What's your secret to waking up early?!?

[ocean11]

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Man....... waking up early is SOOOO HARD! I just can't seem to do it.....
I think I have insomnia and thus sometimes end up sleeping at 4-6am!!!! even though I'm in bed by 2am!!! then waking up at 10am is IMPOSSIBLE!!!! Even if I go to bed at midnight and actually sleep (which is rare) I still find it impossible to get up before noon.... I don't drink coffee, because it tastes pretty bad..... so thats out.......

So HOW DO YOU DO IT?!?!? How do you WAKE UP, 😴 😴 😴

 

[medicomel]

Man....... waking up early is SOOOO HARD! I just can't seem to do it.....
I think I have insomnia and thus sometimes end up sleeping at 4-6am!!!! even though I'm in bed by 2am!!! then waking up at 10am is IMPOSSIBLE!!!! Even if I go to bed at midnight and actually sleep (which is rare) I still find it impossible to get up before noon.... I don't drink coffee, because it tastes pretty bad..... so thats out.......

So HOW DO YOU DO IT?!?!? How do you WAKE UP, 😴 😴 😴

working out at 5am helps me wake up. that, and going to bed no later than 10pm. if you keep up with that kind of schedule, sans caffeine past 2pm, you'll have no problem getting used to it.

 

[JakeHarley]

Has anyone tried this kind of thing?

http://www.lighttherapyproducts.com/products_dawn.html

I've always wanted to try this, but the price tag is a little large. I may look for one on ebay or something...

The sunUp is the only dawn and dusk simulator, proven through clinical research, to be effective in the treatment of SAD. The sunUp Is not an alarm clock. It does not alarm your body awake. It is a small computer that allows you to turn any table lamp into a simulated dawn or dusk. The dawn feature will gradually fill your room with a warm sunny glow, replicating the pattern of a natural sunrise. This allows you to awaken naturally without the annoying noise produced by alarm clocks or alarm radios.

 

[.edu-MD]

Man....... waking up early is SOOOO HARD! I just can't seem to do it.....
I think I have insomnia and thus sometimes end up sleeping at 4-6am!!!! even though I'm in bed by 2am!!! then waking up at 10am is IMPOSSIBLE!!!! Even if I go to bed at midnight and actually sleep (which is rare) I still find it impossible to get up before noon.... I don't drink coffee, because it tastes pretty bad..... so thats out.......

So HOW DO YOU DO IT?!?!? How do you WAKE UP, 😴 😴 😴

What are you considering early?

One thing that works for me is getting to bed and actually asleep early enough to get 6-7hrs of sleep. That, and keeping a regular schedule.

 

[tigress]

Getting into the habit is the hardest part. You have to force yourself to go to bed early every night and get up early every morning (even if you had insomnia and didn't sleep well; you will the next night, or at least the next after that). Do that for a few weeks at the most and you'll find it becomes easier. When I had to be at work at 5:30 in the morning for a week (6 days) straight, and I was working until 9:30 at night that week as well, I got into the habit of going to sleep as soon as I got home and then I had to wake up early. The funny thing was that after that week I didn't have to be at work until 8 again, but I still found myself waking up extremely early. I let myself sleep in a little more, but I kept the habit up for a long time after that, and I found I enjoyed having the extra time in the morning.

Of course there are other little things: don't drink caffeine in the afternoon, don't exercise in the evening (but DO exercise), eat dinner a little earlier (don't eat too close to bedtime), etc. In the end, though, it comes down to one thing: HABIT HABIT HABIT

 

[PurpleHaze]

Since you dont like coffee... there's always caffienated tea!

 

[Bevo]

going to sleep earlier helps

 

[cfdavid]

Man....... waking up early is SOOOO HARD! I just can't seem to do it.....
I think I have insomnia and thus sometimes end up sleeping at 4-6am!!!! even though I'm in bed by 2am!!! then waking up at 10am is IMPOSSIBLE!!!! Even if I go to bed at midnight and actually sleep (which is rare) I still find it impossible to get up before noon.... I don't drink coffee, because it tastes pretty bad..... so thats out.......

So HOW DO YOU DO IT?!?!? How do you WAKE UP, 😴 😴 😴

Excersise will really help you. Don't do much just before trying to sleep, but a few hours prior to. It works for me.

Also, you need to get up at your target time, and not allow yourself to take a nap. That, plus some excersise, and you'll be in good shape.

