Waking up
None of this is expert advice. It's what people worked out for themselves, usually the hard way — what actually helped, and what they'd tell someone standing where you are. Take what fits and leave the rest.
If you only read a few
Avoid consuming caffeine before bed.
It can take hours to fall asleep.
one person who lived it
Change your alarm tone every few days or weekly to prevent getting used to the sound and sleeping through it.
Alternating sounds helps you avoid incorporating the beep into dreams or becoming accustomed to a specific noise.
5 people, independently
Use a clock with red digits if you need a bedside timepiece.
Red light is less intense on the eyes and helps retain night vision.
one person who lived it
Have a partner, sibling, or roommate verbally call your name or physically prompt you to wake up.
One person snapped awake when their brother lightly said their name; another found a good roommate helpful.
- A spouse may turn off the alarm without successfully waking the sleeper.
one person who lived it
Stop checking the time at night and assume it is sleep time until an alarm sounds.
Thinking about how much sleep time remains can worsen sleep quality.
one person who lived it
Try a bed shaker or vibrating pillow if sound-based alarms are ineffective.
Vibration can wake heavy sleepers who sleep through loud noises.
- One user reported still sleeping through a device that blinks, beeps at absurd volume, and shakes the bed.
one person who lived it
Turn on all lights in your apartment immediately after turning off the alarm to wake up faster.
By the time this is done, one person reported being 75% awake.
one person who lived it
Disable the snooze function on your alarm to eliminate the option of delaying wake-up.
It removes the choice to delay getting up.
one person who lived it
Place your phone far enough away that you must stand up to reach it, leveraging your compulsion to use it upon waking.
Leverages the compulsion to use the phone when waking up.
one person who lived it
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Avoid pulling all-nighters before important events.
Lack of sleep kills awareness and messes up mornings.
one person who lived it
Motivate yourself to wake up by considering the impact on a sleeping partner.
You want to avoid bothering them.
one person who lived it
Use a vibrating wrist device alongside audio alarms to wake up faster.
Wrist vibration combined with phone alarms accelerates waking.
one person who lived it
If you struggle with morning rationalization, get into a warm shower immediately upon waking before giving yourself time to think.
Sleepy thinking is shortsighted and illogical; having a hot shower to look forward to helps motivation.
one person who lived it
Use an annoying noise, such as a siren, mosquito sound, or a jarring song clip, as your alarm ringtone instead of the default tone.
3 people, independently