The very worst thing you can do when you can’t sleep or need a loo run in the early hours is to turn on the big light to check the time.
The sudden glare jolting you out of a half-sleep means you can kiss goodbye any hope of a restful night. Even checking your phone for the time can mean wrecking any chance of catching those precious 40 winks, especially if you’ve got missed calls or notifications you can’t stop yourself from checking.
Knowing that you have to get up for a major event, like an important work meeting or a heinously early flight, also means signing up for a night of yo-yo slumber, jerking awake every few hours in a panic that you’ve missed go-time even if it’s hours before your alarm is set to go off. For shift workers, new parents and business travellers, it’s no picnic.
But have no fear, because the nightmare might be over! A hi-tech solution could come up trumps in such ghastly situations: a projection clock.
Designed to show you any hour of day or night by beaming it onto a distant wall or ceiling, these models mean you can steal a peek at the time without properly pulling yourself out of deep sleep. Hours left in the bank? Simply turn over to head back into the land of nod.
From high-performance mattresses and luxe bed sheets to pillow mists, we’ll always be excited about anything that means we can enjoy a deeper, richer quality of sleep. If you’re on the same page, we’ve rounded up the best projection alarm clocks to keep on your bedside below.
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MeesMeek Projection Alarm Clock
No need to squint at the clock to make out the time. Whether you are bleary-eyed or just haven’t got your glasses to hand, this clock projects the time onto the wall in super large font so you can see it clearly. The projection can be angled through 180 degrees and as well as a 12/24H clock, alarm, weekend mode and snooze button, there’s also a calendar feature too. The compact clock charges via USB or batteries.
Buy now £24.99, Amazon
Acctim Neige Weather Station Digital Alarm Clock, Black
A gadget with more than one function will always be a welcome thing in our house. Acctim's feature-packed design offers not just time projection but weather too, so you'll know exactly how to dress before you've thrown back the bed covers.
The bedside clock comes with a crescendo alarm to rouse you gently out of slumber while the digital display also comes with barometric measures and moon phases, if you're into that sort of thing.
Power it with batteries, or the much more environmentally-friendly option: USB.
Buy now £70.00, John Lewis
EVILTO Alarm Clock Projector
Offered in a snazzy gold-coloured casing, this projector clock shows a digital clock and temperature on the display, while also beaming the info to know onto your ceiling. There are adjustable modes to flick through, including a low-light one that won't feel disruptive when it's time for lights out. There's FM radio here too.
Best of all, you can charge your essential devices through the clock, allowing you to juice up your handset in your sleep.
Buy now £22.99, Amazon
Braun Digital Projection Alarm Clock
If you've got a terrible habit of snoozing your alarm, Braun's clock beeps out a persistent and ever-louder wake-up sound which means it's pretty impossible to sleep through.
The negative LCD aids sleep by cutting disruptive light and you can set your clock to a 12-hour or 24-hour display setting, whichever is easier for you to read. The tilt-and-rotate projector offers a continuous display when the clock is connected to mains power, for which an adaptor is provided.
If you want to take it on trips abroad though, switch to three AA batteries instead and spare your travel adaptor for other things.
Buy now £49.50, Amazon
Sony ICF-C1PJ Clock Radio with Time Projector
Having the time beamed onto the wall or ceiling in massive, hard-to-miss numbers minimises the risk of not seeing it when it's time to rise and shine. Paired with an alarm, you can kick your always-late tendencies to the curb. The projection angle can be tweaked and you can adjust the focus too, so it's always easy to read clearly. Radio features are also in the box and the best part is that even if you lose mains power, the alarm will still sound at the pre-set time.
Buy now £76.99, Very
LEXIBOOK RL977NI Projector Alarm Clock - Super Mario & Luigi
A fun option for kids, this clock projects a three-colour illusion of everyone's favourite cartoon plumber up onto the walls instead of the time, acting as a night light that older children might appreciate. The LCD screen lights up so they can check the time when it's still dark out. A snooze option gives them five more minutes if they want it.
Buy now £29.99, Currys
Precision Radio Controlled Projection Digital Alarm Clock
This radio-controlled clock means you won't have to worry when it's clock-changing time: it will adjust automatically to BST and display accurate time year-round. The cube boasts a display which can show you crucial information before you peel yourself out of bed, from a selectable 12/24 hour display clock, to a calendar and temperature display. Oh, and it can do it in five European languages too, including English which is useful if you're trying to learn a new tongue. Clock projection is managed through a wheel on the right-hand side; simply rotate so that it splashes up where you want it on the wall or ceiling.
Buy now £20.00, Argos
Bush Projection Alarm Clock - Black
Projection clocks may seem futuristic, but it doesn't mean you need to pay through the nose for one. Head to Argos where you can find this simple Bush model for less than £20. The bedside essential comes with a dual alarm and radio features as well as snooze. There's also a compact projector to flash the digits on the ceiling or wall. It runs on both mains power or batteries, which you'll have to supply yourself.
Buy now £16.99, Argos
Flying Tiger Alarm clock with projector
This budget buy is made for teens, travellers and students. The compact bell-like design flicks through soothing colours and beams digital figures up onto a high surface, allowing you to clock the time at a glance. It needs three AAA batteries to work.
Buy now £8.00, Flying Tiger
ROCAM Projection Alarm Clock
Reckon you could sleep through a rhinoceros stampede? There's no snoozing through this bad boy which is equipped with a super loud alarm to get you up and ready for your day. The projection can be adjusted through 180° with beautifully crisp quality and it can power devices through a USB port too.
Buy now £22.49, Amazon
