The Best WIRED-Tested Extreme Alarm Clock of 2025: Not for the Faint of Heart
Featured in this article
Not every alarm clock is created equal. Heavy sleepers know how easy it is to snooze through the overly genteel alarms on your phone. For people who can’t get out of bed without a bigger jolt, extreme alarms have popped up in recent years—from relatively simple puzzle-alarm phone apps to alarms on wheels to alarms that shake the bed. Not only are these an innovative way to get chronic snoozers out of bed, but they can be great for those who are hard of hearing, utilizing different frequencies and pitches as well as movement through vibration.
I’m a very heavy sleeper, so I tried one of these nontraditional extreme alarm clocks every day for a full week (at least). I chose the extreme alarms that were the most rated or reviewed online, found most often on online retailers like Amazon and in the app store, and tried to get a versatile range of options that focused on different areas, whether it be sound or activity.
While I can say that they worked better at getting me out and helping me stay out of bed, most mornings I woke up with anxiety like I was being hunted for sport. Be forewarned that some of these extreme alarm clocks are not for the faint of heart.
Check out our other sleep guides, including Best Sunrise Alarms, Sleep Trackers, Best Mattresses, and Best Pillows.
Updated November 2025: We’ve added the Lasso Alarm Clock and updated prices and links throughout.
-
Best Simple Alarm Clock to Get You Out of Bed
-
Photograph: Molly Higgins
-
Photograph: Molly Higgins
This small, half-dollar-sized device is deceivingly simple. It is connected to an app on your phone, where you set up to three alarms (repeated daily or on specific schedules) with snooze increments of one, two, three, six, or nine minutes. Then, you place the device somewhere that requires you to get out of bed, and when the alarm goes off, you have to tap on it with your phone to silence it. The Lasso can only be snoozed once, so make sure to put it where you can reach it in time and still get some shut-eye; otherwise, you may as well wake up. You can customize the alarm sound as either instant (like a traditional alarm) or gradual, but that’s where customization stops.
This device’s simplicity is one of its biggest strengths. The alarm audio comes from your phone, so the Lasso requires no power (that means no batteries, no charging, and no plugging), and the alarm volume can be adjusted in the phone settings. Because it’s a passive chip that uses RFID technology, the device should last for around 10 years at three scans a day. This Lasso is effective at getting your body moving and out of a sleepy state—I put it in various places around my house and in hard-to-reach spots in my room—plus it requires no subscription costs. Just make sure you leave the app open at night to ensure the alarm goes off as planned.
Vibration N/A Noise Level Can be adjusted in phone settings Power RFID chip (power unneeded) Features Forces you to get out of bed to turn off alarm WIRED
- Doesn’t need to be charged
- Gets you moving out of bed
TIRED
- Can only set three alarms
-
-
Best App
This alarm clock app from Alarmy is extremely customizable, requiring a variety of tasks at differing levels of intensity and intervals in order to turn off the alarm, helping any type of snoozer out of bed. There are memory puzzles, typing challenges that require repeating phrases of varying difficulty, and math problems ranging from “very easy” to “hell mode,” including ones where the user has to figure out missing symbols in an equation. As if working your mind weren’t enough, there are also challenges to move your body: step challenges, shake challenges where you must shake the phone a number of times before the alarm will turn off, squats, and a challenge where you take a picture of an object in your house that is part of your morning routine (like a toothbrush or the sink) to ensure you have to physically get up to see the object in order to turn off the alarm.
The alarms themselves are super customizable with different intervals, volumes, reminders, and sounds. There’s also a wake-up check to make sure you’re actually awake, and there’s a sleep tracker to measure sleep quality, deep sleep, snoring, and more. The premium version starts at $5/month and increases, depending on extra features wanted (there are also yearly bundles to save money). There is a free version, but the user can only do one challenge a day, and it doesn’t include the typing, missing symbol, steps, and squat challenges, or the wake-up check.
