Getting out of bed is such a pain

[arunbg]

I have a habit I'd like to kick. I am too much of a sound sleeper and can't manage to get out of bed early enough for anything.

At college hostel,a typical day begins with me finding my friends all dressed up and yelling that I would be late for college. I look at my watch in all my subconsciousness, do a quick evaluation of the situation at hand and figure that I can sleep for 5 more minutes, provided I give up breakfast. I choose the former option in a split second (subconsciously of course) and usually oversleep.
This has even happened on major exam days! To do myself justice, I usually study late at night and into the morning even, because I know I'll never study in the morning for obvious reasons.

Now I'm at home and my habits have gone one notch higher. I get up around 11ish. Where I live that's near most people's lunch time, and that sadly includes my parents. Initially, I tried to explain to them how I liked sitting up late at night, that I slept roughly the same as anybody else, that there's nothing special about getting up in the morning, blah blah but they were just not taking it.

I have tried almost everything to get rid of the habit, both at college and home - loud multiple alarms(I see only the snooze button when they ring), making psychological suggestions and I've even had friends throw water at my face(I just swear at them, again subconsciously).

So how can I get myself outta bed?!

 

[turbo]

I had the same problem, being a night-owl (and astronomy didn't exactly help me here!). What you do is get a LOUD alarm clock (loud enough that you can't sleep with the alarm going) and place it in a relatively inaccessible spot that will require you to get out of bed to shut off the alarm. That did the trick for me.

 

[arunbg]

Oh I have no problem listening to alarms, and yes I have tried placing them in inaccessible spots. Still when the alarm rings, I magically seem to make my way to the exact place, switch it off and get back to bed.

 

[matthyaouw]

Still when the alarm rings, I magically seem to make my way to the exact place, switch it off and get back to bed.

I have done this so many times. It was the day i woke up stood upright in the middle of my bedroom on my way to get my alarm that i decided i needed a really loud one. The one i have now still scares me half to death every time it rings.

 

[turbo]

Get inventive! Put the alarm clock inside a hamster cage with a latch and put a little luggage-size combination lock on the latch so you will have to think a bit before you can shut off the alarm. The trick is to break that dreamy/dozy state so you can head to the kitchen for a coffee instead of rolling back into the bed. It might help to put a rattan/reed floor covering where you have to stand to unlock your clock to stimulate your feet a bit.

 

[arunbg]

Thanks turbo-1 for your thoughtful suggestions. I can't he;p having the feeling that instead of going through the puzzle of turning off the clock, I might even let the alarm ring forever, until my sister comes rushing into the room, cursing, and turns it off
I think I must get one of mathyaouw's clock, though I doubt it would have a lifetime of more than one night in a college dormitory.

 

[Chi Meson]

The only answer is:

get a job.

It worked for me. I used to sleep past 10 as a matter of course. Astronomy courses, that is. When I had to do parallax plates at 2 AM, that kinda made me a night person, and it stuck for years. It wasn't until I got a job that started at 8 AM (ten years after graduation, mind you) that I kicked that habit. Now I wake at 5:30 coz I start at 7 AM.

 

[arunma]

Fortunately most people in my department's high energy astrophysics group only get there around 10, so I've actually gotten to sleep fairly late my first month of grad school.

Arun, this might seem like the obvious suggestion, but have you tried forcing yourself to go to bed earlier? Maybe if you go to sleep around 10 pm, you'll wake up earlier. After all, the human body can only sleep for so long before it wakes itself up.

 

[Mattius_]

I have had the same problems. Having a job or mandatory appointment seems like one of the only ways to get myself out of bed. A couple of weeks ago when I was able to set my own work hours, I would stay in bed until 11-12 and it definitely made me feel like a pile of crap. I did try having my Dad call me in the morning to wake me up because unlike the alarm, I felt much more guilty if I would crawl back into bed after I told him I was getting up. I also sometimes would force myself to pop an adderall right when my alarm went off and about a half hour later when it started kicking in I could get up. Also, if you have a computer or music player, either set the alarm or have it ready to easily press play on a good song that gives you the motivation to get up. Another strategy I use is setting my phone alarm by my bed for a certain time and then setting my louder and more annoying alarm across the room and set for 3-4 minutes later. When my phone alarm goes off I shut it off in a second and slip back into sleep but my mind still stresses about how annoying the bigger alarm will be in 3-4 minutes and it usually keeps me half-awake in light of the impending rude awakening. Overall though, I found that the most effective thing is that after you lay back down and start slipping off again, start moving and kicking your legs in bed. It isn't nearly as uncomfortable as standing around and walking but it does start to get your heart rate above what it was in sleep mode. After about 5 or so minutes of laying and moving my legs around I am able to get out of bed.

 

[Adder_Noir]

I'm not sure mate but to be honest having survived a period of this in my life that was so bad and so long I almost couldn't work (lost jobs because of it) I think you may have a mental health issue. Sleep's the first thing to go when you have depression. I'm on tablets now and a normal routine is very easy to stick to. I really think you may have an underlying psychological problem.

 

[z-component]

Drink lots of water before you go to bed. You'll WANT to get out of bed in the morning... :)

 

[dontdisturbmycircles]

Get inventive! Put the alarm clock inside a hamster cage with a latch and put a little luggage-size combination lock on the latch so you will have to think a bit before you can shut off the alarm.

This is a really good idea. If I have less than 7 hours of sleep I seem to be very prone to just turning off the alarm and going back to bed while I am still half sleeping... I will try this!

 

[yenchin]

Use either one of these alarm clocks

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/8f1a/

http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/8f22/

 

[chaoseverlasting]

Once you start getting up early, its something that grows on you... the hard part is getting up early for the first week or so.

 

[oedipa maas]

It's winter in New Zealand now and it's gotten a lot harder to get out of bed now that the weather is cold. Houses aren't built with heating, so I'm snuggled under lots of blankets and a sleeping bag (!). The past few mornings I've woken up and seen steam condense in the air where I've exhaled! I've rigged up my electric heater so that I can turn it on without getting out of bed. :-)

 

[Pseudo Statistic]

Ask someone to call you..
I usually set my phone alarm to wake up me up and turn it off, just as you do-- but when I get a call from a friend who talks alot, well... it wakes me up.

 

[Mattius_]

http://www.nandahome.com/products.clocky.html

I think this was on here before, but it is an alarm clock that runs away from you.

 

[arunbg]

Thanks guys for all the support. One of those alarm clocks suggested would have come in really handy, I would really love to wake upto a Sonic Boom though I fancy my roommates won't But I have been making good improvements. Yesterday I placed my alarm on my cellphone, placed the cell in a polythene bag, and tied it up with a complicated knot. In the morning, I didn't even bother to untie the knot, I felt straight for the contours of the phone through the bag, and after a few attempts managed to switch it off. Maybe next time I should put a few other things inside to shield the contours. But anyway, all that activity gave me enough consciousness to get up at 6am! That's a new record for me. Special thanks to turbo!