How can I become an early riser?

April 30, 2008 5:52 AM

Getting up early in the morning never seems to get easier. Any tips?

How can I make waking up early (5 a.m.) less painful? I feel like my body is glued to the bed when my alarm goes off.

posted by HotPatatta to grab bag (52 comments total)

BIG glass of water before bedtime. Nature's alarm clock.
posted by Stewriffic at 6:03 AM on April 30, 2008

Why do you have to wake up early? That might help in answering the question.

Some general, generic advice: Go to sleep earlier. Set your alarm to before you need to wake up. Be sure you're getting good sleep.
posted by LSK at 6:03 AM on April 30, 2008

Listen to your favorite music. Take a hot or cold shower. Do something, anything, to distract yourself from how crappy getting up at 5am feels to you. Also, go to bed earlier, and allow yourself a few days/weeks to reset your internal clock so that 5am won't feel like 5am after a while.
posted by not_on_display at 6:06 AM on April 30, 2008

There may be a set of tricks to make doing what you are doing a bit less awful, but fundamentally the only way to make it nice is to go to bed early enough that you feel rested by 5am. Anything else, and you body is still going to be fighting for more sleep.
posted by Forktine at 6:06 AM on April 30, 2008

Here's something from Lifehacker:
http://lifehacker.com/385021/boost-your-energy-this-morning-with-simple-exercises
posted by mbarryf at 6:08 AM on April 30, 2008 [2 favorites]

I had to be up that early for years. The only thing that made getting up earlier easy was going to bed early. The alternate of taking naps after work and staying up later made me a more difficult person to live with.

Of all the strategies I tried, the easiest and most successful way to get me out of bed that early were 2 alarm clocks and a very strong financial motivation.
posted by kuujjuarapik at 6:09 AM on April 30, 2008

Have something to look forward to in the morning. A nice walk, tasty breakfast, whatever, something that you *want* to do in the morning.
posted by ian1977 at 6:11 AM on April 30, 2008

Is it still pitch black out when you wake up? If so, have you tried one of those "sunrise" alarm clocks? Essentially, it lights up slowly to simulate the sun rising.

I've never tried one, but I recently been forced to be an early riser and I noticed it became significantly easier once the sun was shining outside (vs. pitch black a few months ago). I guess the idea is that you'll ease out of a deep sleep as the room gets lighter, and it's a cue that it's time to get up. I have no idea if there's any legitimate evidence proving this, but it seems true for me.

The alarms are a little more than I would ever want to pay for a device that causes me so much misery (i.e.: I can't think of something more sadistic than Clocky), but it might be worth a shot. Try buying from a vendor with a good return policy?
posted by giraffe at 6:15 AM on April 30, 2008

Think about how much you'll enjoy something you're going to do that morning, such as eating a yummy breakfast, or that first cup of coffee, or going for a run (for me it's getting to knit on the train;-)). If there's nothing about your morning routine that constitutes an incentive to haul your butt out of bed, incorporate something really enjoyable into your getting up activities.
posted by orange swan at 6:15 AM on April 30, 2008

The only thing that worked for me when I had to do that was making coffee immediately. Basically, the alarm would go off, I'd listen to it for about 30 seconds until it annoyed me enough to get up (it also helped that I sleep on a loft and had to get out of bed to turn the alarm off) then I would just leave the room to make my caffeine fix.
posted by piratebowling at 6:15 AM on April 30, 2008

Have a very loud alarm clock on the other side of the room that you have to get up to answer/hit onto snooze... I find radio alarms are the best so you hear something different every morning. Oh and as everyone else has said, go to bed early.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:16 AM on April 30, 2008

And on refresh I'm reminded that on occasioned where I had to get up unusually early I've left a mug of coffee by the bed the night before to swallow done as soon as I wake... it's cold, fairly nasty, but does the job.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:23 AM on April 30, 2008

One thing that's helped me is using a custom mix CD in the alarm clock. I made a tracklist of soft, acoustic songs, and used Audacity to make the fade in very gradual. Somehow the long fade in lets me wake up slowly, so I don't hit the snooze button.
posted by miniminimarket at 6:39 AM on April 30, 2008 [2 favorites]

Are you sleeping in on the days that you don't have to get up at five? Try getting up every day at five whether you need to or not. I had the same problem you do and this is what finally got my body to understand. Once it's habituated, you can go back to sleeping in (though you'll probably find that you won't sleep in as late as you did before).

