Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with wakeup

Sleeping through 100mg of caffeine.

brenton — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:12:26 -0800

Why doesn't 100mg of caffeine wake me up in the morning? I have a lot of trouble waking up in the morning. I have multiple alternating alarms, a dawn simulator wake up light... and now crackheads.

Crackheads are these caffeinated dark chocolate covered espresso beans with 600mg of caffeine per box (which works out to 100mg of caffeine for 6 beans.)

I put the beans by my bed and I eat them when my alarm goes off.. I started with 5 beans a few days ago, but I fell back to sleep. I've been increasing the 'dosage' and this morning at 6am I ate 9 or 10 (I may have dropped one) but I then promptly fell back asleep until 10am. I slept 11 hours, having gone to bed at 11pm last night!

Is there something wrong with me? Caffeine normally makes me all awake and alert, sometimes jittery. Is there some secret property to caffeine that requires water, or that doesn't work while you're asleep? What's the deal?

Help me wake up!

pakoothefakoo — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 09:00:14 -0800

Help me get up in mornings! I freelance, in where I can work anywhere and anytime. This gives me an unstructured life which is making it notoriously difficult for me to get up in the morning.

When I have an early appointment, I would get up within 30 minutes within the appointment despite wanting to wake up earlier so I can prepare for the day. But when I'm left to my own devices, I usually sleep 12-14 hours, and it's driving me crazy.

I usually to go to bed at a reasonable hour (around 11pm), but I end up sleeping into the next day. I'm deaf so I rely on vibrating alarms, but I would just hit the snooze button ad infinitum. I would wake up feeling groggy and depressed that I wasted the better half of my day.

I'm semi-conscious during the process, and I'm vaguely aware that I'm making the choice to sleep in, and when I do, I'd beat myself up for making that "choice" even though I really want to get up early.

This is beginning to interfere with my work and life. As I get paid by the hour, this is making me poor, frustrated and depressed.

It's driving me crazy! Suggestions?

Bzzzzzzzzz Help me find a alarm clock

DJWeezy — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 16:11:41 -0800

Help me find a clock radio. Here is a list of things it must have:

digital fm tuner
decent sounding speaker(s)
sleep function where i can go to sleep to the radio
alarm to wake up to a buzz or something loud

and here are the things i would like

internet radio capability (hard wired or wifi wpa, doesn't matter)
military or standard time

thank you oh great people of the green.

Dawn Simulator Without Backlight

cm — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:42:02 -0800

Does anyone know of a dawn simulator alarm clock with a display without backlight? Or a display with a backlight than can be disabled? Ideally it would be the type that you plug an external light source into but I suppose I can live with one with an integrated light.

The only one I've found that I believe doesn't have a backlight is this one:
Sunrise Creator

DIY Dawn simulator

fermezporte — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:54:18 -0800

Why are dawn simulator alarm clocks so expensive? What would I be missing if I made one myself? I'm interested in dawn simulator alarm clocks - the kind that wake you up gradually with increasing light. I wake up easily in the summer when it is light out, but in the winter it's miserable getting out of bed in a dark room. However a lot of the ones I've looked at seem to be extremely expensive (including those linked to on this question). Is there something these clocks have that I would be missing if I simply attached a lamp with a full spectrum bulb to a timer? Are there timers (that don't cost an arm and a leg) that make lights gradually brighter? I don't need another alarm clock radio or aromatherapy or nature noises or any of those extras, but ideally the light would gradually increase until my room was daylight-level bright. Ideally I'd like to spend sub-30 dollars since this is an experiment that might not work, but I'd love to hear any testimonials that might convince me that its worth it.

Is the Sleeptracker for me?

jacquilynne — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 10:27:48 -0800

Does the Sleeptracker watch actually work? I've searched and found countless links on MeFi to the Sleeptracker watch, as a suggestion for people struggling to get up in the morning. That's all well and good, but I didn't get the impression that anyone had actually, you know, tried it.

