tricks for waking up in the morning?

[Bob]

i'm seriously having such a hard time waking up in the morning these days, i just can't get out of bed. i stay in and curse at myself for being so lazy until i just can't physically stay in bed any longer without being late, it's a last minute rush out the door with wet hair every day, and it sucks. i'd love to be one of those people who wakes up early enough to have an hour or so to just chill before going to school/work, but i just cannot get up for the life of me.

i've tried some things, but it's always the same. it works for a while, but then i get used to it and go back to staying in bed. i tried using an alarm clock that plays an mp3 on a loop instead of a buzzer, that worked out for a while, but eventually i just started staying in bed and dealing with the MP3 over and over. the most recent thing i tried doing was downloading last night's colbert report and setting that to play in the morning instead of an MP3. that worked for a while, and it was nice because it gave me something happy to wake up to, but again, i grew accustomed to it and just started turning it off and going back to bed.

apart from going to bed earlier, what tricks do you guys have for waking up in the morning? (this is all you need to read in this thread, the rest is just me whinging)

[TurdBerglar]

turn the computer off shithead

[zorra_chiflada]

dunno, i have problems too

[Kid Presentable]

I have always had a problem with getting up. Be it on time, or at all, it is usually the most challenging part of my day. I spent 6 mornings a week getting up at 5am between the ages of 10 and 15 (paper route), and ever since I can't be bothered. Some mornings I set my alarm, and wake up two hours later with no knowledge of it ever having gone off. My sleeping alter-ego is so cunning and opportunistic, that he deactivates most alarms before I can even be in the room.

That said, and it's shit advice, I find that as soon as I'm aware I'm awake I get out of bed. That's the crucial step. I've fallen asleep on the lounge floor a few times, but it doesn't last long. But if I can get out, then I'm out of the danger zone. Starting your day with such a monumental struggle can really fuck up your equilibrium though. I liken it to giving birth every single day.

If my typically poor advice fails, you might want to consider casual sex. If you're in a hurry to leave a joint, you'll get up early. If you want to kick someone out, you'll be up early to do so. And if you meet someone you actually like, you either stay up all night or can't wait to see them in the morning.

[zorra_chiflada]

having to pee makes me get up.

[kate]

i don't wake up to an alarm. it's amazing how somehow your body can tell what time it is and that you need to get up. i think for me it's a sunshine thing actually. you could keep your blinds open so that the sun will shine in your eyes and wake you up, assuming you wake up after sunrise.

[Bob]

turn the computer off shithead

not an option dickface

[jackrock]

Bob, this is what you are going to do: Go to the store. Buy an old fashioned bell alarm. (http://www.marksandspencer.com/Images/Catalog/Product/C/T274065C.jpg) Set it on the other side of where your bed is. Due to the extreme annoyance of the bell, you will have to stand up to shut it off.

That's what I do, works like a charm.

Also, with the winter months coming, leave your window partially open over night, so when you wake up, the chilling of your bones will motivate you to hit the shower.

[jabumbo]

yeah i should be getting up earlier myself, but since i don't have any classes before noon, i tend to sleep till about 10 each day, and lay in bed for a while after that

[Justin]

apart from going to bed earlier, what tricks do you guys have for waking up in the morning? )


You really should go to bed earlier. You can think of other things to do, but at some point your body is gonna be like "Fuck you! Im going to sleep".

I like to workout in the mornings. Its great motivation for me to get up. Of course that may not work for you if you don't like it. So plan something every morning you must do and like doing before school.

[Bob]

I have always had a problem with getting up. Be it on time, or at all, it is usually the most challenging part of my day. I spent 6 mornings a week getting up at 5am between the ages of 10 and 15 (paper route), and ever since I can't be bothered. Some mornings I set my alarm, and wake up two hours later with no knowledge of it ever having gone off. My sleeping alter-ego is so cunning and opportunistic, that he deactivates most alarms before I can even be in the room.

That said, and it's shit advice, I find that as soon as I'm aware I'm awake I get out of bed. That's the crucial step. I've fallen asleep on the lounge floor a few times, but it doesn't last long. But if I can get out, then I'm out of the danger zone. Starting your day with such a monumental struggle can really fuck up your equilibrium though. I liken it to giving birth every single day.

