Waking up in the morning
CityMouse
Posts: 1,010
I've been a morning person most of my life, but for a long while now I have this huge problem that I can't get myself out of bed in the morning! I need to get up around 6:30, but I'll usually just ignor my alarm and go back to sleep until 8:30 or 9! luckily I have a job with a flexible schedule, so getting in at 9:30, 10 is acceptable, but I need to work out, eat breakfast, and have a normal, healthy morning. As it is right now, I skip working out, skip eating breakfast, sometimes skip a shower, throw wrinkled clothes together, and rush to work, where I feel weird for the rest of the day...
I go to bed sometime between 10 and 11:30 each night (I used to try to be in bed by 10 every night, but the doctor advised not trying to go to sleep until you feel tired). I sleep pretty well throughout the night. I moved the alarm clock across the room (but the room is really small so it doesn't help much). I've tried feng shui, I've gone to a doctor, I've gone to a psychologist, I've done everything they suggested...I still have some kind of mental block.
I've posted for advice on this on other message boards, but given the wide range of topics here I thought I'd give it a shot. Has anyone overcome a problem like this in the past? What have you done?
I go to bed sometime between 10 and 11:30 each night (I used to try to be in bed by 10 every night, but the doctor advised not trying to go to sleep until you feel tired). I sleep pretty well throughout the night. I moved the alarm clock across the room (but the room is really small so it doesn't help much). I've tried feng shui, I've gone to a doctor, I've gone to a psychologist, I've done everything they suggested...I still have some kind of mental block.
I've posted for advice on this on other message boards, but given the wide range of topics here I thought I'd give it a shot. Has anyone overcome a problem like this in the past? What have you done?
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You'll sleep more soundly if you exercise.
Organize your schedule so you can get 8 hours of sleep.
Get up when you need to even if it's not comfortable at first, your body will adjust.
I set my alarm 15 minutes early so I can gradually wake up in those 15 minutes.
Other thoughts:
Are you depressed or young and growing? Sometimes those two things make people spend extra time in bed like you describe.
Every needs a different amount of sleep. If I slept 8 hours a night, I'd be worthless. Anything over 5 hours, and I feel like I've been drugged.
I don't think I am depressed, I don't have any other symptoms. I'm not young, I stopped growing 18 years ago
Yeah as I said I don't really have a problem sleeping soundly, and even though I'm getting less exercise because I don't wake up in time (chicken and egg problem there!) I still get a decent amount of exercise, even if it means getting it at night, which isn't my preference. I set my alarm 15 minutes early too, and I almost always get 8 hours!
It's like I'm just lazy, but there's an internal conflict that I don't want to be lazy. It doesn't seem like 6:30 or even 7 is that much to ask for!
very interesting!
my wife can sleep 10+ hours, and wake up feeling refreshed and charged. If I do that, I need a nap two hours after waking up, and have Zero energy.
I was really tired and I focused more on my sleep environement and getting "quality" sleep as opposed to "quantity". We darkened the bedroom with blinds and heavy curtains and I now sleep with earplugs.
I've heard that generally, our bodies like the same routine every night. Maybe you need to do something for a few weeks to kind of program your body to a routine or something?
wait, you have a wife? Didn't you post all those things about falling in love at 33?
you can try trying to trick yourself - blindly forward your clock so you don't actually know what time it is ... just make sure you forward it so, it'll always be earlier then you think ... sounds like you'll need to forward it a good 1+ hrs tho ...
I don't know how to bring back motivation once it's gone unless you find something else you really can look forward to in your day to get you out of bed.
Though, this may not be your problem...just mine. Just a thought.
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it may be my problem. my job is unbelievably boring. it's hard to motivate when the only thing you're waking up for is killing yourself in the gym before heading off to a pointless job.
haha I have one of those ipod alarm clocks. it doesn't matter what comes on, when the alarm goes off I'm like "grrrr...STUPID EDDIE VEDDER, I HATE HIM!"--snooze.
I think you've hit the nail on the head then..........no?
"New music, new friends. Pearl Jam."
I like our socks. I hear we make a fine sock. I always say, You might not love our records, but I think you'll like our socks. - Stone
"This record is us speaking out in class." -EV on PJ
I have two alarms - one that plays NPR in the morning and one that blares Pearl Jam. I have one way across the room. I set one 15 minutes early. They'll both go off for at least an hour and I can sleep right through both of them (or turn them off and fall back to sleep), even if I've had a good night's sleep.