You should definitely try to go to bed earlier too, but I found that I had to get my body to expect the 5am wakeup before I would consistently be able to go to sleep earlier.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 6:40 AM on April 30, 2008

Assuming you drink and enjoy coffee...or can get accustomed to it...get an automatic coffee pot with a timer. Time it to start brewing your coffee about 15 minutes before your alarm goes off. I find that the smell of brewing coffee sometimes wakes me up on its own (in a pleasant way), and at the very least, it's a lot less painful to get out of bed to a buzzing alarm when you can smell the inviting scent of freshly brewed coffee. Having an easy and delicious breakfast to look forward to (e.g. some homemade banana bread to toast up, that always works for me!) is also a good early morning bribe.

This will only work, though, if you are getting enough sleep. Otherwise nothing is going to make waking up pleasant, or even less painful.

Also, if your alarm clock makes you want to shoot yourself (mine did), I recommend finding one that progressively gets louder instead of one that starts blaring from the get-go.
posted by tastybrains at 6:43 AM on April 30, 2008

I have a sunrise alarm clock similar to what giraffe mentions. It has helped me immensely.
posted by grouse at 6:52 AM on April 30, 2008

Nthing more sleep, and habituation. I'm up every day at 5:30; having trained the cats to expect breakfast around then....encourages me to get out of bed. Cats are a good alarm system.

I wouldn't say I "enjoy" it, but I'm used to it, and my body's used to it, and unless I've gotten very little sleep the night before (less than four hours), it isn't hard. Force yourself up and out every day for a week or two, and do something nice for yourself when you first get up (mmmm....coffee....), and soon enough you'll be used to it.
posted by rtha at 6:58 AM on April 30, 2008

(for me it's getting to knit on the train;-))

For me, it's getting to sleep more on the train.
posted by owtytrof at 7:06 AM on April 30, 2008

Combining aspects of what others have posted above has worked well for me (5:30 am). I have 2 alarm clocks: a sunrise clock and a "zen" alarm clock. I get up at the same time every day, even on weekends, with rare exceptions. The zen alarm clock has a pleasing sound and kind of a built in snooze, which in combination with the sunrise clock makes getting up reasonably bearable.

And yes, I can't believe I spent that much on alarm clocks either, but this was after experimenting with any number of different options, none of which really worked.

Also, I find that it helps to have gentle, positive motivation to get up early on weekends (which keeps my internal clock from getting all confused and irritated). I don't have a ton of time to watch DVDs during the week, so having my netflix all ready to go at 5:30 on a Saturday with a cup of tea is a pretty nice reason to get out of bed.
posted by MsElaineous at 7:10 AM on April 30, 2008 [4 favorites]

That lifehacker article is close to what I do each morning and it really helps. Also make sure you're getting exercise. When I workout regularly I pop awake each morning, even if I'm short on sleep. When I don't exercise I can sleep soundly and for a long time, but it takes me a long time to get out of bed.
posted by Science! at 7:12 AM on April 30, 2008

My own routine includes setting up two alarm clocks, one of them on my computer (Atomic Alarm Clock). I generally set the alarm on my PC to play a loud rock/metal song that builds up for a few seconds, then goes on to wake up my neighbors too (In Flames - The Mirror's Truth, Static-X - All In Wait, etc), and since I have to get up and turn it off manually, it wakes me up. The second alarm clock's there to make sure that I don't go back to sleep and goes off about three minutes later.

