Thread: Experiencing extreme difficulty with waking up in the morning.

Hey. I try to wake up early every day but I always fail. Only times I can get the deed done is when I have something important to attend to in the morning, like going to work. Going to class used to be a good motivator, but lately, I've been missing out on morning classes without so much a reason as being too lazy to get up at such a time. I try to sleep earlier in order to wake up early enough the next morning, but I seem to also be having difficulties sleeping before midnight. On lucky nights, I can drift to a state of half-sleep, half-conscious, but I can never quite reach healthy REM sleep during the more convenient time periods. It's always too late to go to bed and too late to rise up. What can you folks suggest I do to better myself? Some scientific basis for your answers would be extra-appreciative.

Alarm clock- loud and annoying and no snooze button. I'm being serious.

When I was in the Army, I used the alarm setting on my stereo and set the alarm to a country music station and loud. That way I HAD to get up in order to turn that %(*%^&&* off.


Maybe some folks can make dietary recommendations or such- I have no idea. Maybe it would help, maybe it wouldn't.

My scientific opinion is that you're screwed. About all you can do is force the routine until your body adjusts to it enough to be workable and maintain that routine every day, 7 days a week.

If you are left to sleep without any obligation to wake up, how many hours do you normally sleep from the moment you doze off to the time you wake up naturally without having to fight to get up?

I tend to sleep 7 hours. I can lay in bed and simply be too lazy to get up and eventually fall back to sleep but if I fall asleep at midnight, I will wake at 7am, if I fall asleep at 2pm I will wake at 9pm. my body just automatically wakes up after 7 hours. Does yours have a set time scale for sleeping?

Originally Posted by seagypsy

If you are left to sleep without any obligation to wake up, how many hours do you normally sleep from the moment you doze off to the time you wake up naturally without having to fight to get up?

I tend to sleep 7 hours. I can lay in bed and simply be too lazy to get up and eventually fall back to sleep but if I fall asleep at midnight, I will wake at 7am, if I fall asleep at 2pm I will wake at 9pm. my body just automatically wakes up after 7 hours. Does yours have a set time scale for sleeping?

Yes. About 13 or 14 hours is the norm, though it occasionally extends by as much as an additional 3 hours. When I'm looking to get up only 4 hours after going to bed, I typically won't even hear the alarm go off. Well, maybe I do, because I somehow always manage to turn the thing off. I just don't remember hearing it after waking up.

Originally Posted by Neverfly

Alarm clock- loud and annoying and no snooze button. I'm being serious.

When I was in the Army, I used the alarm setting on my stereo and set the alarm to a country music station and loud. That way I HAD to get up in order to turn that %(*%^&&* off.


Maybe some folks can make dietary recommendations or such- I have no idea. Maybe it would help, maybe it wouldn't.

My scientific opinion is that you're screwed. About all you can do is force the routine until your body adjusts to it enough to be workable and maintain that routine every day, 7 days a week.

That's what I'm afraid of. Incapable of forcing the routine on my body in a natural way. I've been doing that for years. I got so accustomed to the sound of my alarm that I can sleep through the alarm sound if I wanted to. And I certainly don't want to depend on pharmaceuticals to get my sleep under control.

Your screenname here is really hard to say out loud, you know that?



I remember sleeping through an alarm clock once for about three hours. Finally, my adoptive dad walked in and quietly said my name- and I woke up. He said, "Your alarm clock's going off."
I could hear that.
Once I was awake.
Clicked it off.
Weird...

13-17 hours of sleep is too much. You may need to sign up for a sleep study.

Originally Posted by Neverfly

Alarm clock- loud and annoying and no snooze button. I'm being serious.

When I was in the Army, I used the alarm setting on my stereo and set the alarm to a country music station and loud. That way I HAD to get up in order to turn that %(*%^&&* off.


Maybe some folks can make dietary recommendations or such- I have no idea. Maybe it would help, maybe it wouldn't.

My scientific opinion is that you're screwed. About all you can do is force the routine until your body adjusts to it enough to be workable and maintain that routine every day, 7 days a week.

Do this and put your alarm clock out of arm's reach.

On that note, I have heard of people making alarm clocks that can only be shut off after you complete a fairly simple mental puzzle. I thought that was kind of clever.

It seems like you just have a delayed circadian rhythm cycle. You can try light therapy or melatonin (if it's available where you live) to try and readjust your cycle. Or you can become self-employed and set your own hours

How old are you? There are a few schools here who have started their day at 10am because evidence suggests that teenagers have a different circadian rhythm to adults. See these - Developmental Neuroscience 2009, Vol. 31, No. 4 - Adolescent Changes in the Homeostatic and Circadian Regulation of Sleep - Abstract - Karger Publishers Changing Times: Findings From the First Longitudinal Study of Later High School Start Times.

13-14 hours sleep is too much even for a pre-adult though - have a look here Delayed sleep phase disorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia but if I were you I'd get it checked out.

