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Morning-zombie to fully awake, I can't do it well at all!

For years upon years (well, almost 19 years to be more precise), I've had trouble waking up in the morning. I'm like a sleep-zombie, and I'm still too asleep to flip the switch inside my head that tells myself to get up. 

 

I've been to many, many doctors regarding this problem now, and some even suggested that I need around 12 hours of sleep, which is ridiculous! I mean, on a few occasions I can wake up with 7 hours or less of sleep without any problem, but that is a RARE occasion. So I don't think I need that much sleep, and to be honest, getting more sleep than 7 hours makes me tired throughout the day anyway. 

 

So, I've tried a few solutions. I've got blinds that I use to block out the street lights at night, but leave them slightly open to let in a little light in the morning. That definitely wasn't enough, so I added a Philips WakeUp-Light. That thing gets bright, but it doesn't help me at all. So, phone alarms? Well, surprisingly enough, I'm awake enough that my sleepy self can actually disable all those alarms in the morning and get back to sleep. D'oh! Leaving the window open at night so fresh air can come in isn't ideal, it rains a lot here in the Netherlands and we have a pub right across the street and quite a lot of traffic, even at night, so the sound of that is rather annoying. 

 

It's not that I don't get good sleep, in fact, I sleep very soundly every night. I guess there are positive sides with not having a girlfriend after all, believe it or not, no hair in your face or anything like that (though I really wouldn't mind that lol). 

 

I don't really know what to do anymore. I've ordered a Xiaomi Mi Band 2 to track my sleep, but I guess that will take another week to arrive. My other guess is that a WakeUp-light with blue light might help, since blue light reduces melatonine levels in your body. Also, would it help to wake up after a certain sleep-cycle, like the REM-sleep? (No, I'm not talking about sleeping with peoples favourite waifu)

 

Have you guys got any suggestions for me? 

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You could try putting your phone across the room so that you have to get up out of bed and walk to turn it off. Being upright and walking helps clear most sleepiness (out of most people anyways). If you are concerned it wouldn't be loud enough across the room, you could plug it into a speaker system.

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I would say that you shouldn go see a doctor, but you obviously already did that.

 

Honestly, this can be down to many things. 

It could be down to your sleep schedule not fitting with what your brain is wired for.

You could be having a restless sleep, which can be down to everything from psychological factors over dietary factors to your sleeping position and place.

Or it could be that your doctor is correct and you do need 12 hours of sleep. Although, I would recommend that you get a referal to an actual sleep clinic. They will be able to do a proper test of your sleep rather than just come up with a recommenation.

 

Persoanlly, on the mornings when I can't seem to wake up I just eat an apple. 

The fructose in apples pretty much goes straight into your bloodstream and helps kickstart your body. 

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8 minutes ago, Volbet said:

I would say that you shouldn go see a doctor, but you obviously already did that.

 

Honestly, this can be down to many things. 

It could be down to your sleep schedule not fitting with what your brain is wired for.

You could be having a restless sleep, which can be down to everything from psychological factors over dietary factors to your sleeping position and place.

Or it could be that your doctor is correct and you do need 12 hours of sleep. Although, I would recommend that you get a referal to an actual sleep clinic. They will be able to do a proper test of your sleep rather than just come up with a recommenation.

 

Persoanlly, on the mornings when I can't seem to wake up I just eat an apple. 

The fructose in apples pretty much goes straight into your bloodstream and helps kickstart your body. 

I've had special sleeping-tests with EEG's(?) several times. That's where the conclusion about the 12 hours of sleep came from. And I'm not really stressed at all, and I don't even wake up during the night at all. My sleep pattern had been analysed in several sleep-specialised clinics, ranging from one day to an entire week. 

 

In terms of the apple: I could try that with another fruit, I don't like apples, they're too sour for my taste, even the so-called sweet ones. 

 

Thanks for the tips so far!

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15 minutes ago, Taylor Reid said:

You could try putting your phone across the room so that you have to get up out of bed and walk to turn it off. Being upright and walking helps clear most sleepiness (out of most people anyways). If you are concerned it wouldn't be loud enough across the room, you could plug it into a speaker system.

I've moved my wake-up light to my desk, where it can also double as an awesome desk light, and put the alarm sound to radio (a German station, so I can also get a little listening experience in German as well). 

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1 minute ago, computer1up said:

In terms of the apple: I could try that with another fruit, I don't like apples, they're too sour for my taste, even the so-called sweet ones. 

Any fruit that's high in fructose will do. You can probably also buy pure fructose tablets at your local supermarket.

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Teenagers/young adults often need more sleep because their bodies are still growing. I had difficulty with this for many years. My solution was to put a second alarm clock across the room, with both set at the most annoying alarm sound possible. The body loves regularity, so in time you can train yourself to wake up at a certain hour. The same way you train your mind and body not to wet the bed, but instead wake up and dart for the restroom. Now I usually wake up about 5min before my alarm clock goes off, and wake up at that time even on my days off. I'm still not one of those people who jumps out of bed ready to attack the day. It takes some time, and coffee to get me going.

