Tips for getting out of bed in the AM!

msliu7911
msliu7911 Posts: 638 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone, for a while now I've been trying to get on a schedule of waking up at 5am (not just for working out, but studying before work). It seems that even when I get 5-7 hours of sleep.. I still cannot wake up by 5. I'll set multiple alarm clocks and snooze them all without realizing it, then wake up a couple hours later :(.

I'm recovering from a severe cold, so maybe thats why its been so hard lately... but this was happening even before I caught my cold.

Any ideas on how to reset my internal clock and get on this new schedule? Or just how to get out of bed in general?

Thanks!

Replies

  • Live4theLift
    Live4theLift Posts: 329
    I have to force myself to get up. I have been getting up at 4:30 every day for the past year and all I can say is once your up and about your glad your up. So kinda just roll out of bed regardless lol
  • MorgueBabe
    MorgueBabe Posts: 1,188 Member
    I wish I could have this problem. I have two dogs and a cat. If I'm not up early to feed and walk them you'd think the house was burning down.
  • bergpa
    bergpa Posts: 148 Member
    Get a cat and refresh its food dish in the morning. You'll never sleep past 5 again.
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,783 Member
    Instead of setting the alarm an hour or two earlier and hitting the alarm, set your alarm 10-15 minutes earlier each day. As you gradually wake up earlier, it is likely you will be more successful. You will be re-setting your internal clock gradually.
  • redhead1910
    redhead1910 Posts: 304 Member
    I used to sleep in my running clothes and put my shoes right by my bed so that when the alarm went off I would feel too guilty to go back to sleep. :P But now I have a pretty set sleeping schedule so I don't have much advice to offer.
  • bergpa
    bergpa Posts: 148 Member
    I wish I could have this problem. I have two dogs and a cat. If I'm not up early to feed and walk them you'd think the house was burning down.

    Our pets even have us posting at the same time!
  • MorgueBabe
    MorgueBabe Posts: 1,188 Member
    I wish I could have this problem. I have two dogs and a cat. If I'm not up early to feed and walk them you'd think the house was burning down.

    Our pets even have us posting at the same time!

    LOL seriously; cats have an amazing internal alarm. I'm so confident in it I don't even bother setting a real alarm.
  • rose228822
    rose228822 Posts: 186 Member
    Good afternoon,
    Maybe you need more than 5 to 7 hours sleep...maybe 8? Also, are you drinking any caffeine or eating right before you sleep? I used to do this and could not fall asleep and struggled to get out of bed in the morning. I have been getting up at 5am for the last several weeks or even as early as 4:30am and getting to the gym by 5:30 for an hour work out...the first several days were hard but now I have so much more energy and feel the day hasn't slipped away. In the morning I usually have a 3/4 cup of Special K and a cup of coffee to get my day started and the Special K has 10 grams of protein...I wish you all the best and good luck with your studies:)
  • JWat2020
    JWat2020 Posts: 80 Member
    I have been trying to wake up 45 minutes early (4:30am) so I can stretch and do the elliptical before work. I have a TON of extra energy at night when I exercise and I would like to have that during the day instead.

    But every time my alarm goes off my brain tells me I can exercise later.
  • msliu7911
    msliu7911 Posts: 638 Member
    Good afternoon,
    Maybe you need more than 5 to 7 hours sleep...maybe 8? Also, are you drinking any caffeine or eating right before you sleep? I used to do this and could not fall asleep and struggled to get out of bed in the morning. I have been getting up at 5am for the last several weeks or even as early as 4:30am and getting to the gym by 5:30 for an hour work out...the first several days were hard but now I have so much more energy and feel the day hasn't slipped away. In the morning I usually have a 3/4 cup of Special K and a cup of coffee to get my day started and the Special K has 10 grams of protein...I wish you all the best and good luck with your studies:)

