Anybody Else Suffer from Alarm Clock Fatigue?

Self | January 24, 2024 | PJ-Comix

[PJ-Comix]

Does anybody else here suffer from what I call "Alarm Clock Fatigue?" That is the syndrome where even if you get plenty of sleep, the mere fact that an alarm clock wakes you up makes you weary for the rest of the day.

That happened to me today. Despite the fact that I was asleep by around 9 PM last night so I got over 8 hours of sleep, the mere fact that it was an alarm clock that woke me up at 6 AM because I had an early appointment this morning made me tired for the rest of the day.

Now, if I didn't have the alarm set and woke up at 6:01 AM on my own, I would now be feeling fresh and alert. It's weird but true. Somehow my brain registers the fact an alarm clock woke me up and keeps me tired all day.

[PJ-Comix]

Thankfully, such early appointments for me are rare. I have another early appointment next week and then none until April.

[Jamestown1630]

They make clocks, with sound or light, that wake you slowly and gently, starting out very soft or dim, and gradually getting louder/brighter. No alarm.

[NWFree]

Not since I retired

[READINABLUESTATE]

I get alarm clock fatigue after too many burbons the night before.

[Red Badger]

It’s because the alarm clock awoke you during REM SLEEP..............

[reed13k]

The one thing I’m looking forward to when my wife finally allows me to retire is not setting my alarm clock.

I’m a night owl not a morning person - my biological ours for sleep are ~3am-10pm - the alarm clock just adds to the challenge.

[Macoozie]

Have never used an alarm clock to wake up.

I have used Baba O’Riley in the wee hours as a motivational arse-kicker to get moving.

Anybody that complains does not get breakfast.

[eyeamok]

I haven’t had an alarm clock since 1980, go to bed 9ish after drinking at least one bottle of wine and I wake up every morning starting at around 2AM and end up getting out of bed by 3:30AM. If I drink more I can sleep til 4AM, If I don’t drink I get up and out of bed at 2AM.

I only drink one cup of coffee every morning then water all day.

[1Old Pro]

I’m a night owl not a morning person - my biological hours for sleep are ~3am-10pm

That's way too much sleep.

[ansel12]

I lived a life where the alarm clock never really became a part of it.

[The Louiswu]

You're probably getting a little to much sleep, not going to be truly tired and not getting good REM sleep during the night.

This modern age is hard on our brains, the electronics, the simulation, the overloud noise and input can mess up our sleep cycles.

Try turning off electronics and tv at least one hour before bed. Get some exercise before bed or something moderately physical so your body is actually tired and in need of rest. Me, I know my sleep has suffered these last few years, too much sitting watching hockey and football, not enough walking and biking.

A tall glass of water before bed helps and in my case, a nice quiet prayer to Jesus, thank Him for your day and offer him up all the crap that is troubling you, let him handle the worries for the night. That last part really helps me A LOT. Good luck.

[Responsibility2nd]

I’m retired. But when I do need to set the alarm, I usually wake up before it goes off.

Force of habit when I was a wage slave.

[Responsibility2nd]

Huh. Your alcoholism sure plays havoc on your sleep schedule.

[willk]

Remember the Dick Van Dyke episode where Rob doesn’t want to get up and just wants to sleep a little more? Laura tricks him by advancing the time and he wakes up just a minute later and exclaims how much better he feels. Best sitcom ever made.

[OpusatFR]

Don’t worry. Once you retire, you will always get up at the same time you did when you worked, and this time you won’t need an alarm clock.

SO and I are retired for 16 years and have yet to sleep past 7:00am.

[PJ-Comix]

A tall glass of water before bed helps...

Uh... NO! In my case that would cause me to keep waking up during the night to go to the bathroom.

[webheart]

I can get to sleep by 10 pm and I get up at 6 am but if I didn’t have an alarm to wake me I would sleep until 9.

[mass55th]

"Not since I retired."

Same here. Been 20 years.

[Vermont Lt]

You probably know this. Your sleep, throughout the night, comes in cycles. Most of us wake up every 90 minutes or so. It might just be for a few seconds or so. Enough to turn the pillow or pull up the blankets.

Then, we cycle back into a deeper sleep.

If you can time your sleep start to coincide with your “wake” cycle, that is when you wake up feeling refreshed.

If you are alarm jars you awake in the deeper part of your cycle you will feel like you are underwater and trying to climb to the surface most of the day.

Of course, everyone’s cycles are different. A few nights of making note of the wake up times will give you a sense. Mine are almost 90 minutes on the dot. I used to have to adjust my bed time when I was getting up at 5:15 AM. I HATED getting up a 5:15 AM.

For those of us with bladders over 60 years old...we KNOW what the cycles are. LOL

[fidelis]

The one thing I’m looking forward to when my wife finally allows me to retire is not setting my alarm clock.

I always said the same thing before I retired (my dream was on my retirement day to drive up to the Grand Canyon, swing my alarm clock around my head three or for times, and heave it out into the abyss. Unfortunately I found out that that is highly illegal).

After I retired, I found that I still needed one (now in the form of my phone) to make doctor's appointments or get out early enough to do something I really wanted to do. Sleeping in sometimes blows the morning for me and I don't want to waste the time I have left. For a while after retirement I'd wake up early on my own out of habit, but that lasted about three years. Also, after I got cancer and spent some time in the hospital, my sleep patterns are completely changed.