My advice would be:
1. Do whatever it takes to get up at the same time every morning (at least when you have to be at work). Try to not ever think, "Oh, I have time for 15 more minutes," or "If I just skip breakfast - or whatever - I won't be late." Once you really get in the habit of this I think it will be easier. I've sometimes had to have people call me in the mornings and talk to me until I get out of bed. (I have really good friends!
2. If you wake up a little early or something, just get up then instead of going back to sleep until your alarm goes off. I despise the mornings, so when I wake up early I refuse to get up until it's time. But I find that what makes it hardest to get up is when I fall back into that deep, REM sleep. It's really like the world doesn't exist outside my dreams. Frequently when I wake up 1/2 an hour or so before it's time and decide to just stay in bed until my alarm goes off, I'll fall back into a deep sleep and can sleep for 4 more hours easily.
3. When you go to bed at night, focus on the time you plan to get up in the morning and how excited you are to purposefully get up and accomplish the tasks you want to get done. I know that sounds cheesey, but it seems to at least put me in the right frame of mind so my alarm doesn't catch me off guard.
Those are just my observations about my experience. I hope it helps with yours. But I can't wait to hear, for my own sake, the advise that others might have. Good luck!
possibly, but then there's not much I can do about it.
this is all what I need to do---easier said than done though. I try every day!
Do you want me to call you when I get up?
haha ok, what time do you get up?
True except try to change your mindset or create something in the day to look forward to. It's hard but possible. I don't think changing anything at night will help unless you can't get up because you're tired, and it doesn't sound like that's the case.
"New music, new friends. Pearl Jam."
I like our socks. I hear we make a fine sock. I always say, You might not love our records, but I think you'll like our socks. - Stone
"This record is us speaking out in class." -EV on PJ
These days, about 5:30 Mountain Time.
That's another poster with the same name.
Oh and my sleep patterns have become erratic to say the least. :(
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It seems to me, from my extensive self experimentation :rolleyes: you can very easily get yourself into an all new, not so great sleeping pattern without much effort at all. :rolleyes:
My understanding is to get things back to a more acceptable routine, you need to be vigilant about sleep times, going at the same time regularly each night and staying in bed regardless of if you sleep or not for the required amount of time until you do sleep through. Least that's what I have to do. AND if I do wake up and still feel like crap and not well rested, which is the norm now really, I just get on with the day and go to bed at the correct time again that night and hope that it will eventually all pan out in the end. So far it's not going so well.
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Yeah, well the old straddling time zones trick can totally mess with your sleep!!! I totally understand.
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Well you could invest in a real comfy computer chair and put your jammies on before you sit down, a rug helps, and just have little mini sleeps in between typing.
ooh! Maybe I could put a disclaimer in my sig for those times?
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I actually do sometimes turn the chair around 90 degrees, lean back against the wall, and "rest my eyes".
A friend of mine gave me a few techniques years ago, which I have found useful, when I remember to do them and I've picked up a few along the way myself.
Make sure you wind down properly before you go to bed.
You need to make your environment and the last things you do before you go to sleep, quiet, calm and peaceful. So a good hour before you go to bed, make sure you have done everything you need to do to end the day, put out any clothes and things for the morning. Turn the lights down, have a nice warm shower, some hot milk and just relax, don't over stimulate yourself before bed. When you go to bed, make sure you are warm but not too warm. That the tv isn't on, or the radio. Turn the light out as soon as you get into bed and just focus on your breathing.
If you are having trouble going off to sleep, just keep trying to relax and focus on your breathing and relaxing your muscles. I often recite a mantra in my head about what time I want to get up. Over and over, quietly but firmly. It's so boring it usually puts me to sleep.
In the morning, when I have to get up, I make sure there's an alarm clock, a truly annoying sounding LOUD second alarm clock somewhere nearby that is set for 15 minutes after the first one goes off. I put this alarm clock a good distance from the bed so I am FORCED to get out of the bed to turn it off. I usually put it somewhere on the path to the bathroom so that in my confused state I can turn it off and keep heading for the shower. Once I'm in the shower I usually wake up pretty quickly but just in case, I've laid everything out for the next day the night before so I can just do it on automatic pilot. I would joke often at work that even though I was sitting there at 8am, fully clothed, breakfasted and clearly had managed to get myself there, my brain doesn't wake up until 11am.
Good luck with it. It's not fun.
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