I've heard of those alarm clocks which bounce around in your room, so that you have to literally follow it around, catch it and turn it off. Can't remember the name, maybe someone else can help you out with that.

The first few days will be difficult, but as long as you sleep early (I sleep at midnight), you should be rested and ready to do whatever you want.
posted by cyanide at 7:14 AM on April 30, 2008

I take a slightly different approach than tastybrains - I need a loud, jarring, sudden, & terrifying alarm to actually wake up. I turn the volume all the way up on my clock radio and set it to between two stations - I think right now it's between a classic rock and a Christian talk station. The resulting sound can only be described as the voice of the devil, but it sure as hell gets me out of bed in the morning. (Of course, if you have roommates this may cause a bit of a problem - especially if you're still prone to hitting the snooze button. I learned this the hard way in college.)
posted by Someone has just shot your horse! at 7:14 AM on April 30, 2008

The thing that helped me the most (for the record I am NOT a morning person) was having a girlfriend that needed to get up earlier than I did for work. Once she was up, most of the time I couldn't get back to sleep so I'd just get up.
posted by Elminster24 at 7:23 AM on April 30, 2008

For some reason, Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy on my cellphone always wakes me up.
posted by leigh1 at 7:32 AM on April 30, 2008

Oh, and there is also glo Pillow.
posted by leigh1 at 7:45 AM on April 30, 2008

The snooze button is your enemy. Use a loud alarm and when it goes off, swing your legs around, stand up and go. Don't think about it. Make it a physical reaction to the sound of the alarm. Don't lie there thinking about how warm your bed is and how much you want to go back to sleep. Just start moving and don't have any regrets. Hit the shower and you're on your way.

I used to have a job where I had to get up at 3:30 and after awhile, it gave me a little private sense of superiority. By the time other people got to work at a more normal time, I'd have put in nearly half a day and I felt like I was ahead of everyone. I got a lot of satisfaction out of the self-discipline of embracing the routine instead of fighting it.

Seriously the trick is to hit the ground running as soon as the bell rings. Otherwise you're just torturing yourself.
posted by Kangaroo at 7:48 AM on April 30, 2008 [2 favorites]

We tried a few sunrise clocks and they all had their quirks. We settled on a lamp timer and a regular lamp with a compact fluorescent bulb in it. We have it setup so that it's not enough to jar us awake, but it certainly helps.

6:00 Minnesota Public Radio turns on
6:05 Did I dream that, or did the radio really say that happened?
6:10 Light turns on
6:30 Really need to get out of bed
6:40 Actually get out of bed

The key takeaways for us are that the light really helps a lot in winter and it's nice to allow yourself some time in bed to slowly wake up. We budget around half an hour to getting up. I used to have a buzzer type alarm set for 6:30 in addition to all that and I hated it enough that I eventually learned to get up within the radio without buzzer time.
posted by advicepig at 7:53 AM on April 30, 2008

The trick is not to get up substantially later on your "off" days. I've read that the window between your earliest and latest wakeup time should be 90 minutes, but I don't follow that so strictly myself. That said, I am one of those dreaded morning persons, and getting up at 7 is not a problem. My BF is mystified by my sudden and rapid wakeup process. It's like I jump out of bed. Having an east-facing bedroom window with no curtains or shades also helps.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 8:09 AM on April 30, 2008

What has worked for me (4 AM) is to set a one pleasant alarm that wakes me up (at which point I've conditioned myself to turn on the light), and another alarm 5 minutes later that has no snooze and is a definitive "get-up-now" sound. I believe giving yourself more prolonged snooze-button leeway just leads to more misery. I tend to follow a very solid routine in the morning because it's easy to fall back on that whenever I really don't want to get up.

I also try to build in some quiet time before an early bedtime, so my brain has a chance to spin down.

