A lamp that fakes a sunrise over the last 30 minutes of sleep, so you surface gradually instead of being yanked awake in the dark. In winter-depression trials a 250-lux dawn ramp matched 10,000-lux bright-light therapy. Brightness is the whole game: the ramp has to reach roughly 200–300 lux at your pillow, which means the lamp sits within arm's reach of your head — across the room it's a nightlight, and budget units that peak under 100 lux won't move anything. It replaces your audio alarm; it does not replace stepping outside once you're up.

Photo: WKH Studio on Unsplash