So, has anyone tried it? Did it work?

I find there are definitely spots in my morning when I'm already awake, or at least more awake than other times. If I get up during those times, my day goes better than if I wait for my alarm or snooze to go off. If the Sleeptracker is successful at finding those times, I think it could really help me. But is it?

Cicadian or Sunrise Alarm Clocks?

Alabaster — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 12:54:48 -0800

Anybody have experience with cicadian rhythm alarm clocks or "sunrise" alarm clocks? More inside... I'm a gadget lover with a snooze-button addiction and I'm curious about whether the right alarm clock would help me feel less miserable about dragging myself out of bed in the morning. I've read about alarm clocks that measure your cicadian rhythms to wake you up at a time when your body feels well rested and wondered if anyone has had any experience with them (specific brand/model recommendations are welcome, but I'm happy with general advice as well).

I'm also curious about alarm clocks that wake you up by simulating a sunrise (I love being woken up naturally by the sun, but my career requires me to wake up before sunrise). My wife suffers from seasonal effective disorder and uses light therapy, so this might be nice for her, especially compared to my annoying 6-times-per-morning snooze button routine.

Any suggestions on these types of alarm clocks would be appreciated. (I already have an alarm clock which wakes me up by playing music or nature sounds with gradually increasing volume, so I don't need suggestions on this type).

Thanks

Waking up too hot but not sweaty

fructose — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:15:15 -0800

What do I call this symptom- waking up too hot? I've had the problem over the past few months of waking up burning hot. I'm not looking for medical suggestions, just wanting to know what I would refer to this symptom as, or if there's a better way to put it. When I Google or search on sites like WebMD for "wake up too hot," or "wake up too warm," or "wake up burning," etc, nothing comes up.

It's not a night-sweat because I'm not excessively sweaty when I wake up, esp. considering how hot I am when I wake up. I usually wake up 1-2 hours earlier than normal and have to turn down the heat even more, or turn up the fan, take off covers, etc. I sleep in little, got a thinner blanket, use a fan, etc. Boyfriend sleeps in same bed and is fine even in pants and a shirt.

Wakey wakey!

pdb — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 10:30:14 -0800

LoTechFilter: I need a clock radio. Recommendations? I detest my current clock radio, and want a new one. I don't want anything fancy - I don't want ipod dockability, I don't want a CD player, I just want a good, easy-to-use clock radio (I'm an NPR in the morning guy, that's really all I need). Here's my list of must-haves:

- two alarms
- digital-tuning radio
- not too much brightness (adjustable would be nice but if brightness isn't adjustable the lower the better)
- smallish form factor

Anybody have an alarm clock that they love and want to recommend?

Wake Up!

octomato — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 11:02:53 -0800

How can I start waking up earlier? Lately I've been going to bed pretty early (11:00 PM-12:30 AM), but I can't manage to wake up early. I start work at 10:00 AM my commute is a short 10-minute one. This means I find any excuse to stay in bed until 8:30AM. I'm pretty active on my weeknights taking language classes, going to yoga, going out with friends, ect. So it's not like I'm a lazy ass.

My alarm is set for 7:45 AM but I can manage to wake up that early. Is there anyway of creating a good habit of waking up early? And not sleeping 8 hours every night?

Sleep, Interrupted

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 22:17:41 -0800

Why am I waking up exactly one hour after I fall asleep... with a giant urge to urinate... almost every night? I am a male in his mid-30s, and apart from some depression, I'm in otherwise good health. This has been going on for well over a year, and it really does seem to happen almost exactly an hour after I've fallen asleep; or as near as I can tell.

Most (but not all) nights I'll wake with the desperate urge to urinate... and I do mean desperate... to the point where I feel like I'm going to lose control of my bladder. There is no burning, nor any other symptoms, that go along with the urge. What's strange is that, roughly 25% of the time, I won't be able to "go" at all once I'm up. On those occasions, I'll just go back to sleep and be fine until morning. And about half the time when I am able to go, it's nothing significant. I don't generally drink copious amounts of liquids before bed.

