Peaceful awakenings: taking the "alarm" out of the alarm clock.

The quality of my daily awakening ritual changed dramatically a few months ago when I was exposed to the Timex Nature Sounds alarm clock. Prior to this, it had never occurred to me to use something other than the traditional buzzer-type alarm clock that I had had since 1986 because “it still worked.” While this was true, it worked by emitting a loud obnoxious sound that stimulated a fight or flight response. Now, I start the day with nature sounds (“ocean surf”), which is much more peaceful than my old alarm clock.