If my typically poor advice fails, you might want to consider casual sex. If you're in a hurry to leave a joint, you'll get up early. If you want to kick someone out, you'll be up early to do so. And if you meet someone you actually like, you either stay up all night or can't wait to see them in the morning.

that sounds similar to me, actually. i used to have problems with my sleeping alter ego tricking me into falling back asleep or ignoring the alarm too. that doesn't really happen any more though, i'm usually pretty conscious when i wake up. but my motivations are seriously screwed. the go something like this, in order of importance

1) staying bed
2-999,999,999) see 1
1,000,000,000) everything else

but you're right, it seems like once i go back to bed the first time, it's all over. the FIRST time i wake up and go over to my alarm to shut it off seems like my best window for staying up, once i go back to bed i'm down for good, it's just that much harder to wake up. so i guess what i need is some way to win that initial battle with myself to stay out of bed.

seriously, some mornings i've actually come close to crying because i just don't want to wake up. it's not that i'm depressed, it's that i really really really want to stay in bed. it's like that scene in empire strikes back where vader tells luke he's his father, and luke's like "NO! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!", that's what i'm saying to my clock when it tells me it's time to get up. once i'm out the door and i've had a coffee i'm usually ok, but it's getting to that stage that's rough. i've come very close to going back to bed AFTER taking a shower and getting dressed, but i haven't actually done it yet.

[kate]

OH I KNOW! start whackin yer willy the second your alarm song starts so that by time it's finished you'll be covered in a gross mess that you can't sleep in! unless you're a sicko

[Bob]

Bob, this is what you are going to do: Go to the store. Buy an old fashioned bell alarm. (http://www.marksandspencer.com/Images/Catalog/Product/C/T274065C.jpg) Set it on the other side of where your bed is. Due to the extreme annoyance of the bell, you will have to stand up to shut it off.

That's what I do, works like a charm.

Also, with the winter months coming, leave your window partially open over night, so when you wake up, the chilling of your bones will motivate you to hit the shower.

i used to do that (not with a bell, but with an equally annoying alarm clock), and i still have to cross my room to shut off my alarm, but it doesn't work, i always find an excuse (i'm very easy to convince when i'm tired) to go back to bed, even after i've been standing for a little while.

and the cold thing is definitely not gonna work, that's just gonna make me want to go back to bed, where it's warm

[Documad]

Three alarm clocks, set five to ten minutes apart, at varying distances from your bed. A fourth alarm clock if you have a test.

[TurdBerglar]

sometimes as soon as my alarm clock goes off i'll call out of work and go right back to sleep. when i wake back up and all like, "why the fuck did i do that???". it's like im high on sleep

[Bob]

sometimes as soon as my alarm clock goes off i'll call out of work and go right back to sleep. when i wake back up and all like, "why the fuck did i do that???". it's like im high on sleep

when i worked over the summer, i seriously contemplated doing that just about every day. i didn't, but some days i literally had the phone in my hand before i changed my mind.

i agree with the high on sleep statement, that's exactly what i'm like. my brain functions in a completely different way at that time, its only concern is to get more sleep. everything else is secondary. class? fuck it let's sleep more, i'll worry about that later

i did graduate, though, so maybe it was right

[Bob]

Three alarm clocks, set five to ten minutes apart, at varying distances from your bed. A fourth alarm clock if you have a test.

isn't that just kind of like a snooze button, though? that never works for me, i'll just get up, press the snooze button again, and go back to bed, dreading the next moment when i have to do it. i won't actually shut off the alarm, i'll just appease the snooze button.

[QueenAdrock]

I told my brother to have the clocks at either normal time or 10 minutes forward, and not to tell me when he switched them around. So I didn't know if the time was truly 6:30 in the morning or if it was actually 6:20 and my clock just read 6:30. 6:30 is the latest I can sleep in, so I'd set my alarm for 6:20 and snooze 10 minutes and force myself to get up then (and have become accustomed to being terrified of being late). By not knowing the true time ever, I'm always either on time or early.

Basically, I could never take my extra 10-minute snooze, because if it was 6:30 I'd be screwed. Not knowing the true time keeps me on my toes.

