Wake Up Early: Strategies & Tips

[Grands]

Hi guys, does someone of you have problem in waking up early in the morning, like 6:30 7:00 AM ?

Do you use any strategy to solve this problem?
There are some hints to follow in order to wake up early?

It's a matter of motivation or it depends on how many hours a person sleept?
In generale there are some hours of the night in which is very important to sleep?

Thanks

 

[WWGD]

If you mean waking up and staying awake (almost) all day, here is what has worked for me: once you wake up , you need to keep moving and remain active. Then give yourself 1-2 15-minute naps. Remember, keep moving, don't lounge. This is counter to all the people I see sometimes in the morning, in public transportation, trying to sleep a few extra minutes. Just do all in the same "direction": once you're up, remain up, excepting 1-2 naps. Your schedule will likely adapt and you will start feeling tired towards 9-10 p.m. in the ensuing days. Good luck!

 

[jackwhirl]

1. Go to bed in time to get the right amount of sleep for you. Varies, but generally 7-8 hours.

2. Set your alarm device up on the other side of the room so you have to get out of bed to shut it off.

3. Don't snooze. You're awake (more or less) and standing, so keep your momentum.

4. When/if it gets cold where you live, the right morning clothes (fuzzy robe of some sort) can temper the urge to get back under the blankets.

 

[Grands]

It is better to have a shower in the morning ?

 

[Noisy Rhysling]

I used to wake up at 4 am every flippin' morning. I've managed to work that down to 5:30 AM.

 

[WWGD]

I used to wake up at 4 am every flippin' morning. I've managed to work that down to 5:30 AM.

What time would you go to sleep? Any naps or general afternoon sleep? How would you stay up for so long and not get drowsy on afternoons? EDIT: Sorry, a sort of obsession of mine, the whole sleep thing.

 

[Grands]

I used to wake up at 4 am every flippin' morning. I've managed to work that down to 5:30 AM.

How did you do that?

 

[George Jones]

Hi guys, does someone of you have problem in waking up early in the morning, like 6:30 7:00 AM ?

For me 6:30 to 7:00 am is late. It is 5:35 am here right now. I went to bed at 10:40 pm. I never use an alarm - no clocks or phones in our bedroom.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Do you use any strategy to solve this problem?

I married a girl who needed to be at work at 7am. The first couple years I resisted and still went to bed after midnight. Now, I go to bed at 10-11pm and wake up when she leaves. I feel much better during the day.

 

[Grands]

I personally have a problem with waking up early, can be this be related to the fact that I usually go to the bed at 23:30?

I fix alarm at 7:00 , but when I wake up I feel tired and I need to sleep.
This also because when I wake up there the sun still didn't rise.

For me 6:30 to 7:00 am is late. It is 5:35 am here right now. I went to bed at 10:40 pm. I never use an alarm - no clocks or phones in our bedroom.

There is no secret behind this?
I would like to achieve this result too, can you give me some advices?

 

[George Jones]

I personally have a problem with waking up early, can be this be related to the fact that I usually go to the bed at 23:30?

I fix alarm at 7:00 , but when I wake up I feel tired and I need to sleep.
This also because when I wake up there the sun still didn't rise.

If I stayed in bed when the sun isn't up, I would not get much done in the winter. I live at 54 degrees north; today, sunrise is 8:00 am and sunset is 3:56 pm.

There is no secret behind this?
I would like to achieve this result too, can you give me some advices?

I know of no secret, but I think routine helps. I get up at roughly the same times seven days a week. I would try to make it eight, but I am not a Beatle.

I married a girl who needed to be at work at 7am.

I married a girl who expects me to be her alarm clock.

 

[Grands]

Personally I noticed that is not important how much you sleep but when you sleep.
Does anyone know if there is a scientific work that provide this?

I noticed that sleep between 00:00-07:00 is not the same as 23:30-06:30, it is?

 

[Vanadium 50]

Now, I go to bed at 10-11am

Wow! Talk about going to sleep early!

 

[Vanadium 50]

Personally I noticed that is not important how much you sleep but when you sleep.

That's absurd. Do you think you could sleep one minute per day if it were the right minute?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Wow! Talk about going to sleep early!

 

[Windadct]

Constancy is your friend - I think a problem a lot of people have is they sleep in too long on the weekend, then stay up too late Sunday night. So Monday is particularly tough, Tuesday you are recovering from the "time shift" on Monday - Wednesday just starting to feel normal - Thursday OK, Friday - hey it Friday I'll snooze a little, and the whole thing starts all over.

On Sunday go to bed purposely early, and get up at the same time every day all week. Do at least a few minutes 10-15 of exercise - or activity to to get the blood flowing, and then start your day. On the weekend - try to not to shift by more than 2 hours ...if the weekday is 6:00 am - weekends 8 am...

 

[Grands]

That's absurd. Do you think you could sleep one minute per day if it were the right minute?

I thought that my question wasn't so complicated.

 

[Grands]

. So Monday is particularly tough, Tuesday you are recovering from the "time shift" on Monday - Wednesday just starting to feel normal - Thursday OK, Friday - hey it Friday I'll snooze a little, and the whole thing starts all over.

So is hard to wake up in Monday because many people during Sunday tend to go to sleep too late?

 

[Windadct]

IMO yes- that is PART of a whole problem of managing sleep properly. I do not mean "late" - but think later than they should to ensure you get ~8 hours, but if you have "shifted" your internal clock by sleeping-in 2 days, you need to reset the clock, you can help this by going to sleep Sunday earlier, also - relaxing properly Sunday evening you so you can fall asleep quickly ( 30 minutes with no TV or devices, food - etc..).