 

[liverotcod]

Man....... waking up early is SOOOO HARD! I just can't seem to do it.....
I think I have insomnia and thus sometimes end up sleeping at 4-6am!!!! even though I'm in bed by 2am!!! then waking up at 10am is IMPOSSIBLE!!!! Even if I go to bed at midnight and actually sleep (which is rare) I still find it impossible to get up before noon.... I don't drink coffee, because it tastes pretty bad..... so thats out.......

So HOW DO YOU DO IT?!?!? How do you WAKE UP, 😴 😴 😴

Everyone else has had pretty good suggestions, but if I were you the first thing I would do is use fewer exclamation points and ellipses in my posts. Coming down from all that excitement is probably what's causing your insomnia.

 

[zenith]

Well, in high school, I had the best alarm clock in the world. (my parents yelling "get the hell out of bed!" and dragging me out from under the covers)
but then I moved to college and had to wake myself up. here's what worked for me.

1. wake up at the same time every day. You'll feel really crap at first, but after 3 days it will become second nature. After two weeks you'll be so in routine you won't even need an alarm clock.

2. An hour of exercise every day. You need to be exhausted by bed time.

3. No tea or coffee or Coke evermore.

4. Don't use your bed for sex anymore. I know this may seem like a joke, but you need to associate your bed with sleeping only.... try to use her bed or the couch.

5. Organise yourself for tomorrow so you can just wake up, shower, brush your teeth, shave and go. This is good for settling your mind, and you won't be anxious about being rushed.

6. If its cold where you live, try and get a heater with a timer, that turns on at about 3 am. There is nothing worse than having to get out of bed on a freezing cold morning.


And that's it! Getting to bed early is not as important at first, because if you woke up late, you're just going to be tossing and turning until 6am. But the most important thing to do is wake up early every day.

Hope this helps!

 

[Dominion]

I've always been a night owl and did the same as you, then my schedule at work changed and I had to be there at 6am instead of 2pm. It took me a good week to get used to the schedule but now I'm in bed by 9:30-11 and up at 5 with a nice cold shower to wake me up. The hardest part is not napping in the later hours, sometimes no matter what I do if I lay down even for a couple minutes I fall asleep. Now that I'm used to the schedule it's not as bad, but for awhile there I could fall asleep inseconds. I actually fell asleep when the gf and I were looking for a new computer chair, fell asleep sitting up 😛

The BEST way to force yourself to go to sleep earlier, atleast in my book, is to get 1-3 hours of sleep the night before, the next night you'll be so exhausted by 10 or so, pass out, make sure you get up at your desired time. The downside to that method is that you spend a week or more trying to catch up and feel tired all the time. After that though, ya fall right into the groove 😛

 

[THP]

I used to use an alarm clock, but now my daughter wakes up at 6:30 every morning on the dot.

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

Just to echo what everyone else is saying - getting up early is the easy part. Going to sleep early is the hard part.

 

[Blade28]

Practice. Go to bed earlier. Or be late for rounds once, get chewed out by the chief, and then it won't happen again. 🙂

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Cocaine.

 

[DragonWell]

I live in the PNW, and I always find that my sleep pattern becomes erratic in the winter, when there is very little light. This made some sense when I read somewhere that exposure to bright light supresses melatonin. The practical idea is that if you expose yourself to bright light, say take a walk in the sun over your lunch break, your melatonin level will decrease, and then surge in the evening to make you sleepy.

I'll let you know how it works if the sun ever comes back... 🙁

 

[thackl]

Have some kids. They'll get you up early 👍

 

[rouge et noir]

nothing puts me to sleep faster than studying does. 👍

 

[Ypo.]

Man....... waking up early is SOOOO HARD! I just can't seem to do it.....
I think I have insomnia and thus sometimes end up sleeping at 4-6am!!!! even though I'm in bed by 2am!!! then waking up at 10am is IMPOSSIBLE!!!! Even if I go to bed at midnight and actually sleep (which is rare) I still find it impossible to get up before noon.... I don't drink coffee, because it tastes pretty bad..... so thats out.......

So HOW DO YOU DO IT?!?!? How do you WAKE UP, 😴 😴 😴

I have the same problem. I have found that having an exam that day wakes me up early. But that's probably not welcome advice, is it?

 

[Ypo.]

Cocaine.

Wouldn't that give him the opposite problem? ie-not sleeping? 😀

 

[Ypo.]

Excersise will really help you. Don't do much just before trying to sleep, but a few hours prior to. It works for me.

