Yesterday on Facebook I shared this:
“My son has overslept {again} and I’m trying to decide if I should wake him up so he’s not late for work, or let him deal with the consequences. This is not the first time this has happened {or the second, or the third}. What would you do?”
I didn’t wake him… but when he finally woke up he was showered, dressed and out the door in 19 minutes all without being late for work. So while I am putting this alarm clock on Christmas list, I decided to look into some tips for getting yourself out of bed on time. Here’s what I found:
Don’t hit snooze. Numerous studies have proven that hitting the snooze button only makes waking up even harder. Your body needs some time to get you ready to wake up. When you hit the snooze button and let yourself go back to sleep, your body thinks you are doing just that and gets confused. So when the alarm goes off again, your body and brain are taken by surprise, resulting in that groggy, fuzzy-headed feeling called sleep inertia. The more you snooze, the more confused your body and brain gets. So avoid that snooze button!
Put the alarm on the other side of the room. If you have to physically get out of bed to turn it off, you are so much less likely to crawl back into bed.
Make it a routine. Set your alarm for the same time every single morning. Your body will get into a routine and begin to automatically wake at that time. It’s called wake training. I know it’s tempting to sleep in when you can, but if you consistently do it, you’re going to break your body’s sleep habit.
Let the light shine in. If it’s possible and you have access to natural sunlight, open all the blinds and let that flood your room. Natural light does all sorts of good for our bodies, but bright light for an hour or two once you wake up can also help set your body clock to accept your wake up time. Who knew?
Get enough sleep. Speaking of routines, you need to figure out how much sleep your body needs. I can fully function on much less than 8 hours of sleep, but so many people need more. Keep track of how many hours of sleep you must get to feel rested. And then try to rearrange your schedule to carve out that much sleep each night.
Take some melatonin. Your body naturally makes melatonin to stimulate your sleep. If you are really struggling to get quality sleep. You can take a melatonin supplement to help re-orient your body clock. Try a very small does about 5 hours before bedtime and see if that helps.
Do you have any tips that help you drag yourself out of bed easier?
~Mavis
Elizabeth in Upstate NY says
Be careful with melatonin. Tried it once, and will NEVER take it again. Yes, it put me in a deep sleep quickly, BUT woke startled with vivid and violent dreams. And then I couldn’t get back to sleep. Both my husband and son each had the same experience with it. Runs in the family? Maybe but still won’t have the stuff around.
Elizabeth
Schyler says
I had the effect of extreme wakefulness when I took melatonin – I know it’s good as an antioxidant, so I take it in the morning instead now.
Carrie says
I stayed at my parent’s house for a few months while searching and buying a house. I was in the routine of waking up at 6 to walk their dog before work. Now that I’ve moved in and pet free again it’s hard to get up before 7. Looks like I need to visit a shelter! 🙂
Schyler says
Aww, a dog’s love will never be forgotten. Go! <3
Schyler says
I tend to stay up later and later when I don’t have to wake early in the morning. I then sleep later, and my days aren’t nearly as productive (try sluggish) as I’d like. I find that keeping the same approximate bedtime is what helps me the most.
Teckla says
You are so right! Now that I’ve retired discipline seems to have fled. But I definitely need to train myself back to a routine. I’m not nearly as productive as I used to be! Definitely need to bite the bullet . . . hard!
Heidi says
Mavis~ I feel your pain and I hope this alarm clock works for you!! I have the same problem with my 18 year old, and he can still sleep thru the alarm and the vibrating part…. I don’t even know how its possible, because his room is in the basement and I can hear it upstairs in my room!!! He will sometimes wake up enough to hit snooze and even then fall back to sleep and continue to sleep thru it when it goes off again…
So of course you know who gets up to go down stair to wake him up at 2:30 in the morning for logging… his mother!! God love him anyway! 🙂
Lisa Millar says
I am a shocker when it comes to sleeping in in the morning.
I am naturally a late night person and with no formal work to go to, I have gotten into some very bad (worse) habits over winter!
Currently trying to wind my sleeping habits back to get the most out of the spring days! 🙂
My husband sends in the cat when he thinks I should get up.
Pip (the cat) has no snooze button and is effectively extremely annoying until I give up and get up! 😀
Jo says
I am a night owl and my natural sleep is between 1:00am -9:30am. So naturally I am out of sync with the world. The only alarm clock that works to get me out of bed at 6:30am is the Phillips light alarm clock. I tried the vibrate alarm and a Clocky and neither worked and just made me grumpier. The Phillips gradually lights up the room and then kicks in with a customizable alarm tone. The more expensive model has better sounds but the cheaper one is okay.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0093162RM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1444784796&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=phillips+alarm+clock+light&dpPl=1&dpID=317ZTp2qkQL&ref=plSrch