Also, I'll Nth having something you enjoy in your morning routine. For me, it's listening to a podcast I like on the way to work.
posted by itstheclamsname at 8:24 AM on April 30, 2008

I have one of those old-fashioned bell alarm clocks, and when it goes off, it's quite a shock. For a few weeks after I first got it, I was so scared of being awakened by that horrible clanging that I'd wake up before it went off just in time to shut it off. I've had it a few years now, and I'm used to it, but I'm still in the pattern of waking up before it goes off. Kinda nice really. Waking up on your own is always better than being jolted awake.
posted by katillathehun at 8:25 AM on April 30, 2008

I get up early for work, and the thing that helps me is having the minimum amount of effort to put forth in the morning. I shower, lay out my clothes, pack my lunch, and organize my purse and briefcase the night before. Getting up at 5 AM and doing all that stuff is daunting...getting up at 5 AM and just having to make it as far as the bathroom or that bowl of corn flakes is a lot more do-able for me.
posted by christinetheslp at 8:39 AM on April 30, 2008

I have a Moonbeam clock instead of one of the fancy-schmancy Biobrite ones. I purchased mine from Amazon, but they appear to be out of stock. Anyway, it's intended for people with poor hearing. The light starts flashing (gently at first) and eventually an absolutely godawful sound erupts out of the thing.

It works! Similar to katillathehun's point, I usually wake up to the light just to avoid having to deal with the noise.
posted by juliplease at 8:45 AM on April 30, 2008 [3 favorites]

Seconding kangaroo. The snooze button is evil incarnate, and you must never use it. It is the modern call of the Sirens; one touch, seemingly so innocent, and you're done for.

Don't use it. Rise as soon as the alarm goes off. Like many have said, putting the clock across the room is the best way to compel you to physically get out of bed. Just make sure you stay out of it!
posted by venividivici at 9:05 AM on April 30, 2008

Get a light of some sort to turn on, gradually, so that it's a full light before your alarm goes off. People above in this thread have suggestions (I don't know any). I do know however I have a *much* easier time getting up now as it gets light earlier, vs 3 months ago.

Get up when the alarm goes off. No snooze. I repeat - no snooze. It'll only make you groggier. (who can really get any decent sleep in 9min increments?). Roll out of bed, drag yourself to the shower, and stand there in the warm water until you're awake. That's about all I can handle until I've been up for at least 15 minutes. Finally, the shock of getting out of the nice warm shower into the cold air wakes me up some more.
posted by cgg at 9:26 AM on April 30, 2008

I asked about sunrise alarm clocks last week (http://ask.metafilter.com/89252/Cicadian-or-Sunrise-Alarm-Clocks), and ended up purchasing one from BioBrite.

I've only had it for a few days but so far I'm happy. I have it on my nightstand right next to my bed and I wake up gradually -- it feels like laying in the sun, gentle and bright and warm on my face. This morning it woke me up after a late night (only a few hours of sleep), and I was ready to get up and stay up. It's not magic, but it seems to make the waking process much more pleasant and less traumatic. (The idea of starting every day by being snatched out of sleep by a loud, jarring sound is kind of sadistic).

I've tried several things in the past, including the Zen Alarm clock, which was really great, but mine broke, and I didn't trust it to wake me out of a very deep, been-up-too-late sleep.

The big glass of water before bed thing tends to work, but I can't bear to do that every day -- I save it for special occasions where it's extra urgent that I don't oversleep.

I also had an alarm clock which played a CD track and gradually turned up the volume over 10 minutes or so. I used Ravel's "Bolero," which is very pleasant and gradually builds for about 15 minutes -- then in the final moments there are some big blasty brass chords, which serve as a great "OK LAST CHANCE" alarm. I also tried some renaissance choral music, mostly Thomas Tallis or Palestrina which is very pleasant. The problem is, now that my body is used to the alarm clock, I hear it as soon as it starts playing, even if it's quiet, and hit the snooze button right away.

People suggest avoiding the snooze button altogether but I've found that I'm not conscious of hitting it -- my arm flops over automatically and hits it while I'm still asleep. I'll hit it like 2-3 times before I realize I've done it. In college I woke up once to my roommate standing over me trying to figure out how to turn my alarm off, which had been blaring for several minutes.

