An alarm clock does the job. That’s why we use it. It’s purpose is to wake us up. However there is one rather large drawback from using it, as indicated by it’s name.

We awake in a state of alarm.

Not really an ideal start to any day – being shocked into conciousness. I’d also hazard a guess that we naturally rebel against this by hitting “snooze”, rolling over, and trying to recover the calmer state we have just been experiencing.

Is there’s a better way of waking up at a set time and not in a state of alarm? I think so.

Instead of using an alarming artificial sound, try using an audio track of birds singing (basically any natural background sounds) that slowly increase in volume over time. The soothing sounds eases you from a rested state into a refreshed one, ready to take on the day. Much more helpful than receiving an alarming shot of adrenaline into the bloodstream before the mental faculties are fully functioning, as is normally the case.

This can be combined with other techniques such as leaving the curtains open, so the natural morning light can assist also.