FIVE GOLD GIFTS… Lumie Bodyclock luxe 750DAB

This alarm clock is not cheap, but looks good, tells the time and has a great radio

lumieThe alarm clock has changed over the past 20 years and instead of being woken by a monstrosity of bells and an unwieldy device, it’s generally our mobile phones that awaken us.

These ringtones from our phone have also changed. No longer are we woken abruptly as if we have to go down the pit, the very nature of our jobs, especially knowledge workers, is to be awoken by something more benign and chilled; something that makes us love the morning, not despise its very meaning.

So welcome to the Lumie Bodyclock luxe 750DAB, a sexy little piece of kit that looks like it comes from the future, but with a functionality that belongs to the past (in a good way).

Like all tech devices nowadays, it takes time to set it up, the four frontal buttons are a little difficult to control, but once the basics have been done, the Bodyclock really does seem as onomatopoeic as it sounds.

It’s so much nicer listening to the radio when trying to nod off to sleep, knowing that you will be in the clouds with the sheep before the radio turns itself off, it makes insomnia a stranger and that’s a very good thing.

The alarms are also wondrous. There are swatches to choose from and if you prefer falling rain and natural birdsong to bells and whistles, then your (recently awoken) dreams have all come true with a duration from 15 to 90 minutes. One tap to send to snooze.

The Lumie also uses fully dimmable bedroom lighting using mixed LEDs to mimic the colours of a real sunrise/sunset. It also has hiigh quality Bluetooth speakers, DAB radio and more than sleep and wake sounds with a seven-day alarm setting. It also claims to treat SAD and those winter blues.

It’s not cheap at £199.99, but it will last a lifetime and that will be a lifetime of dreams that are not shattered, but filled with a longing for the morning, brought alive by sounds that almost replicate Circadian rhythms. Sleep well!