I've toyed with the idea of removing the snooze button altogether or attaching a thumbtack to it (point-side-out). But before I resort to drastic measures, I'm hoping the Sunrise clock will continue to be a success.
posted by Alabaster at 9:33 AM on April 30, 2008

I hate mornings. Really hate them. In college, I chose a major based on my ability to schedule afternoon classes. Then I had a baby.

Each morning I awaken to the gentle sound of high pitched screeching. This gently reminds me to get up and feed it. If I fail to get up, the screeching gets louder. When I do get up, I get to see that little face though looking up at me through the tears and smiling. That is a great reward.

So, short of having a baby, could you get a pet? Someone that depends on you for life and needs to be fed first thing in the morning. Someone who will remind you of this by barking or scratching your face or screeching?
posted by Pollomacho at 10:47 AM on April 30, 2008

What katillathehun said: when I was subsisting on five hours of sleep in high school, I had an incredibly harsh alarm clock that just about gave me a heart attack. But there was a tiny, tiny click just before the BWAAA BWAAA BWAAA, and after a while my body would wake up at that click and rocket me out of bed and across the room to kill the alarm before the DefCon horn started. It wasn't pleasant, but it sure got me up.

More fun: find some music that makes you want to move (Cheb Mami does it for me) and have it ready by your bed to turn on as soon as you wake up. Go into dance mode immediately and don't stop til you're fully dressed with teeth brushed.

If you can, arrange your room so morning sun hits the head of your bed.
posted by hippugeek at 11:31 AM on April 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

When I had to get up earlier than usual for one year of contract work, I did as much as I could the night before to get ready.

This included laying out clothing, packing my lunch, taking a shower, EVERYTHING I could think of that could be done the night before.

In addition, you might try putting a glass of water and a packet of Emergen-C or a caffeine pill or whatever you like next to the bed and downing it when you hit your snooze button in the morning. When you feel energy, whether it's from an energy shot drink, vitamin C, or whatever pulsing through you, it's easier to get up. Coffee gives me indigestion first thing in the morning, but I take levoxyl now, and that's enough to get me up and moving.

Having most of the tasks done for myself the night before allowed me 20 minutes of extra sleep, and I needed it!

Also, putting the alarm clock as far away as possible could be helpful. Getting up to go across the room to turn it off means you're already ambulatory; it's harder to get back into bed than not at that point.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 12:02 PM on April 30, 2008

I'm surprised no-one linked Steve Pavlina on How to become an early riser.
posted by mendel at 12:12 PM on April 30, 2008

The most obnoxious wake-up song of all time: Cotton-eyed Joe (YouTube). I literally cannot imagine going back to sleep.
posted by answergrape at 12:35 PM on April 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

2nding mendel. Pavlina's advice works for me.
posted by swapspace at 1:51 PM on April 30, 2008

I believe that Vincent Price's song about pork chops rivals cotton-eyed joe as a tune so vigorously insane that it demands that one cannot remain unconscious in its presence. I wake up to it every day.
posted by itstheclamsname at 5:08 PM on April 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

So, short of having a baby, could you get a pet? Someone that depends on you for life and needs to be fed first thing in the morning.

What kind of pet is going to expire if you don't feed it first thing in the morning? I have terrible problems getting up, and through gradual acclimation, my dogs are as lazy in the morning as I am.
posted by jayder at 6:17 PM on April 30, 2008

I have had a major problem with getting up early since ever, and it took me until recently to realize that what wakes me up is getting vertical. So, I've started putting my alarm clock far enough away from my bed that I have to get up on my knees and lean out of my bed precariously to turn off the beep-beep-beep. Soon as my head gets oriented up-and-down and not side-to-side, I regain some of my faculties. I was having problems dragging my butt out of bed and also not being capable of thought when my alarm went off. Moving my alarm has helped hugely- next step is moving it across the room.
posted by MadamM at 7:42 PM on April 30, 2008

3rding mendel, and also expressing surprise that it's taken this long to link an article with the same title as the askMe thread!

