# Do you still use a dedicated alarm clock or clock-radio? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 27, 2017, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176 "2017-03-27T22:21:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/21 "2017-03-28T00:30:48Z")
I still work, but I wake up between 1:30 and 2:00 just about every morning, so I don’t bother to set an alarm. I don’t leave the house until 6:00, so even if I oversleep a little, I’ve always got plenty of time to get ready, but it does cut into my straight dope time. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/22 "2017-03-28T00:35:38Z")
My clock has numbers big enough that I can read it without my glasses. No phone is capable of that. ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/23 "2017-03-28T00:56:19Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > The violent beeping of an alarm clock **disturbs my sleep** , so I use a tablet that is set to play a song with slowly increasing volume. Excellent investment. Isn’t that the whole point of an alarm? 🙂 🙂 I still use a clock radio, one I’ve had for about 25 years. It has two alarms, one a beep-beep and one to turn on the radio. The beep-beep is great for waking me just before 6 every weekday morning. It also has nice gently glowing red numbers, so I can see the time if (when) my dog wakes me to go outside for a pee. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/24 "2017-03-28T01:01:56Z")
I have a [dedicated alarm cat](https://www.flickr.com/photos/9624983@N05/9494225437/in/album-72157623434119688/). Every morning, rain or shine, around dawn. Sadly, she doesn’t have a daylight savings mode. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/25 "2017-03-28T01:34:16Z")
I’m retired so I generally wake up when I feel like it. But on those occasions when I do need to wake up early, I have an alarm clock which I can plug in and set. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/26 "2017-03-28T01:51:23Z")
> [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > I have a [dedicated alarm cat](https://www.flickr.com/photos/9624983@N05/9494225437/in/album-72157623434119688/). Every morning, rain or shine, around dawn. Sadly, she doesn’t have a daylight savings mode. Me too. I have to feed her at 5am and go back to bed. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/27 "2017-03-28T01:52:42Z")
Alarm clock/radio – and two of them! One I use to wake up and a second in the living room to remind me to go to work. (I usually get up at 8am but don’t leave for work until 2pm. The second is a safety net in case I get busy reading or doing laundry or something.) ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/28 "2017-03-28T02:16:40Z")
I use an alarm clock, because my phone is banished at night to the living room except for when I am on call. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/29 "2017-03-28T02:26:52Z")
I use the same old red-LED digital alarm clock I’ve had for decades. I don’t actually own a mobile or smart phone, and didn’t even know people used them for that. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/30 "2017-03-28T02:34:02Z")
I rarely have to get up at a particular time, and I’m usually up anyway. Besides, I have two cats. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/31 "2017-03-28T02:36:49Z")
I have an analog alarm clock that rings, on those rare occasions when I have to rise before my usual time (which is dawn). Generally I wake up before it rings though. My body hates being startled awake more than I can describe. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/32 "2017-03-28T02:37:08Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I use the same old red-LED digital alarm clock I’ve had for decades. As do I. I have a [GE clock radio](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/z13Um9JU9Ss/maxresdefault.jpg) that I bought in grad school (1988), and it’s been on my nightstand ever since. When I’m traveling, I use an alarm clock app on my iPhone, but, at home, it’s the venerable clock radio. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/33 "2017-03-28T02:39:40Z")
Phone app. I keep the phone on the bedside table because I also run a white-nose app. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/34 "2017-03-28T02:48:37Z")
> [@Cub\_Mistress](#): > > I use an alarm clock, because my phone is banished at night to the living room Yep. I don’t keep my phone in my bedroom either. I set an alarm even though I almost always wake up before it. Because 95% of the time just isn’t good enough. ---
**Author:** ![somepumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@somepumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/somepumpkin)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/35 "2017-03-28T03:06:47Z")
I rarely use an alarm. If I have to get up long before the sun does, I’ll need some motivation. And for that, i’ll use the iPhone’s alarm function. There’s an alarm clock in the room but its alarm function isn’t used. It’s just a timepiece. I don’t even think the am/pm is set correctly. My (new) wife loves the snooze function and we’re working through that. I hated waking up to it the first time her alarm went off this morning… why would I want to feel that way 2, 3 or 4 more times? I just get up. ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/36 "2017-03-28T03:07:27Z")
> [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](#): > > My primary alarm is my FitBit, but I always have the Smart Phone set, also, in case I turn off the FitBit (No snooze feature). Also when not wearing the FitBit (vacation, overnight charging) Smart Phone becomes primary. I like the repeat functions and ability to set different alarm times on different days on both the FitBit and phone. Similar, though I have the Microsoft Band - on which I can set two alarms, one as backup. On time change nights, though, I will get out a digital alarm clock and set it to the time it will be, and the alarm, as a backup in case my phone (which syncs with the Band) has a brain fart and doesn’t adjust. Unless I just don’t happen to be working that day anyway. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/37 "2017-03-28T03:20:54Z")
I have a dedicated alarm clock in the form of an old dumb (but still smarter than any "smart"phone) phone. It’s still functional as a phone, mostly, but is old enough that its on the bleeding edge of not being compatible with the phone system anymore, so now its an alarm clock. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/38 "2017-03-28T03:29:24Z")
I use an iPod touch as my primary wake-up device but I also set an alarm clock for backup. That might sound odd but it’s saved me from being late more than once. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/39 "2017-03-28T12:26:37Z")
I use my iPhone plus my gf. If I’m sleeping on my left side, my deaf ear is up and I sleep through the alarm, so she shoves me. If I’m sleeping on my right side, I can hear my phone. If I wake up shortly before the alarm (happens often) I make sure I’m on my right side. When I’m sleeping solo, we have an old clock radio that I use, turned up to eleven. ETA: if I’m traveling alone and need to be awake early, I’ll chug a liter of water before going to sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2017, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176/40 "2017-03-28T13:02:28Z")
I have a clock next to me bed to tell the time and the handful of times a year I have to get up, mostly to get to the airport, I use it of course. I would be wary of using any battery powered device for two reasons. The battery might choose just then to run out, or it might wake me on low battery beep in the middle of the night, which has happened once or twice. I keep most mobile devices out of the BR for that reason. The only exception is my e-reader/tablet and I keep the email turned off permanently since it would beep for incoming mail at random times all night. It also keeps the battery working longer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-still-use-a-dedicated-alarm-clock-or-clock-radio/783176.md?page=3)