Tips for getting out of bed in the AM!
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msliu7911
Posts: 638 Member
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
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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!
![:( :(](https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/resources/emoji/frowning.png)
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!
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Replies
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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 lol0
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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.0
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Get a cat and refresh its food dish in the morning. You'll never sleep past 5 again.0
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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.0
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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.0
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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!0 -
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.0 -
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:)0 -
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.0 -
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.0 -
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.0
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I place one alarm clock across the room on the dresser so I have to get out of bed to turn it off.0
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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 early0 -
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. :P0 -
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.0 -
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!0 -
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.0 -
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.0
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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.0
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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...0
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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 9ish0 -
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...0 -
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.0
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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!!!0
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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.0
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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.0 -
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_KymhbcCFQE6QgodfhYALA0 -
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...0
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