Hang on....you get 13-14 hours of sleep a day? Is that even possible?

I am in accord with the post by LuciDreaming.

The only other thought that had crossed my mind was to ask if you may be depressed or avoiding something that you may not even be consciously aware of? Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder very often goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed but you may want to get some medical advice on this matter. I would suggest keeping a sleep journal to establish a baseline and it might not hurt to keep track of your food and activities as well.

Do you spend a lot of time on-line, texting or playing video games?

Originally Posted by LuciDreaming

How old are you? There are a few schools here who have started their day at 10am because evidence suggests that teenagers have a different circadian rhythm to adults. See these - Developmental Neuroscience 2009, Vol. 31, No. 4 - Adolescent Changes in the Homeostatic and Circadian Regulation of Sleep - Abstract - Karger Publishers Changing Times: Findings From the First Longitudinal Study of Later High School Start Times.

13-14 hours sleep is too much even for a pre-adult though - have a look here Delayed sleep phase disorder - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia but if I were you I'd get it checked out.

Originally Posted by PhDemon

As a chronic insomniac I can't really identify with the sleeping to much thing but I do sometimes find it a struggle to get up for work if I only started sleeping at say 5 am. I generally just drag myself in and be a zombie until the caffeine hits. Once every ten days or so I really crash and can sleep for 20 hrs. I've been to sleep clinics etc. but nothing has changed my sleeping habits. You just have to make whatever rhythm you body/brain has fit with you responsibilities...

An interesting post, PhDemon, and it sounds as though you are well aware of your limitations and have identified some coping mechanisms.

There are some considerably serious conditions around various sleep disorders and my concern for the OP is that if they make a serious error in their decision making, they may be the cause of harm or death to themselves or others.

Some sleep disorders can be so severe as to be considered a disability, making those individuals unsuited to any task involving driving, machinery etc.
Narcolepsy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

rladngus
the trick is simple

You have to want to get up.
You have to want to attend your classes.
If you can not do that, maybe you should find something that you want to do.
Then want to get up and do that.

Too many people go through the motions without ever wanting to do what they are doing.
After awhile, their spirit dies,
and they look out on nothing with hollow eyes.
A waste to themselves and those around them.

You only got one life.
And, only YOU can decide to want to do something with it.

Meanwhile:
I hope that you have a rich and entertaining dreamtime/dreamlife.

One possibility for the getting to sleep side of things. Are you using a computer or other screen device for reading or other activities until you go to bed? If so, I strongly suggest a simple freebie for your computer and other devices. f.lux: software to make your life better

For all I know there may be better versions of this thing available, probably for money. It's not at all subtle, and it's not exactly matched to your local sunrise, sunset cycle, but it works quite well. Basically at set times in the morning and the evening, the appearance of your screen changes slightly. You don't notice it at all if you're not at the screen when it happens, but when it switches to evening mode, you notice a "wash" of different colour tones across the upper portion of the screen. It's worth a shot.

But, I'd agree with others. 12 hours or more of sleep is an indicator that something is wrong somewhere. The recommendation for primary and high school age students is 9 to 10 hours a night for brain development and for optimum function in daily activities. No one anywhere recommends this amount of sleep for anyone (except of course babies, but they don't count for this discussion). Speaking of which, how much exercise do you get? Making yourself physically active then physically tired - swimming is excellent for this, but you may not have a pool handy, so walking a km or two would be a reasonable substitute - is an excellent way to promote better sleep/ sleeping habits.

A doctor's visit sounds like one activity you should adopt pretty soon.

f.lux: software to make your life better

What a difference on my eyes, thanks for that link, it does help. I don't think I'll get use to it quick, it might take time to adjust my eyes to this new concept.

I'd suggest to seek a sleep professional to get profession help.

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...46751780,d.eWU

Originally Posted by Flick Montana

Hang on....you get 13-14 hours of sleep a day? Is that even possible?

I noticed that, too, and then thought maybe rladngus meant spending 13-14 hours in bed, since they say they don't fall asleep till midnight. Was going to mention that sleeping that much every day would be a sign of a serious disorder.

Originally Posted by PhDemon

As a chronic insomniac I can't really identify with the sleeping to much thing but I do sometimes find it a struggle to get up for work if I only started sleeping at say 5 am. I generally just drag myself in and be a zombie until the caffeine hits. Once every ten days or so I really crash and can sleep for 20 hrs. I've been to sleep clinics etc. but nothing has changed my sleeping habits. You just have to make whatever rhythm you body/brain has fit with you responsibilities...

Being sleep deprived and then crashing to make up for it is not the same as sleeping excessively every day.

Originally Posted by sculptor

You have to want to get up.
You have to want to attend your classes.
If you can not do that, maybe you should find something that you want to do.
Then want to get up and do that.

Sometimes problems have a physical cause that cannot be solved by wishing. Too many people receive inadequate medical care because doctors can't be bothered to try to find out what's wrong with them, and instead tell them that the solution is to "think themselves better".