How can I force myself to wake up without a dozen alarms?
I am a HEAVY sleeper, always have been. I regularly hit snooze at least a dozen times in the morning, I have alarms set 3 minutes apart, I have a phone alarm AND an alarm clock AND my boyfriend still ends up waking me up most mornings because I just do NOT wake up. Is it possible to fix this? I'm tired of not being able to wake up without a million alarms going off and I'm pretty sure my bf is getting tired of this, too.
If you're struggling to wake up in the morning, it could be that you need a better nighttime routine. Your PM routine affects your AM routine. Working on your PM routine, such as adding stretching or a mini meditation before bed, will allow you to relax and prepare for sleep. It’s more likely you will sleep better if you have a regular PM routine, as your body understands that you're preparing it for sleep. What time you go to bed dictates how early you can wake up—so be mindful of how many hours you truly need to feel yourself and rested, and calculate that to your ideal wake up time to understand when you need to be in bed by.
What works for me is putting my phone just out of arm's reach. That way, I'd have to get up to turn off my alarm, forcing myself to wake up. Before, I'd put my phone on my nightstand and would just keep snoozing it in my sleep. I used to constantly oversleep. I don't anymore!
I found it a lot easier to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day when I actually got myself to follow a regular sleep routine. I'd force myself to go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day (even on weekends!) and now my body wakes up at the same time, even without an alarm! It's tempting to stay up late and sleep in on the weekends, or stay up late to grind through work, but now I respect my sleep and feel much more energized in the morning and throughout my day.
I wake myself up so that I can lucid dream more effectively. Lucid dreaming happens during the REM period, so I set an alarm that would wake me up around my REM period. This is typically 3 hours 15 minutes, 4 hours 30 minutes, or 6 hours into your sleep. Each person has a slightly different REM period so you can experiment a bit to figure out the right period for you. Now that your mind's awake, it's time to let your body fall back asleep to induce a lucid dream.
Gosh, I was in the same situation as you for a while. I ended up buying a cheap Fitbit a few years ago, and the vibrating alarm on that thing spooks me awake like a charm. I can't say much about hitting snooze, though. I'm fairly good at preparing myself the night before to not hit snooze. I tell myself, "You need to wake up on the first alarm tomorrow or else." and that works for me, as long as I remember in the morning. I see it as more of a mental thing than a physical thing. My brain comes up with piles upon piles of reasons why I really don't need to listen to what Last Night Me said, but once I overcome those, I can keep my promise. Breaking the old pattern was much harder than resorting back to it, but after I became used to the new one, it was smooth sailing.
I hope my experiences can help you have an easier time waking up in the morning!
A note about making a promise the night before: If you try this but forget in the morning when you're groggy, you could try placing your cell phone or alarm in an unusual location in your bedroom, or setting an object on top of either. This may cause you to pause and think for a moment, and help you remember your promise.
I hope my experiences can help you have an easier time waking up in the morning!
A note about making a promise the night before: If you try this but forget in the morning when you're groggy, you could try placing your cell phone or alarm in an unusual location in your bedroom, or setting an object on top of either. This may cause you to pause and think for a moment, and help you remember your promise.
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