Vibration N/A Noise Level N/A Power N/A Features Various mental and physical challenges WIRED
- Super customizable
- Lots of challenges for every type of snoozer
TIRED
- Premium subscription needed for advanced features
-
Best Wearable Extreme Alarm Clock
The Shock Clock 3 is a wearable wrist alarm clock that is extremely customizable—it vibrates, beeps, and zaps, and each setting has multiple strength settings and one to five repetitions; plus, you can customize the intervals at which the stimulus goes off. In these settings, the alarm vibrates for a set amount of times first, then beeps (if you opt for noise), and then finishes by zapping your wrist however many times you’ve set it for—the zaps at full strength can be quite painful and feel like a mild electric shock. The user can turn off the beeps and have a silent alarm through touch, which is good for people who are hard of hearing or couples sharing a bed with different wake-up times.
There are also advanced options to ensure you’re awake—you can set it to prompt you to do one to 20 jumping jacks, or if you have a printer, print out a QR code and put it elsewhere in the house so that you’re physically forced to move to take a picture of it—the alarm won’t stop sounding (or shocking) until you have completed the task.
This alarm got me up every day, but the biggest con was how glitchy it could be. Sometimes the zaps or other customizations I made wouldn’t engage despite being shown as “on,” and twice while wearing it, the device unpaired from Bluetooth while I was being shocked, and I had no way to stop the zaps until the device reconnected to the app, which took a (painful) moment. This alarm is pricey, and many other reviews noted the connectivity issues with the Bluetooth, which shouldn’t be occurring at this price point. But it woke me up every day—my skin has the red marks from zapping to prove it.
Vibration N/A Noise Level Not specified Power Rechargeable USB Features Vibrates, beeps, and zaps; each setting has multiple strengths, intervals, and one to five repetitions WIRED
- Myriad of functions to get you active
- Shock sensation for deep sleepers
TIRED
- Can be glitchy and bluetooth connection can be unreliable
-
Best Extreme Alarm Clock for Snoozers
Clocky is a robot-like alarm clock on wheels that rolls away from you and falls from whatever surface you put it on. As the alarm sounds in a high-pitched R2D2-esque beeping pattern, the wheels begin to spin, so the alarm is “running away” and you’re forced to physically get out of bed to turn it off. It’s a good idea in theory, as it forces the sleeper to have to track the robot down (sort of a reverse Terminator situation). The alarm itself is pleasantly comical. Clocky catapults itself off a surface and the wheels spin backward and forward to move around the room; it doesn’t seem to have a huge range of motion, just a lot of beeping and whirring, which makes it seem more chaotic than it actually is.
While I never really had to go far to chase the alarm, it was overall successful in getting me out of bed and making me physically move, which helped me wake up for the day. The device feels cheaply made, and other reviewers cited problems with the clock keeping the set time and the alarm turning itself off while sounding (although I haven’t encountered these problems).
Vibration N/A Noise Level Not specified Power 4 AAA batteries (not included) Features Rolls on wheels WIRED
- Moves on wheels
TIRED
- Comical beeping noise
- Not much range of motion
-
Loudest Extreme Alarm Clock
There’s a lot going on with the Sonic Bomb alarm clock. It has a small 12-volt buzz-pad insert that vibrates the surface it’s touching—it can be placed under a pillow or fitted sheet, or between the mattress and box spring. It has a 113-decibel alarm for heavy sleepers (a standard alarm clock hovers at about 60 decibels), and the volume and pitch can be adjusted—helpful for folks with hearing loss in certain pitches or ranges. The alarm is pretty customizable—with high or low settings and adjustable pitch, volume, snooze length, alarm duration, and even the clock face’s brightness. Although the vibration hovers at one level, you can choose between a vibration, buzz, or vibrate/buzz combo.
The alarm also has a place for a battery, so it doesn’t have to be plugged in to work and ensures that if the power goes out when plugged in, the alarm will still go off. I’d recommend this alarm for anyone hard of hearing or a deep sleeper—it’s highly customizable, which makes it adaptable for almost any type of snoozer.
