Alarm Clocks

December 21, 2004 2:49 PM

I'm having a bit harder time adjusting to winter in the pacific northwest than I initially thought I would. It's not the rain so much as the shorter days -- I find I really have a hard time getting out of bed in the mornings, even when I get a full 8 hours the night before. I'm investigating something like a progressive wake up alarm clock, which is supposed to simulate sunrise. Anyone used anything like this? Are they worth the $50? Is there someplace other than Hammacher-Schlemmer to pick one up?
posted by jimray to health & fitness (23 answers total)

I use 2 alarms here in NYC--one situated so that i actually have to get up and out of bed to turn it off. You could try that. It's terrible this time of year.
posted by amberglow at 3:00 PM on December 21, 2004

Jimray, today is literally the worst day. Tomorrow it starts getting lighter earlier and staying lighter later, if you can make it through until mid-January you probably won't even notice any more. After a couple of years you still complain about it, but trust me that it doesn't hit you as hard.

As to the alarm, we had one that progressively got louder (not lighter) for a few years, and both my wife and I found it more annoying than just the blaring/jarring models. I can't see how the light thing would help much. I've heard good things about the sunlamp type things for people who are hit really hard by SAD, but never in association with alarm clocks.

I'm not sure how Seattle's weather has been, but in Portland we've had enough sunny days this year to stave off the real gloomy winter feeling. If it's sunny outside take a break and go for a quick walk outside, you'll be surprised how much better you feel--and how much more productive you are--when you get back.

Remember the upside of all of this is that in the summertime it's light out until almost 10pm, and the landscape isn't a dead brown color. Good luck!
posted by togdon at 3:01 PM on December 21, 2004

Best thing to do is to get a timer for a light switch. A friend got that when he moved to Edmonton (imagine the short days there). His alarm went off but he said what made the difference was having the lights come on. It was set up for a bright bedroom in the AM.
posted by Salmonberry at 3:07 PM on December 21, 2004

There have been two other threads that talked about SAD somewhat that you might also want to look at [here, in MeTa oddly, and here]. When I lived in Seattle, what really helped me with mild SAD was to set my alarm for 15 minutes earlier and turn on some really crazy-bright overhead lights and lie under them, even with my eyes closed, for 15 minutes until it was time to really get up. I used one of those alarm clocks briefly and didn't notice that it was super helpful, but I didn't really try that hard with it either, so ymmv. The second thread has a link to building your own light box, if such things interest you.
posted by jessamyn at 3:07 PM on December 21, 2004

I don't really have any advice to deal with the short days (I've lived in Washington for about twenty-two years, so I'm really used to it), but if it makes you feel any better, the really short days we have here (where the sun goes down at about 4 o' clock) means that we get really long days in the summer (where the sun goes down sometime after 10 pm). That, to me, is the creepier than the sun going down around 4pm.
posted by Captain_Tenille at 3:15 PM on December 21, 2004

Hrm. If I weren't sick, I would have noticed that togdon said the exact same thing I did.
In any case, the sun's going down at 4:25 pm today in Olympia. I assume it will be slightly sooner in Seattle.
posted by Captain_Tenille at 3:20 PM on December 21, 2004

Remember the upside of all of this is that in the summertime it's light out until almost 10pm, and the landscape isn't a dead brown color. Good luck!

Amen to that. This past summer was aweseome. And, being from the south, the total lack of a) humidity and b) mosquitos was transcendant.

Thanks for the advice/links, y'all. I think maybe I'll try the light switch timer and/or build my own lightbox tips when I get back from the holidays.
posted by jimray at 3:20 PM on December 21, 2004

One thing you might try is taking a trip to the Indoor Sun Shoppe or in the Volunteer Park Conservatory. The Indoor Sun Shoppe sells light boxes - their prices are about as low as you'll find anywhere if you're determined to NOT build your own.