Also, you need to get up at your target time, and not allow yourself to take a nap. That, plus some excersise, and you'll be in good shape.

Huh. If I exercise before I go to bed it keeps me up longer-something to do with the endorphins I guess.

If I exercise in the morning, then I sleep good.

But if I exercise too hard-oohh-then I sleep too long.

Bottom line: sleep good=no study. awake bad=study. 😴

 

[DropkickMurphy]

Perhaps....but he said he had a problem waking, not sleeping.....

Perhaps he should do a Grateful Dead cocktail: "Reds, vitamin C and cocaine"

The reds (secobarbital for those of you keeping score) helps you sleep
The cocaine helps you wake up
The vitamin C helps you from getting the bird flu.

 

[Ypo.]

'watch what you're doing...taking downs to get off to sleep, and ups to start you on your way...after a while, they'll change your style...ooh ooh ooh, I see it happenin' everyday...'

Name that artist!

 

[DropkickMurphy]

I want to say Paul Simon, but I'm not sure about that....

 

[Ypo.]

I want to say Paul Simon, but I'm not sure about that....

You are one smart cookie.

 

[tupac_don]

nothing puts me to sleep faster than studying does. 👍

hahahaha, ladies and gentleman we have a funny guy here

 

[chef_NU]

Of course there are other little things: don't drink caffeine in the afternoon, don't exercise in the evening (but DO exercise), eat dinner a little earlier (don't eat too close to bedtime), etc. In the end, though, it comes down to one thing: HABIT HABIT HABIT

The exercise at night thing seems logical. It actually turns out to be a myth:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/health/24real.html?_r=1

 

[tigress]

The exercise at night thing seems logical. It actually turns out to be a myth:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/health/24real.html?_r=1

Yeah, I know, I just read that article also a few days ago. But I know that for me personally, if I exercise too late I have trouble sleeping. I exercise in the afternoons or early evenings, and that works great for me (I've tried the early morning thing but I can't keep it up). It actually gives me a boost of energy for the rest of the night. But if I exercise within a few hours of when I plan to go to sleep, I have horrible insomnia. Now, I'm prone to insomnia anyway, so that might be a factor. I'm not disputing the article or the studies, but even the guy quoted there said that it can vary from person to person. So if you're having trouble falling asleep, it can't hurt to try exercising earlier.

(I'm not sure it has anything to do with adrenaline for me. I just find that I have more energy and am more focused after exercising. It's normal for me to lie in bed a while before falling asleep, because I have trouble shutting my mind off. After I exercise that is more of a problem.)

edit: I also want to add that because I don't exercise in the mornings, on days when I get home from work late I just can't exercise. So that is one big disadvantage to not exercising in the mornings. I know at some point I'm going to have to switch to mornings if I want to keep exercising at all. As it is, some days I get home from work as early as 5, but other days I don't get home until 10. It's hard to keep up an exercise routine like that 😛

 

[KidDr]

Man....... waking up early is SOOOO HARD! I just can't seem to do it.....
I think I have insomnia and thus sometimes end up sleeping at 4-6am!!!! even though I'm in bed by 2am!!! then waking up at 10am is IMPOSSIBLE!!!! Even if I go to bed at midnight and actually sleep (which is rare) I still find it impossible to get up before noon.... I don't drink coffee, because it tastes pretty bad..... so thats out.......

So HOW DO YOU DO IT?!?!? How do you WAKE UP, 😴 😴 😴

Melatonin (3-6 mg taken about an hour before you need to be asleep) may help you fall asleep quicker at night. You can buy it OTC and it's cheap, safe, and not addictive.

As for waking up, that's harder. Getting to bed earlier will help (but that may be hard...see below). I agree with the caffeinated tea suggestion...caffeine really is a good legal drug that helps wake up the brain.

You sound like a bad night owl, so it may always be hard for you to get up in the AM, harder than for others who can more easily adjust their sleep schedules when they need to get up earier. This could become a bigger issue when you're doing 3rd/4th year rotations (if you're not already). Don't forget that some people need more sleep than others, and there's essentially nothing you can do to change that, and as long as you're not getting the sleep you need, it's always going to be hard to get up in the morning (or at almost any time). There's nothing wrong with taking naps to make up for lost sleep. If this becomes a major issue, talk to your PMD or a sleep doctor about it, there's med options for people with delayed sleep phase syndrome, which it kinda sounds like you have.

 

[YouDontKnowJack]

i set 4 alarms.

3 on the computer, with siren noises staggered 5 minutes apart.
4th alarm on the TV. Katie Couric's manly voice helps wake me up.

