10 Best Alarm Clock Apps on iPhone and Android For Heavy Sleepers

Waking up is hard to do, which is why we compiled this list of the 10 best alarm clock apps on iPhone and Android for heavy sleepers.

We all know the struggle of the alarm going off in the morning and slamming the snooze button and rolling back over. Or maybe you’re like me and have sometimes slept completely through your alarm because it’s too quiet or it’s trying to wake you right in the middle of REM sleep. It’s hard to be a heavy sleeper. I find myself setting alarms heinously early just to make sure that even if I hit snooze in my sleep or, even worse, turn my alarm off in my sleep, that I won’t be late to whatever I’m trying to get up for in the morning.

Sleep is important in order to have a productive day when you wake up. Not enough sleep will lead to adverse health effects. If you’re like me and you have a problem falling asleep, check out these 16 Science-Backed Tricks to Fall Asleep Fast while Lying in Bed. Once you are asleep though, it’s sometimes really hard to actually wake back up and function. We can’t all live a life where we fall asleep around 4 a.m. and wake up at midday, sad though that be.

For this list, we focused on some alarm clock apps that are helpful in waking you up, rather than just being a loud noise at whatever time you select. Some of these even have the ability to track your sleep cycle during the night and wake you at a time when you’re not mid-REM sleep. The Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone’s default alarm clock app has a function that tries to do this, but it’s still not absolutely perfect, nor is it all that accurate. These apps work to make you feel like you woke up naturally. We also made sure to check out some apps that will make you get out of bed even when you want to curl up in your sheets forever. This will often mean you’ll have to actually get up out of bed for the alarm to turn off or there’s a task for you to complete. We used Life Hack, Beebom, and JOA for app recommendations. Then, we looked up their respective ratings on the Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) iTunes or Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)‘s Google Play store. If the app is available on both platforms, we took the average rating and then ranked them using those scores.

Don’t get too cozy because here’s our list of the best alarm clock apps on iPhone and Android for heavy sleepers, beginning on the second page.

10. Sleep Genius

Average rating: 3.98

Sleep Genius, available for free on Android and iPhone, trains your brain to get healthy sleep by trying different sleep phases. Not only will it help you wake up for work, it’ll make sure you’re not late again the next day by helping you get to sleep on time.

9. Wake N Shake Alarm Clock

Rating: 4.00

We are continuing our list of best alarm clock apps on iPhone and Android for heavy sleepers with Wake N Shake, that is available on iPhone for $1.99, is great for super heavy sleepers. To turn the alarm off you have to shake your phone and there isn’t a button to lower the volume. You’ll hate it when it’s happening, but you’ll be thankful you woke up on time when your boss is impressed that you weren’t late.

8. Morning Routine

Rating: 4.2

Morning Routine, which is free on Android, rings until you physically get out of bed and take a picture of whatever you want. It’ll make you generally take a picture of an item’s barcode, like cereal or milk. 20 minutes later you’ll have to take a picture of another item as well so the app can make sure you have actually gotten up. No cheating by keeping food in your bed!

7. iDigital Big2 Alarm Clock

Rating: 4.2

We are continuing our list of best alarm clock apps on iPhone and Android for heavy sleepers with iDigital Big 2 Alarm Clock that is available for free on iTunes and it’s great for a variety of reasons. You know that feeling when your alarm goes off and you check your phone and it blinds you? This app will wake you up without shining a bright light directly into your retinas.

6. Puzzle Alarm Clock

Rating: 4.3

Puzzle Alarm Clock, free on Android, is an interesting way to wake up. If you want to make it stop, you just have to solve a simple puzzle. It’s a great start to the day that gets your brain working.

5. Sleep As Android

Rating: 4.3

Sleep As Android, available on Android for free or $2 for extra features, cares about your sleeping cycle. This app number 5 in our list of best alarm clock apps on iPhone and Android for heavy sleepers won’t wake you from a deep sleep. Instead, it’ll track your sleep during the night and wake you only during a light sleep so you’re less cranky. It’ll feel like you woke up naturally.

4. Alarm Clock Xtreme

Rating: 4.5

Alarm Clock Xtreme, available on Android, has features like sleep cycle tracking, a built-in timer, and a stopwatch. You’ll be much less likely to abuse the snooze button every morning, which is why it ranks on our list of the 10 best alarm clock apps on iPhone and Android for heavy sleepers.

3. I Can’t Wake Up

Rating: 4.5

I Can’t Wake Up is an annoying app for Android that has two versions – one that’s free and one that’s $2.99. If you have a hard time waking up, this is the one for you. You’ll have to solve a math problem to stop your alarm from ringing and there are options to have extra loud noises as the alarm. The paid version removes annoying ads (after all, watching them could be worse than not waking up at all).

2. Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock

Average Rating: 4.65

Up next in our list of best alarm clock apps on iPhone and Android for heavy sleepers is Sleep Cycle that is one I can speak about from personal experience. It’s available for free on both iPhone and Android for one month and then it’s $29.29 for the whole year. It’s worth it because it tracks your sleep patterns and slowly wakes you up in a way that feels natural. You can look at your sleep cycle on a chart and figure out what factors are affecting your sleep.

1. Alarmy (Sleep If U Can)

Rating: 4.7

The award for the most annoying alarm app is Alarmy, available for free on Android. If you want to use this, you take a picture of a few objects far away from your bed, like the kitchen or the sofa. When the alarm rings in the morning, you have to get up and take a picture of it again to make it stop. You can cheat, but it’s not recommended and kind of defeats the purpose of the app.

That concludes the list of the 11 best alarm clock apps on iPhone and Android for heavy sleepers. Rest assured you won’t get up late again with one (or more) of these!

Disclosure: None