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If I’m being honest, mornings have never really been my thing. I’m a night owl—the kind of person who starts her homework at 10 p.m., decides to rearrange the living room while everyone else is asleep, and somehow gets a second wind right when “normal” people are winding down. But, out of necessity, I’ve recently been inching into early-riser territory. I have a new puppy who thinks dawn is the perfect time to go outside, I do better creative work before my inbox wakes up, and I’ve grown to love having a quiet buffer before Slack starts chiming.
There is a small problem, though, and it’s winter. My bedroom receives little natural light, and in a season that’s darker and colder, getting out of bed becomes aspirational at best. I’ve thought about trying a sunrise alarm clock for a few years, but most of them lean too techy, with lots of plastic and bold displays. And since I also tend to stay up late, I’ve been looking for something that could actually help me wind down, not just pry me up.
Then one night (yes, very late), I was scrolling and a beautiful, sculptural lamp stopped me in my tracks, one I could immediately picture on on my side table. It wasn’t until I clicked through that I realized it was actually a sleep light from the bulb maestros at Tala. It felt like fate: a fixture that nailed both form and function? I had to try it.
Tala Wake Sleep Light
Designed in collaboration with U.K.-based Heatherwick Studio, the Tala Wake Sleep Light immediately reads as intentional—like something you picked up from a cool shop. The rippled glass bulb looks hand-blown, and the creamy white ceramic base is earthy yet sleek. It’s one of those pieces that instantly elevates whatever surface it’s on. This lamp doesn’t scream “smart device,” and that’s exactly the point.
Design, though, is only half the story. The rotating base is an analog joy: a small twist brightens or dims the glow, and a satisfyingly soft click brings up a minimalist display that fades into the background when not in use. Because the tech isn’t visually loud, the product reads as an object of calm—a major bonus if you avoid cluttering your bedroom with anything that feels overtly digital.
Instead of relying on the shock of a phone alarm, the Wake light creates its own sunrise: amber tones slowly shift brighter and cooler until your room feels like it’s getting its own little dose of morning rays. At night, the routine reverses into a slow fade-out. Both can be paired with optional soundscapes: birds chirping, waves, soft noise, and other unobtrusive bedtime tones. The bulb’s range (1800 to 3100 kelvins) and high color rendering index (CRI) give the light a warm, natural quality that makes the whole experience feel more like setting a mood than using a gadget.
The Tala app makes it easy to fine-tune your routine by keeping things pared back and intuitive. You can set your wake-up and wind-down times, adjust brightness levels, or tap through sound options without feeling like you need a manual. But the real win is that once you’ve programmed everything, you rarely have to revisit your choices: the lamp automatically goes through each step. However, if you prefer something less algorithmic, you can opt to manually adjust through that easy-to-turn, sculptural base.
At $295, the Wake Sleep Light is at the higher end of the sunrise clock price spectrum, but most others are either budget-friendly and visually unappealing or high-tech and clunky. As someone who has searched high and low for just the right thing, the lamp’s combination of thoughtful design from a trusted brand, a warm natural glow, and genuinely useful wind-down and wake-up features make it a worthy investment. (Plus, it takes the place of two pieces on my nightstand.) It has become a gentle stand-in for daybreak in my darkened bedroom, and the prettiest thing I wake up to every morning.
