Nobody wants to hear the alarm ring at 7:00 am when you’re deep in your favorite dream or cozying up in the delicious warmth of your bedcovers. However, you have to get to work, or you promised yourself that you would go hit the gym before school starts. So you can’t be missing your alarm or hitting the snooze button 15 times before you finally roll out of bed.
This post helps to provide some strategies to avoid sleeping through the alarm clock or snoozing until noon.
Following Alarms: The Motivational Side
Before going into problem-solving, it’s important to know why you are wanting to set the goal in the first place.
It’s possible that your internal body clock operates on a night owl time and you prefer to go to bed and get out of bed a little later than most folks. Ask yourself: “if I could sleep in a little, would that be helpful?” If the answer is yes, I’d make a vote towards following your internal clock because it’s easier to ride with it than to fight against it.
That being said, some folks need to get out of bed early for work. And others find that the snoozing isn’t helpful and only keeps them feeling crappy in the morning.
There are a few reasons why snoozing the alarm might actually lead to poorer sleep. First, the constant ringing of the alarm is artificially breaking up your sleep. You are essentially poking holes into the sleep by constantly being awoken by the alarm. If your goal is better sleep, it may make sense to either 1) set the alarm a little later until when you actually have to wake up or 2) get out of bed at the first alarm. The first option allows you more uninterrupted sleep and the second option allows you to get out of bed to build up more appetite for deep sleep the next night.
A second benefit of keeping to an alarm is to regularize your schedule. When we have very different wake up times every day, we create symptoms of jet lag, which actually makes us feel worse on a daily basis. Getting up at the same time (and getting some sunlight) keeps our circadian rhythm regular and us feeling good.
Finally, staying in bed and snoozing can make us feel groggier. Just like an object in motion will stay in motion, Newton’s law also applies to our sleep – if we stay in bed, we will continue to feel the inertia to continue staying in bed. Therefore, it is helpful to get out of bed and start your day to feel more energetic faster.
Following Alarms: The Problem-Solving Side
Now that you have considered the pros and cons of getting out of bed, we can figure out some solutions to your alarm problem.
A simple tip that works well is to simply make the alarm louder and move the alarm further away from you. If it’s louder, it’ll wake you up. If it’s further away, it’ll make you have to get out of bed to turn it off.
Once you get out of bed, you are starting to break the inertia. Follow that momentum by doing something more activating. For example, taking a walk, drinking some water, and getting some sunlight.
If you notice the urge to get back into bed, try to remind yourself of the benefits of staying out of bed. And make it easy to do so – for example, just sitting upright on the couch is better than lying back down in bed. Treat yourself to something that you look forward to, like a coffee or a nice cup of tea.
Finally, if you’re a social butterfly, sometimes it’s a lot easier to follow the plan if there is someone to hold you accountable. Perhaps plan a breakfast with a friend or a call with mom.
Best wishes,
P
Simply mental health 