BY Doug Aamoth

If standard alarm clocks just don’t cut it for you, it’s time to bring in the heavy artillery. In that spirit, these alarms take annoying to a whole new level in an effort to blast you out of bed.

Be warned: they’re incredibly effective but will make snooze buttons useless. Sweet dreams!

Nuj Alarm Clock

This deceptively titled app doesn’t nudge you awake gently by any means. When the free Nuj Alarm (iOS, Android) goes off, you’ll have a finite amount of time to scan the barcode of a household product you’ve preselected in order to make the alarm stop.

The kicker? If you don’t scan the barcode in time, you’re out real money—money which gets donated to charity.

A good cause, to be sure, but there’s nothing quite like a little financially motivated fear to get you moving in the morning.

Alarmy

Alarmy (iOS, Android) is the king of annoying alarm apps. It forces you to complete random tasks such as solving math problems, shaking the phone vigorously, or even taking a photo of something in another room before it will shut up. You can’t cheat either—it uses advanced verification to make sure you actually completed the required task.

There’s a feature-limited free version, with premium versions starting at around $5 per month.

Sleep Cycle

The Sleep Cycle app (iOS, Android) takes a gentler approach but can still be highly effective.

Give it a “Wake Up Window” when you set your alarm, and it analyzes your sleep patterns and chooses the optimal time to wake you up based on your lightest sleep phase.

I’ve found this to be effective but annoying in the sense that you might find yourself awake far earlier in the morning than you’d like. It’s a simple concept but surprisingly hard to sleep through.

Wake Up Call: Wake Up On Time!

If you have no problem sleeping through your alarm but you’ll always wake up to a phone call, this app (iOS, Android) is for you.

Schedule a wake up call and a friendly, albeit robotic operator will call you in the morning just like real-life operators used to do for hotel guests back in the olden days.

The app includes a few free calls to get you started. After that, you’ll need to purchase additional packs of calls starting at a buck for a dozen.

Sonic Bomb Extra Loud Alarm Clock

Apps, schmapps. If nothing seems to be working, it’s time to pull out all the stops.

The aptly named Sonic Bomb alarm clock costs $42 and is capable of reaching an incredible 113 decibels at its loudest setting. Oh, and it’s got red flashing lights to add a little bit of extra terror to your morning.

And if that’s not enough, it comes with a “bed shaker”—a violently vibrating puck that you can stick under your pillow or mattress to augment the insanity.

Fast Company

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