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I’ll be blunt here: as a beauty and shopping writer, there are a lot of things I get for free. It’s hands-down my favorite perk of my job and a privilege I’m very thankful for. With that being said, there’s still a substantial amount of things I buy and pay for just like everyone else. While it is my job to stay ahead of the trends, there are times when I’m influenced to buy things, whether it’s seeing the same ad repeatedly or noticing that all my favorite YouTubers have the same product. If there was one item I don’t ever regret spending my own money on, it’s a Hatch Restore alarm clock.
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Close to three years ago, I noticed that my seasonal depression was far worse than before. There was a shift in my life: I was getting up earlier for work, and waking up in what felt like pitch-black darkness was not how I wanted to start my days. And since fast-forwarding spring was not an option, I had to find something else. At the time, I followed a couple of YouTube influencers, and all of them talked about how having a Hatch alarm clock was helping their mornings. Were the videos sponsored? Maybe. Was the clock the reason why their days looked so successful? Probably not. But I needed something, so I figured, why not?
hatch restore review 2026
Hatch Restore 3
I spent close to $180 of my own money on a Hatch Restore alarm clock, and I have to say I still love it just as much now as I did almost three years ago. What makes a Hatch so wonderful is the technology it uses to wake you up. It’s shaped like a dome with a soft, mesh-like screen on the front that shines a multitude of colored lights to mimic the appearance of a sunrise. And the sunrises can range from bright white lights that fade into a beautiful blue, so you feel like you’re waking up on the coast of Cape Cod, or can have tropical hues of pink and turquoise that’ll make you feel like you’re in the Love Island villa (my personal favorite).
When I first bought the Restore, it was the sunrise feature that really drew me in. During the wintertime, having gradual light peek through the morning felt like the closest thing to spring I could get. After that, it’s the sounds that kept me around. Do I love my job? Yes. However, that does not mean I adore waking up to go to it. While a blaring iPhone alarm can be effective to get you out of bed, it’s not the nicest thing to hear first thing in the morning. In fact, I find it very irritating, and it puts me in a bad mood at the start of my day. With Hatch, there’s an entire library full of soothing sounds, music, and even mantras that gently wake you up and ease you into your mornings. Not to mention, they offer seasonal options like the song from A Charlie Brown Christmas for the winter and “Good Morning, Islanders!” for the summer (again, another personal favorite of mine).
hatch restore review 2026
Hatch Restore 3
This winter will be my third year of having a Hatch Restore alarm clock, and honestly, it’s still one of my favorite purchases to date. If you’ve been on the fence about getting one, let this be your sign to finally buy it and have the sweet mornings you deserve.
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