The dreaded alarm clock..

[theyearthreethousand]

damn, I hate being dictated by this stupid alarm clock. it cannot be healthy. but the fact is I need it, and so do most of you I am guessing. last night I slept from say 6pm to 6am and it was great just waking up naturally.. getting woken up by some puny loud box just frustrates me.. but it's a love hate relationship, because without it I would always be late. I wish my sleeping patterns could just go back to when I was a baby for a while.. how great would that be?

[Edmaster]

The worst thing about an alarm clock is that it is possible that it will wake you up at the worst time during your sleep cycle. It's been shown that when your awoken during REM it can really piss people off. So if you've ever woken up in an extremely grumpy mood, it's possible you were awoken during an REM cycle. Of course, it could also be the lack of sleep, the terrible music on the radio, or your roommate waking you up an hour before you need to wake up. The best way to combat this is to develop a regular sleep cycle. Try to go to bed and wake up around the same time, and your body's natural clock will eventually adjust to work with you (yes, your body does want to work with you). I've personally found that if I wake up at the same time for a few weeks straight, I even start to wake up a minute or two before the alarm goes off. Not saying this will make it 100% easier to get up in the morning, but it can help.

[theyearthreethousand]

I agree with everything you say. I know that the alarm clock is responsible for making me a grump sometimes, but I rely on it. my sleeping patterns are a mess right now but there's I can do about it for a little while longer. my mother has regular sleep patterns and she wakes herself up & everyone else in the house up without an alarm clock - and she's been doing this since I can remember. it's remarkable, really. i am sure people have similar mum's who do the same. i love her dearly. thanks for your comments.

[Beksinski]

Most people in our modern society are sleep deprived, in my opinion. The only way to escape the evil clutches of your alarm clock is to first get completely caught up on sleep (you do accumulate a sleep-deficit after being sleep deprived for many weeks/months/years); second, find out how many hours of sleep it takes for you to wake up naturally (this only works once you've worked off your deficit, and it can vary per night depending on physical activity, food consumption, and other factors); and lastly use that number to calculate at what time you need to go to sleep in order to allow yourself to wake up naturally and not be late for work/school. Most people aren't willing to sacrifice the time required in order to do that

[Mes Tarrant]

You know I'm pretty good at waking up on my own.. I definitely set my alarm each night but I end up waking up say 3-4 minutes before it rings, which actually pisses me off more than the alarm itself because I'm like, craaaaap.. I'd suggest getting the most pleasant sounding alarm clock you can find. Maybe wake up to your favorite song? Although I don't think it'd remain your favorite for long.

[Beksinski]

Maybe wake up to your favorite song? Although I don't think it'd remain your favorite for long. Actually, I started doing that a year ago. The song I chose starts off very quietly and slowly builds. After a year or so of waking up to it, I still love the song. In fact, if anything, it puts me in a good mood every time I wake up, since it's such a good song.

[lucyloo]

last night I slept from say 6pm to 6am I'm burning up with jealousy, over here. I don't get to bed until, like, three in the morning, and am up at 7:11am. Yep, 7:11 am ON THE DOT. My body just knows to wake up at that time...could be from having kids to have to deal with, who knows. Be lucky you can get that much sleep. I hate you, lol, Only teasing.

[theyearthreethousand]

that was a very rare occasion lucyloo. At the moment I am probably getting 2-3 hrs a night if I was to average it out [sometimes I could be awake for 2 days and then sleep for 4-6].

[Mes Tarrant]

Well, I suppose if I was still a crazy Beatle fan today like I was in my pre-teens I would be dancing out of my bed to a Beatles song!!

[CrazyInSane]

Alarm clock used to be a problem for me, but now it's weird—i usually wake up naturally about 15 minutes before it's to go off, so I end up turning it off before it goes off. Almost forget the sound it makes! I don't know why/how I do this, but it might be from "willing myself" to wake up around the time of the alarm. (PS: This even works out when I've only slept for like 3 hours)

[skysaw]

I highly recommend trying the Zen Alarm Clock. It's a very gentle way to wake up. You have to get used to no snooze button, but trust me, it makes a huge difference. I never have trouble getting up anymore.

[Fluffysilver]

I used to use my Nintendo DS to wake me up, before I bought an alarm clock. I used both for about a fortnight before I gave up. These days, whenever I even *imagine* the beeps, I get EXTREMELY irritated.

[Snooze]

thank god for Snooze

[arbz]

Does anyone find it hard remembering dreams when waken up by an alarm clock as opposed to waking up normally, with no disturbances? My dream recall is absolute $h1te when an alarm clock wakes me up.

[theyearthreethousand]

I have to get a new alarm clock now, seems i've become immune to the beeping sound this one makes, because it doesn't do its job properly anymore.

[zoo york is cool]

thank god for Snooze Ha, I need a button like that. I haven't set my alarm in so long. But when ever I do, I just hit the snooze button.