I need an alarm clock that could wake dead people - help!

[MargoLivebetter]

Does anyone have any recommendations for an alarm clock that could raise the dead? DS can sleep through his phone alarm on the loudest setting and is desperate to find something that will rouse him.

I wake up if a pin drops in the next county, so I'm no good to help him. Does anyone use an alarm that is really loud that they would recommend?

Thank you.

I used to ring my son's mobile phone... hey presto up and out 😉

Smart watch that vibrates? That’s what DP uses

Or use an Alexa and tell it to play really loud music at a certain time

@salsmum not a chance I'm doing that. DS works at very odd times, so that could involve me phoning him at 0400!!!!!

@CraftyNavySeal I have an Alexa phobia, but maybe some kind of timer thing on his speakers might work.

Not sure budget-wise but yes a smart watch is an excellent alarm. I have an Apple Watch. For context, I have slept through an actual giant gong being rung (back in my hippy days), so the watch really does work.

Sometimes we ignore normal/usual noises when we are asleep because our brains put them in the safe category, so beeps, buzzes, songs aren't sufficient to wake us. So maybe it's best to look backwards and go for bells. I don't know of anything that makes bell noises now so it might be enough to rouse him into alert mode. Maybe something similar to this

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8908506?clickPR=plp:16:60

An old fashioned one like this. I still flinch at the memory of mine going off as a teenager.

I've got a baby he can borrow? He won't need an alarm clock though because the baby won't let him sleep long enough or deeply enough to need one. He'll also need getting up for the day at 5am and won't take no for an answer

You're welcome 😀

This! An old fashioned mechanical one is much louder than anything electronic. Best placed away from the bed do you have to get up to shut it up.

Have you looked at alarms for deaf people? They can have vibrating pads or flashing lights. Worth a try?

I'd suggest one of the vibrating ones. You can buy alarm clocks for heavy sleepers that are both loud and include a vibrating thingy that goes under you. Or he could try a smart watch - the vibrating alarm on my Fitbit wakes me easily, but I'm a fairly light sleeper.

Same issue with my son.

He has FOUR alarms set for school.

He left them on over the whole summer holidays because he just sleeps right through

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=alarm+clock+for+the+hearing+impaired

My friend recorded herself shouting Jesus Christ! on her husband’s phone and set it as his phone alarm sound. He used to oversleep a lot.

He did actually wake up on time but nearly had a heart attack as he did so.

@nomud is it just a noise on the smart watch or does it vibrate as well. He has slept through fire alarms, so it is going to have to be bloody loud.

I think the old fashioned clanging bell thing may be the way to go. Also liking the sound of vibrations and flashing lights!

thanks for the offer @Icanttakethisanymore . DS was the worst sleeper as a baby. The absolute worst. My posts in the very early days of Mumsnet back when it started and there were about 50 of us posting on it were more often than not about his inability to sleep. I'm even in the Mumsnet book banging on about it! So, hang in there. In 24 years you will be moaning about your baby not being able to wake up.

An old fashioned wind-up one on a metal baking tray, far enough away from the bed that hell have to get up to turn it off.

Thank you for saying this.... My daily mantra - "It won't be like this forever, it won't be like this forever..." repeat, repeat, repeat 😂

The alarmy app, it’s ridiculously loud and you have the option to do certain tasks to switch it off, I’d recommend setting the barcode challenge and have it as his toothpaste or something in the bathroom so it gets him physically up.

@Ageney that sounds like a good idea if it really is loud enough. Is it a free app? It definitely needs to be something that forces him out of the bed. We could stick the bar code on his bedroom window which would do the trick.

I have mine on silent mode and it vibrates with continual tapping, I don’t think anyone could sleep through it. You can also have silent mode off for sound as well but I don’t find it’s needed as the tapping is really effective, and actually a much more gentle (but still effective) way to wake up.

You can have my orange cat. Ask me at 6am and I'll pay you to take him away!

The wind up clanging ones have a loud tick, which can be annoying.

I'd recommend the ones with the vibrating bit that goes under your pillow. Or if it falls out of bed and goes off on a hard floor it can be quite effective too.

One of our teens is like this, I go and make sure that he's awake on a school day as I wouldn't like to trust an alarm!

Try these for the deaf https://www.hearingaidaccessories.co.uk/alarm-clocks/

And if that fails, a mechanical device to flip his bed! 😆

Get one of these, it's the most hideous, god awful thing that doesn't stop until you catch it!!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rolling-Sleeper-Bed-Room-Clockie-Run-away/dp/B000PWLTNA/ref=sxin_15_pa_sp_search_thematic_sspa?content-id=amzn1.sym.6906c541-6eee-4c10-bc19-17299b9d5015%3Aamzn1.sym.6906c541-6eee-4c10-bc19-17299b9d5015&crid=1Q62Y0NRVXN9B&cv_ct_cx=clocky&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.ze2Tke9UmCDHATQi5cVc3TclZ1oGCP76A2JG7IyQhg79780oTlFTzIYn4HtlrGL5Bq1kcS2x7vCjDflzCGITzg.u_iU743JXbn_JkUvy04IBOgKgUIBpFZGFhFBOHuMKxA&dib_tag=se&keywords=clocky&pd_rd_i=B000PWLTNA&pd_rd_r=bb83b789-fbfa-473f-a8bf-771419e7578e&pd_rd_w=igV7L&pd_rd_wg=8gKZO&pf_rd_p=6906c541-6eee-4c10-bc19-17299b9d5015&pf_rd_r=DHVZ8P1QTS38C6DRQMQH&qid=1725450819&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=clocky%2Caps%2C97&sr=1-1-ad3222ed-9545-4dc8-8dd8-6b2cb5278509-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9zZWFyY2hfdGhlbWF0aWM&th=1

My DH can sleep through any noise!

We eventually sussed that what woke him up was light and therefore the super blackout blinds that help me to sleep were a bit too good for him!

Solved by getting a Lumie alarm clock set to wake him up with light over 30 mins! He's also far less grumpy waking up this way, so it's a double win!