Tips for waking up?
 

Howdy, Fabulous Ones,

I was just writing in the exercise thread that I am a chronic oversleeper; I stay in bed until the last moment to get to work if I throw on clothes and speed to the office. Now I am trying to get into a routine where I'm exercising every day, and the best time to fit that in is first thing in the morning - except for this whole "I don't get out of bed" problem. I set my alarm, and then have my watch chime with three "come on, now, I mean it!" backup alarms at 5 minute intervals. Usually, I sleep through them all.

Anyone have suggestions for kicking my lazy, slothful a** out of bed when I want to get up?

I don't think that it's that I'm terribly sleep deprived - I learned in college that I need 8.5 hours of sleep per night minimum, and we tend to work it so that I'm getting about 8 per night if we get to bed on time.

I had a thought to enlist my DH - he leaves for school (he's a teacher) about 15 minutes before I would like to be getting up. Perhaps I could get up 15 minutes early, and he could actually come tickle me until I'm ambulatory. Usually, once I've stood up and put on some clothes, I'm not likely to go back to bed. It's overcoming the "cozy, lying down, soft place" thing that I seem to be unable to do by myself. The DH doesn't like to do that, though - he says he doesn't want to be yelled at if I don't get up. I never yell, as far as I know - he just doesn't want to be responsible for something he has no control over. He also doesn't understand why I can't seem to 'just get up' like he can. I don't understand it either. What is my problem!?!

Aigh! Frustrating! I'm going to go see what Google might suggest, but I'm thinking that you all must have some excellent suggestions also. TIA.

SolarM

:devil: Drink a whole lot of water before you go to bed! :devil:

And quit being mean to yourself-you're not lazy and slothful, you're sleepy. Don't worry about what "experts" say you need. You could in fact need more sleep than that. Frankly, if you're sleeping through the alarm, it's quite obvious you DO need more sleep than you're getting.

Over the weekend, go to bed at the time you normally do and note what time you actually wake up when you don't HAVE to get up. This is even better if you're off for a week. If after several days, you are still sleeping the same amount of time, then that is how much sleep you need. If, however, you are sleeping less after a couple days, then you may just need a half hour or so, in which case I'd suggest going to bed ten minutes earlier for a week or so, then twenty, then the half hour to get yourself accustomed to it. And so on and so forth until you're waking up normally on your own.

The problem with this is that if you do this, you must stick to it-that means going to bed at the same time on weekends as well, or you have to start over again. At any rate, you may have to start going to bed earlier in order to get awake to go to the gym.

Thanks for the tip -

I have actually tried the drink water method, but I haven't found the right amount of water: I get up at 4:30 to tinkle, and then sleep through my alarm!

I have difficulties going to bed early, so I'll just have to bite the bullet and try harder. Sigh. Going to bed at 9PM makes me feel like I'm 9 again. Double sigh.

But I'll try it!

Ciao!
Solarmama

Solar-I have the same problem! DH usually helps me get up, although he says I DO sometimes get testy.....MOI?!?! TESTY?!?!?!?! Schmoo is right. When I get on schedule and STAY there (weekends included) it is just easier to stay on track. I got off over the holidays and am having to readjust AGAIN. I was late to the dentist Monday because my hubby took pity on me and turned off the alarm!! Putting the alarm across the room and making it the most obnoxious noise you can find also helps. Getting up with DH also helps. He makes the coffee, and by the time I drink that, make lunches, and get everyone out the front door, I am USUALLY awake!

Yes. Have a child. :lol3:

In addition to going to bed and getting up and the same time all 7 days per week ... consider this:

I, too, have a hard time getting up. Doesn't matter how much sleep I've had. I don't have any trouble WAKING up ... I do tend to wake up around dawn every morning. It's just getting up and not dozing back off that's the problem. I don't even really need an alarm clock to wake up any more. But, I've tried putting an alarm clock across the room, so I'd have to get up to turn it off, and once up, I'd be up. But I HATE being woken up with noise, just makes my skin crawl.

I, too, thought that the best time to exercise would be in the mornings ... it's been shown it revs your metabolism all day, it'd be nice to have it out of the way, etc. I've tried many times before to get up early enough to exercise -- or meditate, or write, or just have a leisurely breakfast. But, by golly, I was turning over a new leaf and the new healthy me SHOULD make herself get up for all these morally righteous things.

And then I thought ... wait a minute. I know from past experience that that will NEVER work. I may do it for a while, but I'm just not cut out to get up early. I will stay in bed until the last possible minute to get ready for work, and then I'll never get in any exercise.