 

[Ypo.]

Melatonin (3-6 mg taken about an hour before you need to be asleep) may help you fall asleep quicker at night. You can buy it OTC and it's cheap, safe, and not addictive.

As for waking up, that's harder. Getting to bed earlier will help (but that may be hard...see below). I agree with the caffeinated tea suggestion...caffeine really is a good legal drug that helps wake up the brain.

You sound like a bad night owl, so it may always be hard for you to get up in the AM, harder than for others who can more easily adjust their sleep schedules when they need to get up earier. This could become a bigger issue when you're doing 3rd/4th year rotations (if you're not already). Don't forget that some people need more sleep than others, and there's essentially nothing you can do to change that, and as long as you're not getting the sleep you need, it's always going to be hard to get up in the morning (or at almost any time). There's nothing wrong with taking naps to make up for lost sleep. If this becomes a major issue, talk to your PMD or a sleep doctor about it, there's med options for people with delayed sleep phase syndrome, which it kinda sounds like you have.

Oh yea, I forgot I take melatonin. I swear by that stuff-it makes me sleep like a baby-I feel so rested when i wake up. And its nonaddictive, no side effects. But get the sublingual kind-it has a faster effect-you'll feel like your drifting off to sleep in the backseat of your parents car, 8 years old again.

 

[BooMed]

The exercise at night thing seems logical. It actually turns out to be a myth:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/health/24real.html?_r=1

Ha! I always knew that was a myth. Well, at least for me. Then again, I can sleep through pretty much anything and at every time of day. 😴

 

[tupac_don]

Ha! I always knew that was a myth. Well, at least for me. Then again, I can sleep through pretty much anything and at every time of day. 😴

Use a polyphasic sleeping pattern. You have more time and sleep less, yet dont' feel sleep deprived. Can be too rigid for some though. You can sleep as little as 3-4 hrs per day and get a lot of things done.

 

[scotttennis]

There's also a thing called Sleeptracker (http://www.sleeptracker.com/). It is a watch that attempts to wake you up at an optimal time. The idea is that we stay the most tired when our alarm goes off during a deep sleep phase. With this watch we can set a window during which it looks for movement that would be indicative of not being in a deep sleep (i.e., an almost awake state). The recommended window is 20 minutes. The watch then sounds its alarm when it detects movement within the 20' window. They have a 30-day free trial so I tried it for a month. It does work very well. However, at $149 it was too expensive for me and I returned it. Sleeptracker is something to look into though. (And I almost forgot, it stores data during the night and can tell you how many "almost awake states" you had.)

Also, read about Modafinil, a fatigue-fighting drug. There's been some pretty amazing research done about it. For a layman's summary, search for it in Google and read the third result, a Washington Post article.

 

[Ypo.]

There's also a thing called Sleeptracker (http://www.sleeptracker.com/). It is a watch that attempts to wake you up at an optimal time. The idea is that we stay the most tired when our alarm goes off during a deep sleep phase. With this watch we can set a window during which it looks for movement that would be indicative of not being in a deep sleep (i.e., an almost awake state). The recommended window is 20 minutes. The watch then sounds its alarm when it detects movement within the 20' window. They have a 30-day free trial so I tried it for a month. It does work very well. However, at $149 it was too expensive for me and I returned it. Sleeptracker is something to look into though. (And I almost forgot, it stores data during the night and can tell you how many "almost awake states" you had.)

.

Wow...that really sounds like a bunch of BS. For that kind of technology, the thing should cost way more.

 

[infiniti]

I notice that my energy peaks in the evening, right before going to bed. Anything that knocks me out will usually do the trick. For me it is usually heavy exercise, followed by a warm, soothing bath.

This might sound weird to you, but I notice that praying is like taking a sleeping pill. I can't actually remember ever finishing my (night) prayers. I tend to fall asleep smack in the middle of it. That being said, I am heading to bed! Good night. 😴

 

[latinfridley]

The exercise at night thing seems logical. It actually turns out to be a myth:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/24/health/24real.html?_r=1

Most sleep docs I've talked to don't think it's a myth. I personally can't sleep after exercising. Biologically the Sympathetic nervous system takes a while to turn off once it is started.

 

[deuist]

Crystal Meth helps... or you could just try drinking a lot of water before going to bed. You'll wake up the next morning with the need to pee.