 

P.S. Never ever, ever use the snooze button. You will train yourself to hit it without really waking up, lol.  O.o

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47 minutes ago, MadModder said:

Teenagers/young adults often need more sleep because their bodies are still growing. I had difficulty with this for many years. My solution was to put a second alarm clock across the room, with both set at the most annoying alarm sound possible. The body loves regularity, so in time you can train yourself to wake up at a certain hour. The same way you train your mind and body not to wet the bed, but instead wake up and dart for the restroom. Now I usually wake up about 5min before my alarm clock goes off, and wake up at that time even on my days off. I'm still not one of those people who jumps out of bed ready to attack the day. It takes some time, and coffee to get me going.

 

P.S. Never ever, ever use the snooze button. You will train yourself to hit it without really waking up, lol.  O.o

"P.S. Never ever, ever use the snooze button. You will train yourself to hit it without really waking up, lol.  O.o" That's exactly what happened when I tried turning on my phone as an alarm. I was able to disable it without actually putting any thoughts in to it and go back to sleep. Thing is, I'm getting enough sleep anyway. I know that because I can function properly with only 7 hours of sleep and feel great. I'm struggling with actually getting out of bed after those 7 hours of sleep, which means I often get waayy more than I need and that will only worsen my problems with getting up and during the day. 

 

Quote

Do you have anything to get up for?

Currently not. I'm in the summer holidays between my last school and next school, with practically no responsibilities. I think that's really annoying though, I'd rather have class all day and do actually productive things than just to sleep in and spend my entire day gaming. (I tend to start playing games when I'm either really bored, or wanting to play a certain game really badly.) Sounds weird, right?

 

Quote

Any fruit that's high in fructose will do. You can probably also buy pure fructose tablets at your local supermarket.

I'll keep that in mind, thanks!

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23 hours ago, computer1up said:

 

There's an app called "Sleep Cycle" (Orange and white alarm clock icon) that you can get on IOS and Android. I've been using it for a while now, it works pretty decently.

 

It monitors your movement in bed at night to detect which part of the sleep cycle you're in, then wakes you up in a specified range of time before when you want to wake up by, that way you're woken up in the lightest part of the sleep cycle.

 

Some days it works great, other days not so much, though going to sleep and waking up at regular times would probably help that (Something I've been trying to work on).

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this might be incredibly extreme, but put the alarm speaker in your room and the button to turn it off across the house. That way you have to get out of bed for a few minutes.

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4 minutes ago, TheKDub said:

There's an app called "Sleep Cycle" (Orange and white alarm clock icon) that you can get on IOS and Android. I've been using it for a while now, it works pretty decently.

 

It monitors your movement in bed at night to detect which part of the sleep cycle you're in, then wakes you up in a specified range of time before when you want to wake up by, that way you're woken up in the lightest part of the sleep cycle.

 

Some days it works great, other days not so much, though going to sleep and waking up at regular times would probably help that (Something I've been trying to work on).

I've just heard about the app in a video a few minutes ago. How would it actually work, though? Do I have to place my phone under the pillow or something like that?

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Just now, computer1up said:

I've just heard about the app in a video a few minutes ago. How would it actually work, though? Do I have to place my phone under the pillow or something like that?

You just leave it plugged in and face down on the corner of your mattress. Though if you have some fancy memory foam mattress or whatever that would stop any movement from reaching your phone, then you'll have to go with a different solution.

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Just now, RGProductions said:

this might be incredibly extreme, but put the alarm speaker in your room and the button to turn it off across the house. That way you have to get out of bed for a few minutes.

That WOULD be a good idea, thing is: I'm using a Philips Wake-Up light, which has no removable buttons or something like that. I use that rather than my phone, because it lights up my room before going off, which should help reduce sleepyness. I'll see if I can come up with an idea similar to that, though. 

 

I'm currently thinking about scheduling my Raspberry Pi with Kodi to turn on my TV and rick-roll me (for example) at a set time every morning. Which would require me to get out of bed, get my wireless keyboard and turn off the thing, besides having to walk to my desk to turn on my light alarm alone. 

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1 minute ago, TheKDub said:

You just leave it plugged in and face down on the corner of your mattress. Though if you have some fancy memory foam mattress or whatever that would stop any movement from reaching your phone, then you'll have to go with a different solution.

Hmm, OK. I'll download the app and try it. It's almost time for me to go to sleep anyway, so I'll gather a few solutions before that. 

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its not really about how much sleep you get.its about how consistant your sleep schedule is.

i get between 4 and 6 hours of sleep per night, and im usually fine the next morning.

keep your phone and computer away from you for about half an hour before bed and go to bed the same time every night even on weekends. then wake up at the same time, set an alarm, every day, even weekends.

after about 2 weeks, you'll be in a decent rhythm and itll get easier.

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Have you tried waking up to a blue light? Blue light reduces the effectiveness of melatonin in the brain and body. You can possibly leave a light on a timer so that the light turns on when you're supposed to wake. Aside from that, you really need to eat well and get your rhythm back in place as @Tsuki mentioned. 

