Perhaps what the boyfriend needs is a different kind of alarm clock, one of those that wakes you up gradually and more naturally than a sudden blaring alarm. There are several on the market (pricier, yes): one that gradually increase the light in the room a la sunrise while gradually increasing volume of nature-type of sounds, over, say 20 minutes or something, not sure, so that when the 'alarm' hits at the set time, a person has woken up gradually instead of suddenly from a deep sleep. Haven't tried it, heard great things.

Then there's always the alarm clock on the other side of the room trick...