 

[infiniti]

About the exercise thing, you should know that one man's food is another man's poison. Human body taken as a whole has a whole lot of variety. It's cool that medicine is able to make certain assumptions that tend to work for the masses. As any good doc should know, there is a limit to such assumptions.

Personally, going to the gym right before bed times knocks me out cold. I mean sometimes I start falling asleep before I get home. I should also include that I am no novice at the gym (I don't go there to meet chicks. It is usually bussiness and no distractions). So, no one can tell me exercising before going to bed doesn't help. I am willing to agree that it doesn't work for everyone.

 

[thatguyagain]

Go to a bar and get real drunk. Find the LEAST desireable girl there. Shack up with her and spend the night at HER place. In the morning, you'll be so anxous to get the hell out of there that being tired will be the last thing on your mind. 😀

or you could always just get some exercise or something. It's your choice really.

 

[DadofDr2B]

Drink enough water before going to bed and bathroom urges will get you up one way or the other.

 

[mustangsally65]

Drink enough water before going to bed and bathroom urges will get you up one way or the other.

I went through a period a few months ago where my insulin and glucose levels were messed up, and I was drinking a lot/going to the bathroom a lot. I usually got up in the middle of the night (3 or 4 a.m.) to go to the bathroom and then went right back to bed and to sleep. So if you drink a lot of water before bed it might just wake you up too early and then you won't have nature calling to help you get up at the right time.

I've never had a problem getting up in the morning, but I've always needed a lot of sleep and have had to make sure I was in bed by 10 or 11 p.m. or I'd be completely useless the next day. If I only get 5 or 6 hours I'm in bed extra early the next night because I just can't stay awake. I've found that sleep deprivation is the best way to ensure you'll get to bed early enough and be able to get up in the morning. It may take a day or two, but you'll be tired enough fairly quickly to go to bed sooner.

 

[Southpawz]

Oh yea, I forgot I take melatonin. I swear by that stuff-it makes me sleep like a baby-I feel so rested when i wake up. And its nonaddictive, no side effects. But get the sublingual kind-it has a faster effect-you'll feel like your drifting off to sleep in the backseat of your parents car, 8 years old again.

Sounds like the placebo effect to me 😉

* I've tried it, but apart from the gritty feeling in my mouth as I drift away to sleep, I don't think it really works.

As to waking up early, I just set my alarm, and the alarm on my cell phone (during exam times). I just force myself up and walk to the shower. The shower and a cup of coffee usually does the trick!

 

[ShyRem]

When necessary, I can get up early in the morning. Heck, for 6 years I got up at 5am to be at work by 7 (driving into the city). Even after that long period of early waking, my normal rhythm is to be awake late into the night (until 1 or 2) and sleep until 8 or 9 am. Even when I was getting up early, I couldn't go to sleep before 12 or 1 at night. I've always been this way. Believe me, I've TRIED to change my rhythm. When I had kids I made sure to wake them up early and get them to bed early so school mornings later on wouldn't be a fight. Even after that my body wants to be up late and sleep until 8 or 9.

That being said, I have an unusual ability: if when I'm going to sleep I think to myself "I will wake up in 5 hours.. I will wake up in 5 hours.. I will wake up at 5am..." then I wake up about 2 minutes before my alarm is set to go off. I've been able to do that as long as I can remember. I seem to sleep pretty well until about 5 or 10 minutes before I should be getting up, and usually wake well rested. My husband just thinks its weird. Anyone else do that?

 

[akpete]

Shyrem, I'm with ya on the "not being able to reset your rhythm" thing, but not the natural alarm clock. I, too, had to get up at 5 for work at 7am, but after 3 straight months, I still had a hard time waking up.

So can I get some advice? What about those of us that turn off alarm clocks in our sleep? I set 3 alarms, but a lot of the time I still don't wake up til later, without really remembering the alarms, or the memory is fuzzy. I've snoozed my alarm up to 7 or 8 times in a morning according to roommates, but I recall maybe 2 or 3. I used to put the alarms across the room, but sometimes I walk over and turn it off and fall back to sleep on the floor without remembering, or other times, I just wouldn't hear it at all, and then piss everyone else off cuz then it goes for an hour.

This happens even after sleeping 8-9 hours, gets better after 10. However, I have noticed that no matter what time I go to bed, be it 10pm or 3am, I always naturally wake up around 11am.

Am I doomed when it comes to 5am rounds?

 

[blue_feiyan]

my secret? I don't wake up early :-D

 

[chicadehuskers]

have a kid...it changes your sleep patterns dramatically!🙂