[Lyman Zerga]

lately i sleep till 4pm lol

[Documad]

isn't that just kind of like a snooze button, though? that never works for me, i'll just get up, press the snooze button again, and go back to bed, dreading the next moment when i have to do it. i won't actually shut off the alarm, i'll just appease the snooze button.
I will snooze with the first alarm for ten minutes. The second alarm almost usually gets me up for good because I have to walk five feet to get to it. The third one is really loud and it's actually outside my room. I almost never need it and I turn it off on my way to the bathroom.

I don't turn any of them off until I'm up and on my way to the shower. It's difficult to snooze with three alarms going and two of them outside of the reach of the bed.

[Bob]

I will snooze with the first alarm for ten minutes. The second alarm almost usually gets me up for good because I have to walk five feet to get to it. The third one is really loud and it's actually outside my room. I almost never need it and I turn it off on my way to the bathroom.

I don't turn any of them off until I'm up and on my way to the shower. It's difficult to snooze with three alarms going and two of them outside of the reach of the bed.

the alarm clock out of the room thing sounds pretty useful actually. i can't really do that though, because i have roommates and it would be rude to subject them to it. i keep my alarms out of reach of my bed, but it doesn't really help, i always go back.

[QueenAdrock]

Oh yeah. When I was little, my mom bought me THE MOST ANNOYING alarm clock too... just this loud screaming noise for the buzzer. And she'd put it all the way across the rooms so I'd have to physically get up and walk to snooze it. I'd find ways around it though. :(

[zorra_chiflada]

you'll be more wanting to get up if you have something during the day to look forward to. so i dunno, get something to look forward to.

[Bob]

you'll be more wanting to get up if you have something during the day to look forward to. so i dunno, get something to look forward to.

i get to look forward to hard classes and then hard readings to prepare for the next round of hard classes :(

my only motivation really is that i pretty much can't skip classes anymore, i have to go. so it's more like i have something to fear than something to look forward to. but that only works when the fear reaches a critical mass, at the last minute that i can possibly stay in bed

[zorra_chiflada]

fear and necessity is unfortunately not a big enough motivator. TRY HARDER

[QueenAdrock]

Sometimes buying kick-ass breakfasts makes me want to get up faster, too. Peaches & cream oatmeal and chocolate chip muffins kick ass. I'm usually hungry when I wake up so if my first thought is I BOUGHT AWESOME BREAKFAST MATERIAL, I'm just like "Hell yes!" and get up.

[Bob]

oh man, i haven't had breakfast in....at least a month

[Helvete]

There is no cheat way to do it, you need to get into a routine and try and get 7-8 hours sleep. Failing that, then throw yourself out of bed and staight into the shower.

[TurdBerglar]

oh man, i haven't had breakfast in....at least a month


i haven't had breakfast in years

[ericlee]

A- Join the Army and have a drill sergeant stand over you and blow a whistle

B- Just pay me $20 every morning and I'll get you up, with trash can lids

[Dorothy Wood]

I set my alarm for about a half hour before I truly need to get up. I then push the snooze a million times until I'm like, "fuck, I really need to get up". sometimes for extra early mornings, I set the alarm clock next to my bed, AND I set the alarm on my cell phone, so that way I have two alarms telling me it's time.

however, on days like today, I didn't have to work until 4 p.m., but I went to bed at around 12:30 a.m. last night and I still didn't wake up until 11 a.m. this morning even though I set my alarm for 9:30. :( it's like my subconscious knows that I don't really have to be up yet, so it just sleeps right through the alarm. weird stuff man.

I find it helps a little to tell yourself, "GET UP!" as soon as you hear that first alarm, but that takes some practice.

[Bob]

A- Join the Army and have a drill sergeant stand over you and blow a whistle

B- Just pay me $20 every morning and I'll get you up, with trash can lids

haha

maybe i should set my alarm clock to start playing full metal jacket or something

[befsquire]

i have a dual alarm clock on my side of the bed. the first alarm is set for 7:12, the second for 7:47. the clock is 4 min. ahead of the real time, but somehow i always forget that when i used to always think "oh, it's ahead." i have my cell alarm set, and i leave it on the kitchen counter. it's set for 7:42 real time. i snooze through alarm one, unless my upstairs neighbor hears it, and that crusty sea hag will stomp on the floor, which negates the need for any other alarm. she has no idea that she is negatively reinforcing bad habits.

i only snooze once on the second alarm. the cell alarm works itself into my brain shortly after the snooze on the second alarm, and that's when i get up.