If you're really daring, read Steve's series on being a polyphasic sleeper. Scary stuff!
posted by ranglin at 9:37 PM on April 30, 2008

Why do you have to wake up early? That might help in answering the question.

I have to get up for work. M-F. I love my job, so dreading work isn't an issue.

Is it still pitch black out when you wake up?

I posted the question right after I dragged myself out of bed at 5:52 a.m. I'm supposed to be up by 5:30, but I'm a slave to the snooze button.
posted by HotPatatta at 10:53 PM on April 30, 2008

Riiight. I've done every thing in the comments above, but only now have I succeeded. Should I tell you my secret? I spent a month in asia, and when I got back I never bothered correcting the jet lag time difference. So I still wake up asian time, which is early morning for me.

If this is not an option for you, do this: Spend tonight coding or playing around till 5a.m in the morning. Then sleep, but set a LOT of alarms for 7a.m. So you'lll basically get 2 hours of sleep tonight. Stay awake all day, and by 9pm tonight, you'll be extremely tired. You sleep off, and you will get enough sleep to wake up by 5. The next night, you will become tired at the same time, go to bed again, and force this habit for about a week. Then you can slowly increase your bedtime.

You'll feel bad for a week, but after that its fine.
posted by markovich at 12:13 AM on May 1, 2008 [1 favorite]

Having only sheer curtains on my window helps a lot. I usually use my cell phone as my alarm, backed up by my iHome if necessary.

Also, this thread has made me laugh out loud several times. :)
posted by IndigoRain at 1:32 AM on May 1, 2008

"We settled on a lamp timer and a regular lamp with a compact fluorescent bulb in it."

That's what I've done for over a year now, and I can't believe it took me so long. I also have a fairly diffuse lantern-style shade, which gives the whole room a mellow glow. (For a brief period, I was using a desk lamp. That was as jarring as nothing at all.)

Also, a south- or east-facing window helps, if you can manage it, although at 5 am, that might not be any help except right at summer solstice. :)

The light comes on about 15 minutes before my alarm (cell phone) goes off, so I'm already sort of awake by then. Plus I build in about 10 more minutes to gradually get all the way to awake before toddling off to my shower.

Sometimes I miss waking up to the radio, but too often it was like advicepig described:

"6:00 Minnesota Public Radio turns on
6:05 Did I dream that, or did the radio really say that happened?"

(So many early morning dreams in which suddenly major world figures appear in my ongoing random dream.....)
posted by epersonae at 9:54 AM on May 1, 2008

I have a bright therapeutic light (from Northern Lights) that I put on a store-bought electronic timer (the mechanical dial-type ones are not accurate enough). Then I also set the alarm on my cell phone. For me, it works much better than an audible alarm alone. Hearing an alarm in the morning just makes me want to burrow, but having the light first somehow primes me for the phone alarm. It took me 20 years to figure this out! I hope it helps.
posted by ebellicosa at 9:45 PM on May 1, 2008

A lot of good suggestions. I also recommend getting some morning tasks out of the way the night before (choosing the day's clothes, cleaning the kitchen, packing your bag/briefcase, making a lunch -- anything you don't like doing.) I'd also recommend establishing a solid morning routine, so that you know the first thing to do as soon as you get up. Hopefully that routine can include (preferably start with) something you enjoy or something that perks you up, like coffee or a shower or stretching in front of morning TV. If starting the day seems like an ordeal, you are a lot more likely to stay in bed.
posted by bryanlacksfocus at 5:32 AM on May 2, 2008

Seconding Pollomacho.

Have a baby. You'll never be able to sleep in again or that's how it seems, my girl is only 2 but I can't seem to sleep in even when she's away with her mother.
posted by Gooberoo at 12:55 PM on May 6, 2008