    Thank you! I don't have caffeine before bed but I do have a habit of having a snack before bed (less than an hour or so before). Maybe I'll try cutting back on that.
  • sarahg148
    sarahg148 Posts: 701 Member
    I've been a night person my whole life. Even when I was little I was never one to jump out of bed. My parents would have to knock on my door a few times before I got going. Early for me is 8am to get up. 10am for the gym is early for me and I also have less energy to workout harder at that time.
  • GoldspursX3
    GoldspursX3 Posts: 516 Member
    I place one alarm clock across the room on the dresser so I have to get out of bed to turn it off.
  • M______
    M______ Posts: 288 Member
    Instead of setting the alarm an hour or two earlier and hitting the alarm, set your alarm 10-15 minutes earlier each day. As you gradually wake up earlier, it is likely you will be more successful. You will be re-setting your internal clock gradually.

    I like this advice :)

    I used to hate getting up earlier than 5am. I tried and tried but also snoozed my alarm and ended up rushing around like a crazy man in the mornings. Personally I would swear it was because half asleep and confused I'd forgotten that I wanted to be up this early. I never had the problem when I needed to be up early to catch flights, but to do exercise or work - it was like I had amnesia come the morning.

    I used the above advice myself and it got me used to 'buying' that I had to be up early :)
  • msliu7911
    msliu7911 Posts: 638 Member
    I wish I could have this problem. I have two dogs and a cat. If I'm not up early to feed and walk them you'd think the house was burning down.

    Our pets even have us posting at the same time!

    LOL seriously; cats have an amazing internal alarm. I'm so confident in it I don't even bother setting a real alarm.

    LOL. Wow, I wish my dog would be that way. I can't get a cat though... semi-allergic. HOWEVER maybe a rooster?!! Not sure if there are any code/ HOA restrictions on that though, being that I live in a residential neighborhood. :P
  • pestopoli
    pestopoli Posts: 111 Member
    I agree - 5-7 is NOT for everybody, and probably not for most people. It was batted around as a news story not too long ago that only about 10% of people can function adequately on 6 hours of sleep.

    You may need to try a full 8 hours. Getting to bed on time may be a life adjustment, but you have to weigh it against your long term goals and decide if it's worth it. Part of my weight loss strategy has had to be a strict 9:30 PM bedtime. It was tough, and it meant actually changing groups of friends, but I wouldn't go back for the world.

    Another tip: for some people, like light sleepers, getting a full 8 hours of sleep requires a full 9 hours IN the bed - time to fall asleep, time to wake up to go to the bathroom, time to wake up, etc. I do 9:30 - 6:30 AM, and wake up fully ready to get out of bed.
  • msliu7911
    msliu7911 Posts: 638 Member
    Instead of setting the alarm an hour or two earlier and hitting the alarm, set your alarm 10-15 minutes earlier each day. As you gradually wake up earlier, it is likely you will be more successful. You will be re-setting your internal clock gradually.

    I like this advice :)

    I used to hate getting up earlier than 5am. I tried and tried but also snoozed my alarm and ended up rushing around like a crazy man in the mornings. Personally I would swear it was because half asleep and confused I'd forgotten that I wanted to be up this early. I never had the problem when I needed to be up early to catch flights, but to do exercise or work - it was like I had amnesia come the morning.

    I used the above advice myself and it got me used to 'buying' that I had to be up early :)

    You sound just like me! If I have an early meeting/presentation at work, need to catch a flight, etc... I'll have NO problem getting up! Its like my half-asleep self is personally sabatoging my goals to study and work out before I go to work!
  • elainecroft
    elainecroft Posts: 595 Member

    You sound just like me! If I have an early meeting/presentation at work, need to catch a flight, etc... I'll have NO problem getting up! Its like my half-asleep self is personally sabatoging my goals to study and work out before I go to work!

