point, that I mean business -- get to bed!
She turned the alarm switch several times and the radio came on. I was getting pretty upset with her at this point as she sat and turned the radio dial back and fourth. I just kept looking down as I folded the laundry. I could see her in my peripheral vision, looking at me for a reaction as she continued to spin the radio dial up and down.
That's when I heard a male voice come from the radio. I heard my name and then some in audible words. I looked up kind of shocked. I knew I heard my name. When you hear your name for so many years and someone says it, you hear it.

Waking up just got fun: £40 alarm clock doubles up as a VIBRATOR Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2544088/Waking-just-got-fun-70-alarm-clock-doubles-VIBRATOR

Have trouble waking up in the morning? Then this might just be the gadget to get you up and at 'em.
A smooth, elongated device that looks like a curved iPod, this alarm clock-cum-vibrator promises to make your mornings happier by waking you up with some good vibrations.
You programme the clock to wake you up at the desired hour, choose one of six different 'vibrating patterns', position the gizmo in your pants - and then wait. Come morning, the subdued buzzing emanating from your nether regions will be the only indication it's time to wake up. 

The $70 (£40) wake-up vibe comes in three different colours. The makers of the device suggest the one in  pink is best for 'good girls looking for a sexy experience of pleasure'.

How to Turn Your Phone Into the Ultimate Alarm Clock for Any Situation

You won't find a shortage of alarm clock apps in the Google Play store and the iTunes App Store. In fact, there are so many alarm clock apps that it's almost impossible to find what you're really looking for. With that in mind, here are some of the best alarm clocks for any situation you might find yourself in.

While you have a bunch of options for alarm clocks out there, most of you spoke up to say you usually just use your smartphone. Subsequently, there are thousands of alarm clocks apps available. Let's take a look at a few of the best.

You Want to Wake Up Gently

Waking up is hard and awful as it is, so sometimes you want nothing more than a pleasant sound to start your day off right. Thankfully, you have a few different options for doing just that.

We like a few different apps for a gentle wake up. If you're into the idea of an app that wakes you up gradually with soothing sounds, we're fans of Wake on the iPhone because it's simple and easy to use. With it, you'll wake up to soothing sounds that get louder over time. Likewise, we're also fans of Rise for iOS which works similar to Wake but has a larger feature set that includes custom playlists and sleep timers.
For Android, Timely is a great app that operates a lot like Rise. We're also fans of Warmly on Android because it offers a ton of different sounds to wake up to. For music that slowly turns on, Doubletwist alarm clock on Android is a fantastic choice.
If you're really interested in soothing sounds, you might also want to check out the previously mentioned ZenAwake for the iPhone. ZenAwake plays for an even longer transition period and wakes you up over the course of 10 minutes.

Speaking Clock: Why are people still dialling for the time?

Ethel Jane Cain, a Post Office exchange operator from Croydon, was the first voice of the Speaking Clock in 1936
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At the third stroke, the Speaking Clock will be 75 years old. But why in an era of laptops and mobiles do many people still get the precise time from a recording of a well-spoken woman?

Time is inescapable - it's there in the flick of a wrist, push of a mobile phone button and glance at a computer screen.

You could argue there is no real need to pick up a landline and dial 123 to hear BT's Speaking Clock and be charged 31p for doing so.

But the service still receives 30 million calls each year, with demand peaking on four very time-sensitive days.

People want to celebrate New Year at precisely the right time, they like to double check when the clocks have gone either forward or backward, and they want to ensure they start their two-minute silence at exactly 11am on Remembrance Day.

Anecdotally, it is also rather popular just before five o'clock, when call-centre staff are desperate to avoid picking up a 20-minute call from an irate customer.

The Speaking Clock was created for people who did not have a watch or clock to hand. Before 1936, people used to ring the exchange operator, a real person, to settle a dispute over the time.
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Precisely please
Listening to the speaking clock unit, Leeds, circa 1952