How to make waking up more bearable with the internet of things

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Forcing yourself to wake up in the morning is never nice, but modern tech can help to take the edge off stumbling out of bed, and thanks to the internet of things and a load of incredibly cool gadgets you can now wake up to the smell of a fresh pot of coffee, surrounded by soft and friendly lighting and with the heating set at the perfect temperature.

The internet of things has seen some brilliant connected gadgets pop up over the past year or two, making it easy to control pretty much any household gadget using apps on your smartphone or tablet, and meaning there's no need to get out of bed in the morning to get the most out of them.

Soft lighting

Granted, for most of us it's not an issue at this time of year, but there's nothing worse than your alarm going off and waking up in the pitch black, fumbling around bleary-eyed for the light switch, and being jolted awake by overly bright lights. Replace your home lightbulbs with Philips Hue and that's a thing of the past, with the connected bulb offering control via your smartphone. Better yet, you can set the smart bulbs to lighten gradually in the morning, potentially waking you up to (admittedly simulated) daylight, with your body waking up naturally rather than your foghorn of an alarm - what's not to like? 

Netatmo Thermostat

Heating is another area that can make a massive difference when it comes to the start of your day, with none of us wanting to get out of bed when it's outrageously cold. The Netatmo Thermostat makes things a lot easier, letting you adjust the temperature via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, and with an additional cube-shaped accessory designed by Phillppe Starck that you can place anywhere around the home to make changes to the temperature. We love the idea of being able to whack it on our bedside table, only having to reach out an arm from under the duvet when you get cold.

The connected oven

It's always easy to grab a bowl of cereal when you first wake up, but if you're the sort of person who wants something a little more substantial, the Discovery IQ Dual-Fuel Range cooker could be ideal. It packs in touchscreen tech and Wi-Fi, and like the other gadgets here you can control it straight from your smartphone. So as long as you've popped your ingredients into the oven, you'll be able to whip up breakfast without leaving the comfort of your bed - at least until that bacon needs flipping...

Coffee on demand

Waking up to a room full of light is great, but imagine if you could wake up to a fresh pot of coffee each morning. Even if you live on your own and have nobody willing to stick the kettle on for you, that's precisely what you can do with Mr. Coffee. Belkin is behind the Wi-Fi compatible gadget, which can be controlled by your smartphone or tablet, and it also throws in the ability to set schedules, making sure a fresh brew is ready the second your alarm goes off (or even before).

Wake up to fizzy drinks

OK, so carbonated drinks aren't typically great for us, but sometimes it's the first thing on your mind when you wake up in the morning, and the SodaStream MIX can turn pretty much any liquid into a fizzy refreshment at the touch of a button. Better yet, it's also part of the internet of things, with a smartphone app that lets you control it from afar (well, from your bed in this case), so that refreshing drink will be on hand as soon as you stagger into the kitchen in the morning. It's just a shame the SodaStream Mix can't deliver your drink to your bedside table, too!

Nest Thermostat

The Netatmo Thermostat impressed us, but it's not quite as versatile as options from Nest, and you'll even be able to control your heating by speaking into your mobile. Use Nest alongside Android app Tasker on your smartphone, and you can set the AutoVoice action to work with Google Now to drop or whack up the temperature when you wake up in the morning.

Turn any other gadget into a smart device

Want to turn your toaster into something a little smarter, and wake up to the smell of fresh toast? You could do just that - or control any other number of gadgets around your home, using the D-Link DSP-W215 Wi-Fi Smart Plug, which can be controlled by an app on your phone or tablet, and let you activate any device without physically having to be there. So as long as you make sure the bread is in your toaster, and it's otherwise turned on and set to go, you can create a schedule using the D-Link Smart Plug to ensure the toaster turns on at a specific time in the morning, coinciding perfectly with your alarm.