    Put it on your calendar, just like a meeting. Make it a date that you can't miss and start to think about it that way.
  • seths_milf
    seths_milf Posts: 56 Member
    I put my clock across the room so when it goes off I have to get up to shut it off, then I go straight to the coffee pot.
  • ironanimal
    ironanimal Posts: 5,922 Member
    Try to get an hour more, and put your alarm clock well out of reach - preferably somewhere you'd have to walk over a cold floor.
  • Bekahmardis
    Bekahmardis Posts: 602 Member
    Yup - get a dog or a cat. I am rarely allowed to sleep past 6am, and that's only when I roll over and hide under the covers for another half an hour, pretending the dogs aren't jumping on me...it explains a lot of my bruises...
  • GorillaNJ
    GorillaNJ Posts: 4,024 Member
    Just have to do it... dig deep into that bag of willpower and desire and do it. I've been getting up 4 days a week between 4 and 4:30 so I can either run or get to the gym and lift. Every morning there is about a 10 minute period where my brain is trying to convince myself to go back to bed. To the point where I will even get a phantom pain in my ankle or knee!

    I push through it, and by time I am either through the first song on my running playlist or finishing up the first warm up set in the gym I am glad i did not go back to bed!

    I do however get my self to bed pretty early like 9ish
  • willdob3
    willdob3 Posts: 640 Member
    Consistently go to bed 8 - 9 hours before you need to get up. If you are getting a lot less sleep than this you may need to work up to it. Do it even if you think you don't need 8 hrs sleep.

    If you have a smartphone use a sleep tracking app. Sleep Cycle is the best I've found. I've tried others that give more details but they are very inaccurate & it defeats the purpose. Sleep Cycle will wake you up within a 30 minute period at the best time in your sleep cycle so that you are not jarred out of a deep sleep. Sleep Cycle motivates me to get to bed earlier & it is nice to see how my quality of sleep & amount of sleep are improving over time. It has made a huge difference for me.

    I have realized I will have to work at it all my life. I am a natural night owl (even as a child). I never want to go to bed & I never want to get up. The things I've mentioned help me a lot & I find I don't moan & groan & refuse to get up when I follow them. But I'd still rather roll over & be lazy in the morning. lol...
  • willdob3
    willdob3 Posts: 640 Member
    Seriously - anyone having sleep problems needs to try Sleep Cycle. It will make a huge difference for you. It is one of the most-used & highest rated apps in existence for a reason.
  • Straitlover1965
    Straitlover1965 Posts: 39 Member
    You could do like I saw on the morning news yeterday - this guy rigged up his alarm clock to a paper shredder, and he sitcks a bock in it each night. When the clock goes off the next morning, he has 30 seconds to get up and grab the money or it gets shredded. LOL!!!
  • StrongerJess
    StrongerJess Posts: 185 Member
    I have a vibrating alarm clock that I put under my pillow. It helps to kind of shake me awake for those days that I would rather press snooze.
  • msliu7911
    msliu7911 Posts: 638 Member
    Try to get an hour more, and put your alarm clock well out of reach - preferably somewhere you'd have to walk over a cold floor.

    Great idea! I currently keep my phone on my nightstand (next to my bed - Alarm #1), and my radio alarm clock on my dresser (across from the foot of the bed - Alarms #2 & 3). I'm seriously thinking I need to place it in the bathroom or something. I hate walking across the cold floor but if it will help me wake up then so be it.
  • KyliAnne26
    KyliAnne26 Posts: 209 Member
    This is Clocky. When your alarm goes off, he literally runs away and you have to chase him!!
    http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/91f2/?rkgid=275668648&cpg=ogpla&source=google_pla&device=c&network=g&matchtype=&gclid=CJXz_KymhbcCFQE6QgodfhYALA
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
    I use to be the one to sleep til noon if given the chance but from the first wake up after joining the Army in 1988 I have never been able to sleep past 5 a.m. doesn't matter if i go to bed a 4 in the morning I will be up by 5!!! lol.... But seriously you just have to make this a habit. Eventually over time if you continue to do it, I would think it would get easier. Best of Luck...

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