the Soleil Sun alarm clock do work . the light do turn on slowly , simulate a sunrise , and that do help I wake up . however , the quality of this piece be so disappointing , and I do feel take advantage of , because of the price . the radio in this unit be the cheapest they could get away with . the sound quality be poor , not even in stereo . the body be cheap plastic , and mine even have a blemish on the surface . the control be small and require patience to manipulate . and the light itself do not get all that bright . once the irritating-scratchy-mono-poorly-tuned radio wake I up , I also have to turn on another light in my room to really stay awake . I get this unit because it be the least expensive one I could find . it do help help I to wake up because of the light , but I still feel bitter that I have to pay that big of a price for such a poor quality unit . it be as if the Soleil Sun company be sit in they office say to themselves , `` eat my shorts ! we know there be nothing out there that be cheaper , so nyah-nyah ! ''