Student of English and French in Maynooth Is there a greater challenge than getting up in the morning? Probably, but when you wake up bleary-eyed and confused at 6.30am, there seems to be nothing harder. Alarm clocks are an evil but necessary part of life. Luckily for you, we've rounded up a few friendly alarm clock apps for both Apple and Android, to make the start of your day a little bit easier. 1. Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock (Apple and Android, 99c). This is a clever little guy. Sleep occurs in stages. It starts light, then becomes a deep sleep, and then you have a stage of dream sleep, called REM sleep (no, not the band). As sleep occurs in stages, this alarm clock tracks your sleep and goes off when you are in your lightest stage of sleep, minimising abrupt awakening!