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On 8/18/2017 at 11:31 PM, computer1up said:

I don't really know what to do anymore. I've ordered a Xiaomi Mi Band 2 to track my sleep, but I guess that will take another week to arrive. My other guess is that a WakeUp-light with blue light might help, since blue light reduces melatonine levels in your body. Also, would it help to wake up after a certain sleep-cycle, like the REM-sleep? (No, I'm not talking about sleeping with peoples favourite waifu)

Don't forget that this is Dr. Internet speaking, but yes, both what I've heard and what I've experienced is that the sleep phase you wake up from is even more important than the number of hours for the immediate overall state in which you wake up (that is, waking up at the right time isn't a substitute of getting enough sleep, and not sleeping enough will have consequences throughout the day, and a cumulative effect over time. This is just about how you feel when getting out of bed, and someone not sleeping enough can feel wonderful depending on habit and the sleep phase thing).

So, the band and related smartphone apps could help - to theextent that they are actually capable of accurately detecting sleep phases. Save that, the only advice I can give you related to sleep phases would be: if you wake up on your own at some point, not excessively far from your set alarm (like less than 2 hours), it is probably a good idea to obey your body and get up then, instead of forcing yourself to sleep that little longer.

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9 hours ago, SpaceGhostC2C said:

So, the band and related smartphone apps could help - to theextent that they are actually capable of accurately detecting sleep phases. Save that, the only advice I can give you related to sleep phases would be: if you wake up on your own at some point, not excessively far from your set alarm (like less than 2 hours), it is probably a good idea to obey your body and get up then, instead of forcing yourself to sleep that little longer.

What you say is interesting. If I actually were to obey what my body 'tells me', that's basically what I do all the time as it tells me to stay in bed. I feel like it tries to tell me that it's still too tired to get up, even though it is really not. 

 

In terms of my sleep rhythm, I think that's just fine. I have no problems with getting enough sleep and good quality sleep. That's in fact what I'm most certain about. 

 

Getting up today worked a lot better already, merely by moving my alarm clock to my desk. When I'm up, it seems like it's easier to stay up. Hopefully my morning-self will agree with me on that every time from now on. 

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9 hours ago, ARikozuM said:

Have you tried waking up to a blue light? Blue light reduces the effectiveness of melatonin in the brain and body. You can possibly leave a light on a timer so that the light turns on when you're supposed to wake. Aside from that, you really need to eat well and get your rhythm back in place as @Tsuki mentioned. 

That's something I have yet to try. I have no idea where to look for the items involved, though. Would I need something like Philips Hue, or something else?

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I get out of bed to check my phone for messages from my long lost girl friend and to boot up my server for the day.

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1 minute ago, Vatablous said:

I get out of bed to check my phone for messages from my long lost girl friend and to boot up my server for the day.

+1 for humor :P

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4 hours ago, computer1up said:

That's something I have yet to try. I have no idea where to look for the items involved, though. Would I need something like Philips Hue, or something else?

Just buy a soft blue bulb like ones for parties or whatever. Put it on a tablelamp and a timer should take care of the rest.

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@computer1up I have the same problem as you do i just need something to get out for if i dont have anything to do that day i will sleep 12 -14 hours straight but if i have something i can get out very easy and i allready leave my windows open for fresh air(even though i am also in the netherlands) but that doesnt help i am getting new blinds soon so that might help but i dont think so.

 

ps i dont have the problem of hitting snooze in my sleep (yet)

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3 hours ago, BlueCrazii said:

@computer1up I have the same problem as you do i just need something to get out for if i dont have anything to do that day i will sleep 12 -14 hours straight but if i have something i can get out very easy and i allready leave my windows open for fresh air(even though i am also in the netherlands) but that doesnt help i am getting new blinds soon so that might help but i dont think so.

 

ps i dont have the problem of hitting snooze in my sleep (yet)

I feel ya, bruh. 

 

I literally had no idea what to do today, so that didn't help. But I got up at 9.30AM this morning, which is quite an accomplishment for my doing. And that by merely preparing so many tools/alarm clocks that reminded me of my goals. Now just to see if I can keep this going during the last weeks of summer holidays. 

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I had (And still have to some extent) the same problem. I sleep like i'm dead and i can easily sleep for 16 hours without an alarm clock.

I too turn off my alarms automatically. But now i'm actually having a decent go at it.
(The threat of losing my job also helps. But i haven't overslept yet. *Knocks on wood. Realizes its an ikea desk and knocks somewhere else* )

I set two alarms. One is the usual phone alarm. And the other is set to a recording of me shouting "GET UP DICKHEAD" in a tunnel. 

Main thing is regularity. I get up at 8 at the very latest. 7 most days. And 5:30 if I've got an early shift. And i try to get 8 hours every single day.

(This is real life however and that doesn't work all the time but it certainly helps) 

Haven't had to hear my second alarm in the mornings yet anyway. And getting up is hugely important. 

I've conditioned myself to just get my arse out of bed when the alarm goes off. No ifs no buts. Get up. 

After I've had my morning coffee and breakfast i can finally feel some energy being produced. 

It takes time though. So just ease into it and you'll get there eventually. 

 

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