I do not have any related or similar problems during the waking hours, so it does not seem like prostatitis based on what I've read. (Although, now that I think about it, I can't stand to sit in the middle of a row in a crowded theater. If I do, I'll usually be convinced that I have to get up and go before the show starts, and then usually not be able to produce anything. I guess I've got "issues".)

I recently asked my doctor about this, and he responded with a more-or-less blank stare. Any ideas?

Find me an alarm clock that doesn't suck.

jimmy0x52 — Thu, 13 Jul 2006 08:55:05 -0800

AlarmClockFilter: I'm picky about exactly what I need for an alarm clock and I'd like to harness your collective searching powers to find what I want Much like in this post I need an alarm clock with a certain set of features. Unlike this post, my features are different (some the same).

Also - all the links in that previous post seem to not work..

Requirements:

Digital Face

Face must be always lit - i.e. no button required to see it at night

Battery backup (so power outages don't require resets)

Alarm that stays on until turned off - NOT an alarm that turns off once 8:01 hits if it's set for 8:00

LED or similar - NOT an LCD. I don't like having to get my head in the right position just to see the screen

Would like:

Projects time onto the roof

The ability to set alarm and clock time seperate - none of this 'hold the clock button and press up and down' or vice-versa business

That's about it. Size isn't really a factor. I like green LED's but really any color is fine.

Oh - and the clocks with most of these features with the blue backlit faces - I have one. The alarm a) doesn't stay on past 8:00 and b) the face can only be looked at direct on because it's an LCD.

Help me change my sleep schedule for the day!

tastybrains — Thu, 04 May 2006 02:11:16 -0800

For a day-long business trip, I have to wake up at 4 am to catch a train and be at a client's site by 10 am, and be functional once I'm there. How can I prepare to deal with the drastic change to my sleep schedule (both falling asleep the night before & keeping energy up during the day) so I can do a good job? I normally wake up at 7:30 am, so waking up at 4 am is completely crazy to me.

I'm afraid that even if I go to bed at 8pm that I won't be able to fall asleep. I could take something like Bayer PM to knock myself out, but then I might be too groggy to even drive to the train station. Are there any other tricks to falling asleep early, or anything OTC I can take that won't leave me groggy in the morning?

Also, what can I do to keep my energy up during the day? I've never had any of the popular energy drinks ... should I bring a couple of sugar-free Red Bulls or something? Anything else?

The trip is tomorrow, I've had almost no notice to prepare for this trip, so the only thing I was able to do so far was wake up at 5 am today to try & help make myself sleepy enough to fall asleep insanely early tonight.

Thanks for any advice!

What's the best part of your daily routines?

the giant pill — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 13:26:40 -0800

If you have a routine that you regularly do at night or in the morning, what have been the most beneficial things you've added to your routine that have improved the quality of your life? I'm having trouble establishing routines that are meaningful to me and I'd like some suggestions.

My computer keeps turning back on

pheideaux — Thu, 19 Aug 2004 10:13:29 -0800

Here's a weird one: my computer has been turning back on two or three minutes after I power down for the night. It only stays off after I shut it down for a second time. What's strange is that it is undeniably off during those three minutes; no lights, no fans, nothing. The machine just rises from the dead.

This has only been happening for the past week or so. It's an XP computer running an Athlon 2500 on an MSI motherboard with the factory power supply. Any ideas?

Wake-Up Call Needed!

Juicylicious — Wed, 16 Jun 2004 07:42:16 -0800

I need help waking up! I sleep so soundly that I do not hear my alarm clock. This has been a problem for years. Currently, I use both the buzzer and radio options on my clock, plus I have a wake up service that calls twice in the morning. I don't hear any of it unless I've been sleeping at least six hours. I know that the obvious answer is to go to bed earlier, but that's not always an option for me. Can anyone recommend a really loud and obnoxious alarm clock?