...has got to be waking up when it's dark out. I think there's a pretty strong argument that our bodies simply weren't made to wake up before dawn. Of course that goes for not just sleep hacking but anytime you have to wake up before 7:30am in the winter at more than about 35 degrees away from the equator.

I've tried using those gradual wakeup light alarm clocks but frankly they are way too week/lame to make much difference, besides being quite expensive. Setting the full room lights to go on at 2 am wouldn't endear me to my wife, so I'm still looking for good, gently ways to tell my body that 2 am is really dawn.

Anyway no real solutions here just starting off a discussion on the topic. Feel free to weigh in with your thought/suggestions/experiences with getting up before dawn or what you thing the hardest part of sleep hacking is.

-asher