So, I made peace with the fact that it was better to get in some exercise at a time that was not optimal, than build a theoretically perfect plan that would never be executed. My whole theme of my program this time is "Whatever works" and "set yourself up for success." Telling myself I was going to change my stripes and exercise in the morning was only setting myself up for failure.

Know thyself, and plan accordingly.

YUP! Different people sure do need to do things differently!!!!

Open the curtains and raise the blinds before you go to bed, so the sunshine will greet you in the morning.

Instead of putting the alarm clock on the other side of the room, put it in a different room so you have to walk further. Double duty tip for parents: When my son lived at home and had a midnight curfew, I had an 11pm bedtime. I put an alarm clock in the hall and set it for midnight. His job was to get home in time to change the alarm time to 7am. If the alarm woke me up at midnight, he was grounded :devil:

Get a webcam and put it on a timer so we can all laugh at you sleeping in :lol:

Put your TV and stereo on timers.

Get a dog :) My Lola has to go outside the second we wake up, I usually run out the door with her before my eyes are even open.

YOW!! I like making the son change it, I should try that!!!

Another benefit to keeping the alarm AWAY from the bed: I used to smack them so hard (to turn off the alarm) that I would break them!!!

What a great thread!

Opening the curtains was actually proven in a scientific study to work because the sun actually produces some kind of chemical that won't let you sleep. I thought that was wild.

Here's what I do:
-I set my alarm clock for 10 minutes before I have to get up (I have a 10 minutes snooze).
-When the alarm goes off, I hit snooze. But I do not snooze. Instead I start stretching (I had a bought with plantar's facisitis which started all this). I stretch in bed. Starting with my feet and ankles, and work my way up.
-HOWEVER, the entire time, you can't be zoning out. You have to think of reasons you're getting up. You have to give yourself a mini pep talk.

I've noticed because I talk so much in daily life that by the time I talk to myself through the snooze, I'm like, "Shut up! I'm up! See my feet are on the floor!"

Now, when I was single (oh the days!) I had a CD alarm clock. I got Moby's "I like to Score" which has a great retro, thumpin remix of the James Bond theme. When it would go off, I was a gun-weilding James Bond vixen and I would boogie in the bed, That would always wake me up. Unfortuately, it drove the Cute Boyfriend insane and the alarm clock didn't make it when we moved to California. But now that I think about it, he should be getting up earlier anyway! :lol:

I have a tip for ya....when I was a kid I could never drag my butt out of bed in time for school. My mom got so fed up with the repeated visits to my room that she finally got a fab idea! She got one of those alarm clocks that has the little hammer on top that bangs back and forth between two bells-very loud-then she put the clock inside a metal baking pan and set it on the other side of my room. I HAD to get up because there was no sleeping thru the noise! Also, contrary to what the docs say..I NEED at least 10 hours every night.

What about one of those alarm clocks which work with a light? The light turns itself on and gradually gets brighter and brighter until it's 'daylight' by the time you have to get up.

Can't remember their name but I think the people who make the lightboxes for SAD (seasonal affective disorder) also make these.

Should suit your name, solarmama!

Wow! What great ideas. I'm not crazy about the whole old fashioned alarm clock in a baking pan idea (family would kill me!) But I like the opening the blinds thing. That combined with giving yourself ten extra minutes to wake yourself up before crawling out of bed sound great too. I'm also among the bed bound in the early morning, and I think this will help. Thanks for the great ideas!

P.S. Strongbad rocks!

I have one of those alarm clocks that just make the most gawdawful noises imaginable, and instead of having it across the room, i have it right by my head. It scares the crap out of me every morning and I jump straight out of bed. :)
Before that, when I lived in California, I used to have to turn the radio alarm on to the spanish speaking station, nothing like some upbeat salsa to wake me up, anything else just seemed to work itself into whatever dream I happened to be having.

Perhaps not being TOO comfy in bed might work. I get nice a cold, and then a nice warm shower is all I want and it's motivation to get my *** up. We always have a cold room.

The only thing that works for me (I have 3 alarm clocks on my nightstand) is setting my cell phone's alarm. YOU know those obnoxious ringers in public? Those are the BEST when your trying to get up. And plus when you're phone rings no matter the hour your mind kicks into "okay, must be coherent enough to hold a conversation". I have a different ringer for the alarm then phone calls, but when you just wake up, I couldn't tell til I opened the phone & it says alarm, no matter how long I've used it for an alarm. Most phones have the feature or a wake-up-call feature. Anyway, there's my 2 cents.