[ericlee]

haha

maybe i should set my alarm clock to start playing full metal jacket or something

I used to have the same problems. I hate mornings with a passion. During basic training the drill sergeants would throw trash cans across the barracks at 4:30 every morning. After that, we had less than 5 minutes to get our p.t. clothes on and stand downstairs in formation for p.t.

In A.I.T. they would come into your room and blow the whistle as loud as they could and pleasantly say, "Good morning" and we had to do the same as basic, stand downstairs in formation. I was stationed in Aberdeen Maryland in the middle of winter. Imagine doing p.t. in the snow when it's -3 degrees at 4:30 am.

Anyway, it really sucks to be in a deep sleep and be woken up by trash cans or a whistle so I've learned to wake up before they came in.

Maybe a copy of Full Metal Jacket will help.

[yooooo]

i'm seriously having such a hard time waking up in the morning these days, i just can't get out of bed. i stay in and curse at myself for being so lazy until i just can't physically stay in bed any longer without being late, it's a last minute rush out the door with wet hair every day, and it sucks. i'd love to be one of those people who wakes up early enough to have an hour or so to just chill before going to school/work, but i just cannot get up for the life of me.

same here, EVERY morning i focus all my willpower and physically strength and roll out of the bed, so i fall on the floor.

no joke.

[Planetary]

drink loads of water before you go to bed. take a caffeine pill. that's one of their purposes apparantly.

[na§tee]

if you use an alarm clock, you need one that you can't just press a button on to make it turn off. something like this puzzle alarm clock is good (http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/tag/jigsaw-puzzle-alarm-clock-32138.php) - so you have to concentrate before it will go off. looks easy though.

i've always disliked jarring, loud alarm clocks. they are so aggressive and unexpected and you sort of hate them for waking you up, which is why you stay in bed longer. these days i just sleep with my blind open, so when the sun comes up (or, rather, came up) i would start to stir but also, just incase, a mobile alarm clock.

i really like these alarm clocks which simulate dawn (http://www.lighttherapyproducts.co.uk/clocks.htm). if i had enough money i would totally buy one - sounds like a much more luxuriant way to wake up - i think you would benefit greatly from using it;

The patented Bodyclock - Dawn simulation wake up clock is an alarm clock that works with light rather than sound producing a very gradual increase in light levels mimicking a natural sunrise in the period immediately before waking. This triggers a gentle and peaceful wake up response running in tune to your natural biorhythm. The signal gets your body going even before you open your eyes so you wake up feeling alert, positive and energised. And at bedtime you can also set your Bodyclock - Dawn simulation wake up clock to fade to darkness helping you to wind down and fall asleep. By regulating your melatonin cycle in this way the Bodyclock - Dawn simulation wake up clock helps you to keep melatonin levels high at night making you sleepy and low in the day keeping you alert. Your sleep soon becomes regular, refreshing and re-vitalising.

[Helvete]

$300 for a lamp and alarmclock?!! (well, the 'advanced' one)

[QueenAdrock]

The gradual light sounds good. I have SAD, so I had just a super-powerful lightbox above my desk, and my mom used to plug it in to wake me up - she figured the light would help my disorder as well as get me going. Wrong. I grew to have a hate-relationship with it and unplugged it (just like a snooze button) whenever she plugged it in. Plus, since I grew to hate how it woke me up, I never used it any other time. :(

[na§tee]

$300 for a lamp and alarmclock?!! (well, the 'advanced' one)
haha. i know. i was checking it out to see if i could get it as a 'wee' present for christmas. seems not. as i said, i dinnae have the money for it.
but for the advanced one you get a 'security option light' which comes on if you have intruders and this 'sleepsound option' that masks sounds um, sounds pretty good. my flatmates chatter late all the time since they don't have normal 9-5's while i'm busting my butt not waiting for the freelance train to come my way. so it would be handy.
s'cool though. i may make a case for one with the father. he forgot my birthday and didn't get me anything so he better OWN this christmas, yo.