In college, I had a roommate who never used an alarm clock. She always awoke at the same time each morning without anyone or anything waking her up. It was amazing to me because I would sleep until noon each day without an alarm clock rudely interrupting my beauty rest.
Since I cannot sleep until noon each day, I must use an alarm clock to jar me awake in the mornings. For me, an alarm clock is a necessity!
My Status Quo Change
When my 18-month-old daughter decided to pound my alarm clock with a toy and jammed the “set alarm” button, I tossed my broken alarm clock and used a backup. I quickly found that the backup clock works, but the snooze button sticks.
Upon hearing the alarm, I pressed the snooze button only to find that the alarm did not go back off. I ended up sleeping in until my daughter began calling me from her crib. Though I was not late in any of my responsibilities, my day was off schedule.
My Search Options
Battery-operated
Realizing that I needed a new alarm clock, I checked at Wal-mart on my next shopping trip. I found a battery-operated clock for $5.97 and purchased it.
(This clock is a similar battery-operated clock since I failed to take a picture of the one I purchased.) I brought it home, set the time, and scheduled the alarm for the next morning.
When the alarm awakened me, I pressed the snooze button. Then 3-minutes later the alarm sounded again. As I repeated this scenario looking for 10 more minutes of rest, I finally got up frustrated with the 3-minute snooze interval.
Corded with battery-backup from Wal-mart
Deciding that this clock did not meet my alarm clock requirements (which I did not know I had), I returned the clock on my next visit to Wal-mart. With a little better understanding of the type of alarm clock I needed, I continued my alarm clock mission searching for a clock with 9-minute snooze intervals.
Having found one that fit the bill, I added this $5.97 corded with battery-backup clock to my purchases. I again came home, set the time, and scheduled the alarm for the next morning.
At the appointment time, I was startled awake by a very loud, high-pitched beeping sound. Thankfully, I had 9 minutes to recover before that noise repeated itself. Though the snooze worked perfectly, the volume and pitch level could not continue. I didn’t like it, so I needed to shape it up!
Corded with battery-backup from Target
Since neither Paul nor I could stand the sound of the new alarm clock, Paul graciously offered to purchase another one on his trip to Target. The $6.95 clock he brought home had the 9-minute snooze interval with multi-colored neon numbers.
I was not sure if I liked it, but I was willing to try. This time I set the clock and then set the alarm for a minute later. My waiting ended with a normal beeping sound that was not high-pitched or loud. Mission complete!
My Learned Lessons
My thinking that “choosing an alarm clock involved just picking one” has changed. Since I have not purchased an alarm clock in years, I needed to read the options more carefully. Through this process, I have discovered my favorite options for an alarm clock.
- 9-minute snooze
- Snooze button on top of the alarm clock
- Tolerable pitch level
- Volume control (which none of these clocks had), but a minimum expectation of a medium range alarm sound
- Numbers stay lit, so a corded with battery-backup option
When my status quo changed, I searched my options and learned some lessons. Though I still need to return a clock to Wal-mart, I will keep the alarm clock Paul chose from Target. It has all the options I deem necessary to my morning jolt without irritating me in the process. Completing my alarm clock mission took time (and help from hubby :-)), but in using time wisely, I discovered my favorite options resulting in a pleasant interruption of my beauty rest.
Question: What preferences do you have with regards to an alarm clock (assuming you use one)? Please share your answer in the comments.