Set the alarm clock for 4:42 am

Leave this tab open — the alarm only rings while the tab stays open.

The alarm goes off in: ::

You can also try the other alarm clocks

Alarm clock for 4:40 am Alarm clock for 4:41 am Alarm clock for 4:43 am Alarm clock for 4:44 am

Going to bed for a 4:42 am alarm

Asleep by 7:27 pm — 6 full sleep cycles, about 9 hours
Asleep by 8:57 pm — 5 full sleep cycles, about 7 hours
Asleep by 10:27 pm — 4 full sleep cycles, about 6 hours

A sleep cycle runs about 90 minutes, and most people take around 15 minutes to drop off. Waking at the end of a cycle feels easier than waking in the middle of one.

4:42 am across the country

London	4:42 am
Birmingham	4:42 am
Manchester	4:42 am
Glasgow	4:42 am
Belfast	4:42 am

Times are worked out live in your browser, so daylight saving is already accounted for.

How to use the online alarm clock

As you finish the vote count after the polls have closed, a 4:42 am alarm can mark the point to save the final figures, gather your notes and leave. That gives the remaining checks a clear boundary before 5:00 am, instead of letting small discrepancies keep everyone at the table without an agreed stopping point.

Because the count is ending in a quiet room, check the sound setting before relying on the alarm: silent mode may suppress the alert even when the volume was previously high. Use a short test sound, then leave the alarm page running. The vote count could overrun unnoticed if the browser is closed or the computer falls asleep, because the alarm cannot sound in either case. A mains connection can also prevent an overnight laptop from running out of power.

Once the figures are secured, leave a realistic gap before the next commitment later that day. At 4:42 am, note how long the journey home, changing clothes and settling in will actually take, then place the next alarm after that buffer rather than immediately after arrival. Keeping the next task in the calendar with its travel time beside it makes the remaining night easier to judge without repeatedly checking the clock.

Common questions

Can I change the sound?

Yes, there is a short list of tones to pick from before you press Start. Softer sounds are easy to sleep through, so a firmer bell tends to be the safer choice for anything early in the morning.

Will it still be right when the clocks change?

Yes. It reads your device's local clock, so the move between GMT and BST at the end of March and October is picked up automatically, as long as the computer's date, time and time zone are set correctly.

Can I use this on a phone?

It works in a mobile browser, but phones lock the screen and suspend background tabs far more readily than a laptop does, which can stop the alarm sounding. For anything important, a desktop or a plugged-in laptop is the steadier option.

Does the alarm still work if I close the tab?

No. Everything runs inside this page, so closing the tab — or quitting the browser altogether — ends the countdown there and then. Leaving it open in the background is all it asks, and switching to another tab makes no difference.