The Conservatory is wonderful because you can take a book, sit down on a bench, and enjoy the warmth, light and be surrounded by exotic plants. That's one of my tricks for dealing with SAD. Maybe I'll see you there this winter :-)
posted by glyphlet at 3:38 PM on December 21, 2004

I bought this sunrise simulator about a month ago and I LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Seriously. I wake up & it's warm & bright and I smile because it feels like summer. I never do that in the winter. Less than $30 bucks including shipping & you can plug in your own lamp, so you don't have something ugly sitting in your room.
posted by belladonna at 3:45 PM on December 21, 2004

Well, I don't think that I know salmonberry, but I do live in Edmonton. Right now it's 4:44pm (MST) and the sky is almost dark. I hate it, hate it, hate it! 29 years of this crap has got me down. :-)

Anyhow, thanks for that link glyphlet. I've been thinking about trying to buy one of these for a long time. I think I'm going to finally get myself one.
posted by C.Batt at 3:47 PM on December 21, 2004

Holy smokes belladonna, I'm buying one of those instead. Right now! (huge price difference.
posted by C.Batt at 3:51 PM on December 21, 2004

I would definitely go for the sunrise simulator. I've lived in the Pacific NW close to 20 yrs. and there will be no "getting used to" winter here for me. It hits me like a ton of pudding every year. For months I feel like I'm moving in slow-motion chest deep in pudding. (I remember reading that Tom Robbins said winters here are like being digested by an oyster. Too true.) We started with a timer on a light switch. It helped, but was a really rude way to wake up. Now we have a dawn simulator and it's wonderful. We also have a Verilux floor lamp, I take a B-Complex vitamin, and I take a walk even if it's crappy out because there's still more light getting to my eyeballs than if I were inside. And I remind myself that Spring will be glorious and sunset in July will be after 9:00pm. Woohoo!
posted by lobakgo at 4:29 PM on December 21, 2004

I saw one of those alarms at Sharper Image the other day (starting to feel like I'm shilling for them!), but I didn't note the price.
posted by rushmc at 5:25 PM on December 21, 2004

this may be very controversial advice, but what really helped me the first few winters after moving to Vancouver BC, 15 years ago, was going for a short sun-tanning session two or three times a week at a local gym, first thing in the morning, in January and February.

I did this not often enough to look like I had returned from two weeks in Florida, I only had a mild tan. However, cosmetic changes aside, the hot light n the morning made me feel great all day long.

Back then, a 20-minute session in a tanning booth (uva light) was not long enough to get a tan, let alone a burn. These days, tanning beds have stronger rays so please beware.
posted by seawallrunner at 5:28 PM on December 21, 2004

Try some 5-HTP and SAM-e. I find the former particularly helps lift my mood a bit (and also makes me less hungry -- bonus!).
posted by kindall at 5:41 PM on December 21, 2004

I remember being forced by French-Polish girlfriend to close shutters at night in winter, which made waking up almost impossible. Leave some of the window open (at least to the sky. Also, I recommend just setting the alarm clock earlier, and yes, get the lights on asap (and just lay in bed for a while). I FEEL YOUR PAIN.

PS: for me, this aspect of winter is actually the worst in late January-Mid February--why is that?
posted by ParisParamus at 7:17 PM on December 21, 2004

Jimray, today is literally the worst day. Tomorrow it starts getting lighter earlier and staying lighter later,

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but that's not quite right. It's the shortest day, yes, but shortest day ? latest sunrise.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:40 PM on December 21, 2004

s/?/≠
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:40 PM on December 21, 2004

These things really depend on how you sleep. My ex had one of these, and frankly it didn't do anything for me, I would just wake up once it got bright enough to wake me up. If you are a light sleeper, I can see it helping, but if you slumber hard-core then you will just find yourself rudely awakened in a well lit room.
posted by modofo at 11:51 PM on December 21, 2004

DevilsAdvocate: thanks for that.
posted by ParisParamus at 3:46 AM on December 22, 2004

Consider yourself lucky that your first winter to acclimate yourself has been unusually dry and sunny. From fall to the end of spring it usually is OPPRESSIVELY GREY AND RAINY. I have learned to love it, but most newcomers can't take it.
posted by roboto at 12:01 PM on December 22, 2004

I picked up a Bio-Brite a few months back - it really does help me get out of bed. I time it to glow full-on just as the clock radio turns on, and it makes dark winter mornings a little less gloomy.
posted by ChuqD at 12:31 PM on December 22, 2004

I didn't know I wanted one of those, but now I do! I live in Norway, currently it gets light half past nine, and by then I've been working for two hours.

I use the same trick as Salmonberry told about, a timer on the light switch. The light and my radio switches on fifteen minutes before the alarm clock of Doom -situated on the other side of the room- starts yelling, by then I'm comfortably almost awake.
posted by mummimamma at 2:07 PM on December 22, 2004