 

[Grands]

IMO yes- that is PART of a whole problem of managing sleep properly. I do not mean "late" - but think later than they should to ensure you get ~8 hours, but if you have "shifted" your internal clock by sleeping-in 2 days, you need to reset the clock, you can help this by going to sleep Sunday earlier, also - relaxing properly Sunday evening you so you can fall asleep quickly ( 30 minutes with no TV or devices, food - etc..).

What do you think about the existence of the best sleeping hours?

Thanks

 

[WWGD]

What do you think about the existence of the best sleeping hours?

Thanks

There are a lot of theories on that, but AFAIL, it is not an established field. As @Windadct pointed out, habits are helpful. Also, it may help if:
1) You do a bit of strength exercises , "Pilates" style; it may help burn some nervous energy
2) Try roughing it out for a few days, just force yourself to get up, and see if your body/system adjusts.
3) Push back your sleep schedule by around 30 min. and see what happens.

 

[agrich3]

I've been fighting what I call "my busted body clock" for years, where my
sleep/wake times change unpredictably. Here are some things that help me:

FALLING ASLEEP:
Body temperature matters. A cool room temperature helps me fall asleep,
but if my legs are too cold, that keeps me awake. So I use an electric blanket
at its lowest setting to warm up my cold legs. Not TOO warm -- just comfy.
That always helps me fall sleep quickly. A warm cat works, too. :-)

Drinking a little cherry juice (which contains natural melatonin) before going
to bed also helps. Unfortunately cherry juice availability tends to be seasonal
(autumn), so I can't rely on finding it year-round. I haven't tried melatonin pills yet,
so I can't speak to that.

If my head is spinning with thoughts or an annoying song that's playing
over and over in my head, I can't fall asleep. To break that cycle I put on earbuds
or lightweight headphones and listen to soft instrumental music or a self-hypnosis
relaxation CD. Self-hypnosis programs of any kind typically begin with a soft,
slow human voice guiding you through the process of relaxing. That crowds
out busy thoughts or songs and helps me fall sleep.

WAKING UP:
Body temperature matters: when you wake up, your body warms up. I've found
that if I take a hot shower immediately on waking up, at the same time every day,
after a few days my body starts to warm ITSELF up just before that wake-up time,
and that wakes me up. It's as if my body is anticipating the upcoming hot shower.
That's a huge help.

 

[WWGD]

Actually, Grands, why not take ideas from agrich3 above and do a personal sleep diary for yourself, where you control for several conditions: temperature, exercise , etc. and track down your sleep, AND, submit your analysis for your university applications: something along the lines of: " a controlled study of my sleep patterns"? We can help you do this here at PF.

 

[symbolipoint]

Hi guys, does someone of you have problem in waking up early in the morning, like 6:30 7:00 AM ?

Do you use any strategy to solve this problem?
There are some hints to follow in order to wake up early?

It's a matter of motivation or it depends on how many hours a person sleept?
In generale there are some hours of the night in which is very important to sleep?

Thanks

Force yourself. The schedule becomes easier after a couple of days and then becomes normal.

 

[WWGD]

Force yourself. The schedule becomes easier after a couple of days and then becomes normal.

And it may be good training for some point in your life when you are required to do changes of different sorts.

 

[Grinkle]

Human sleep has an approximate 90 minute frequency.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/between-you-and-me/201307/your-sleep-cycle-revealed

I have found that if I can align my wakeup time to be the natural end of a cycle, it is much easier for me to get out of bed. As others have posted, if one always gets up at a specific time, one's body will tend to adjust to make that the end of a sleep cycle, or at least my body will. I may need to adjust my going-to-bed time to accommodate.

Its not what you were asking, but I will mention -

If I am traveling / jet lagged or for some reason in bad need of a nap, the 90 minute rule works very well for me - I time my nap so I get up 90 minutes after starting my nap. This makes it MUCH easier or me to get up after a nap. If I sleep for 45-60 minutes, its extremely difficult for me to drag myself to wakefulness.

 

[Grands]

Actually, Grands, why not take ideas from agrich3 above and do a personal sleep diary for yourself, where you control for several conditions: temperature, exercise , etc. and track down your sleep, AND, submit your analysis for your university applications: something along the lines of: " a controlled study of my sleep patterns"? We can help you do this here at PF.

What have in common university application and this?

 

[WWGD]

What have in common university application and this?

I mean, use it as an example of a small research project and of your initiative towards solving problems.

 

[Grands]

I mean, use it as an example of a small research project and of your initiative towards solving problems.

How PF forum can help me in this project ?

 

[WWGD]

In terms of helping you design it and analyze it. You come up with a plan and we can give you input. EDIT: I guess I am assuming Italian universities are similar in this regard to U.S ones in that mentioning a small research project may improve your application.

 

[Grands]

Do you refer to the plain of creating a good routine ?

 

[WWGD]

Do you refer to the plain of creating a good routine ?

Yes, and doing it by collecting and analyzing data, controlling for certain variables, of how you went about fixing your sleep problem.

 

[Grands]

That's cool, thanks

 

[Grands]

Personally I don't know if is also about motivation, which is something related to physiology and this doesn't matter with physical condition of the room, or it's just about good organization.

 

[Apple_Mango]

Just get a really loud alarm clock that'll blast your ears off. What I told you is what millions of people do everyday.