Researchers Have Uncovered The Best iPhone Alarms To Wake Up To

We put the winner to the test.

Waking up to an alarm can be rough – the grating noise, the jolt up. And we're all looking for ways to improve our morning wakeups.

Well, look no further.

Researchers at Startle have analysed Apple's 28 standard iPhone alarms and have ranked them best to worst, based on their melody, frequency, melodic key, and beats per minute.

The outright winner was "Sencha", with its low frequency, easy melody and mellow tone.

That was followed quickly by "By The Seaside" and "Uplift", which share some key characteristics with the winner.

On the other hand, "Chimes" was rated the worst, and "Radar", Apple's default alarm sound, was rated third worst.

The worst ones have no tonal centre, no consistent beats per minute and are played at high frequencies.

How do they know which ones are good and bad? Well, the researchers analysed tones that might create something called "sleep inertia", which is the feeling of grogginess and exhaustion you might have in the mornings.

"An alarm clock is designed to stimulate the RAS (reticular activating system), telling your body to wake up. The jolt of an alarm clock can be especially strong if you're in the deep sleep phase of sleep, leaving you with an increased heart rate and groggy feeling in the morning that can last several hours," Luke Cousins, Physiology Regional Lead at Nuffield Health told Startle.

So how does it hold up?

Well this morning, I tested the highest rated alarm clock. I had never used "Sencha" before, and as someone who hates almost all alarms, I was cautious.

But, I was pleasantly surprised this morning, when the soothing sounds of "Sencha" woke me up and I felt ... sort of good?

I'm gonna continue to trial it for the rest of the week, but I'm certainly feeling optimistic about "Sencha".