Do you “sleep like the dead”? Do you snooze your alarm about forty thousand times? You definitely aren’t alone. Fortunately there are numerous assistive technology  solutions to help you get up on time!

Challenge Your Mind

Mathe Alarm Clock – Free for iOS

I described this app to my husband, a night owl and chronic oversleeper-of-alarms. His response? “The bear doesn’t like math” (him being the bear and someone who is actually very good at math).

This app forces you to solve multiple-choice math problems before it will shut your alarm off.  You can choose the number and difficulty (easy, medium, or hard) of problems needed to turn the alarm off.  Sound annoying? It’s meant to be. It’s also meant to activate your brain and get you out of bed. That’s the whole point of an alarm, right?

Bonus: The alarm allows you to create a customized morning checklist to help you develop a consistent routine.

Alarmy – Free for iOS and Android

By and far one of the most popular apps for heavy sleepers is Alarmy whose motto is, “sleep if you can”.

This app has three different options to help you get your tush out of bed:

1. Solve a math problem – Much like the Mathe Alarm Clock app, you can customize the number and difficulty of the math questions that need to be solved in order for the alarm to turn off.
2. Take a picture – You set up this alarm by registering a photo of an area or room in your house.  The only way to stop the alarm from going off is to get out of your bed and take a picture of that area or room.  I’d suggest your coffee pot… but that’s just me.
3. Shake – Really! You have to shake your phone the number of times you’ve pre-designated in order to turn it off.

Move Your Body

Clocky – $39.99

Clocky. “The alarm clock that runs away to get you up.”  Yes, this is real and not just the thing of nightmares.

The Clocky is an alarm clock on wheels.  You can snooze once but after that… Clocky will jump off your dresser and you will need to chase it down.

 

Ruggie – $74

An alarm clock that is also a rug.  When the alarm chimes, at a whopping 90-120 decibels, the only way to turn it off is to stand on it. With BOTH feet.  You can choose the duration of how long you must stand in order for the alarm to stop, anywhere from 3-30 seconds.

Dumbbell Alarm Clock – $19.99

Fitness inclined? Want to motivate yourself to exercise first thing in the morning while at the same time get up when you mean to? This dumbbell will do the trick.  In order to turn the alarm off, lift the dumbbell up 30 times.  That’s 15 for each arm…enough to get the juices flowing.

Shake Your Bed and Wake Up Your Ear Drums

Several companies make alarm clocks for individuals who are deaf or hard-of-hearing that also work very well for heavy sleepers and snooze addicts. These units typically have very extra-loud alarms in the 90-120 decibel range, flashing lights, and a bed shaker.  A bed shaker is pretty self-explanatory; it is a hockey puck shaped device with rounded edges that vibrates vigorously.

Sonic Alert Sonic Bomb – $33.02

4.5 stars and over 7,200 reviews on Amazon.  This little number will wake you UP!

Amplifyze TCL Bluetooth Vibrating Bed Shaker – $39.95

Hooks up with your cellphone or tablet via Bluetooth. Available in several fun colors.