Vibration 12-volt pad Noise Level Up to 113 decibels Power Electric cord, 9-volt battery for backup (not included) Features High or low settings; pitch, volume, snooze length, alarm duration, and clock face’s brightness can all be adjusted WIRED
- Goes up to 113 decibels in volume
- Has vibration feature for those hard-of-hearing
TIRED
- Vibrations don’t feel very powerful
-
Best Extreme Alarm Clock for Hard-of-Hearing People
Another vibrating alarm clock, this Roxicosly clock is one of the most reviewed nontraditional alarm clocks on Amazon. It is semi-customizable, as the buzzer goes up to 106 decibels with a bed shaker that can be used separately or together with the alarm. The vibrations provide a more subtle way to wake up by forgoing the jarring alarm sounds, and the escalating pattern of the buzzing helps ease the snoozer into wakefulness. The Roxicosly allows two set alarm times, and the snooze goes off every nine minutes. The dual alarms have five volume levels, with 106 decibels as the loudest, and the clock face has adjustable brightness in five levels.
The alarm also has optional battery backup (which requires two AAA batteries, not included) in case of power outage, plus a USB charging port. Setting the time and alarm is simple and the alarm “off” button doesn’t stick out, which minimizes the temptation to just turn off the alarm. The vibrations, along with the noise and adjustable intensity, helped me wake up more easily than other buzzing alarms—without making me feel like I needed to immediately turn it off so I didn’t have a cardiac event.
Vibration 12-volt pad Noise Level Up to 106 decibels Power USB cord, two AA batteries for backup (not included) Features Allows two set alarm times, dual alarms have five volume levels, and the clock face has adjustable brightness in five levels WIRED
- Allows two set alarm times
- Adjustable volume and brightness
- Vibration feature for those hard-of-hearing
TIRED
- Vibration pad can be uncomfortable
- Volume not as loud as others
Extreme Alarm Clocks to Avoid
Photograph: Molly Higgins
Flying Alarm Clock for $18: The idea behind this alarm is funny—when the alarm goes off, a propeller ejects from the top and the sleeper is forced to get up, find the propeller, and place it back on the top to get the alarm to stop beeping. However, during the week I used it, the alarm did not stop beeping when the propeller was placed back on the top, when the snooze button was pressed, or when the alarm button was switched off. The only way to get it to stop was to find a screwdriver and take out one of the five required AA batteries (not included). By the end of the week, I had my screwdriver handy in the mornings. At least it kept me up, but not for the right reasons.
Alarm Clock App (In-App Purchases): This is a puzzle-style alarm app similar to the Alarmy app, but it has fewer features and is buggier. The alarm lets you hit snooze three times before it forces you to actually complete a task, which wasn’t helpful for a chronic snoozer like me. The biggest issue, though, was that the alarm didn’t sound when my phone was in vibrate or silent mode. For this reason, I had to have a backup alarm throughout the majority of the week I tested. When I did remember to turn on the ringer, the app glitched almost every morning and either froze or shut down the app entirely.
EC Vision Lock N’ Load Gun Alarm Clock for $28: This is another gimmicky clock meant to be a fun, interactive alarm. You set it up across the room, the alarm sounds off, and a target springs up—the sleeper must then shoot the target with a toy gun to activate the snooze feature. However, shooting the alarm just controls the snooze; to turn off the alarm, the sleeper has to press an actual button on the alarm clock—making the whole shooting part ultimately unnecessary to the clock’s functionality. Even by placing the alarm on the other side of the room and using the aiming and shooting element, this clock didn’t really force me out of bed as effectively as some of the others on this list.
Which Extreme Alarm Is for You?
Well, that all depends on your problem with getting out of bed.
If you are a chronic snooze-pusher, opt for alarms that physically make you get out of bed. Many types incorporate movement to get your blood pumping and shake off some of that sleepy grogginess—like Clocky, the alarm on wheels, or an alarm clock that requires you to shoot a target to turn it off.
If you are hard of hearing, some of these alarms have adjustable pitch and volume, which are useful for hearing loss in certain ranges. Some of these alarms also have a vibration pad, which can be inserted between the mattress and box spring or under the top sheet, that wakes the sleeper via vibrational movement. There’s even a wrist clock that shocks the sleeper, which can be helpful for those sleeping with partners who don’t want to be disturbed by noises.
Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that’s too important to ignore. Subscribe Today.
