Quote Originally Posted by StephL View Post
By the way - BatteryCharged - if you wake up in the middle of a REM phase, it doesn't suck, you are very lucky, because you can hold completely still and keep your eyes closed and do a DEILD, if you have autosnooze (like Alarm Clock Buddy Pro for I-Phone). Such multiple alarms make sense only in the pursuit of DEILDs in my eyes.
I agree with Nfri, if you are awoken during deep sleep it will make you feel tired the next day. So alarms can affect having a good restful sleep.

I couldn't get my REM cycles without alarms. I'm just too deep of a sleeper. I may wake, but if I'm not hopped up on caffeine, I won't be awake for long. Your body's inclination is to go back to sleep, and if it's too strong, you'll stay asleep.

Alarms are very effective in determining your cycles as it gives you an external push to wake up. Just the anticipation of the alarm keeps you alert to when you wake.

Congrats if your sleep is that shallow that you can control when you wake. I recommend alarms at least early on in discovering your sleep patterns. Otherwise you'll just keep sleeping through it, wondering why your "will power" isn't waking you up.