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Killing Time: How I Ditched my Alarm Clock and Why I’m Never Looking Back

Photo by petite corneilleThis morning I woke up in silence, smiling in the wake of a great dream I can’t remember. I woke up mid-stretch. My eyes opened and I immediately got out of bed. There was no hitting the snooze button, there was no grogginess, there was no loathing my morning routine. There was also no being ripped from slumber, mid sleep-cycle, against the better judgment of my body. There was just peaceful morning silence.

A week ago I ditched my alarm clock and after a week of alarm clock-less nights, I don’t think I’ll be looking back, at least for a very long time.

In case you are interested, here is …

A record of the first 7 days of my alarm clock-less experiment:

  • Day 1: Intended to wake up at 4:30am; woke up at 4:29am.
  • Day 2: Intended to wake up at 7:00am; woke up at 7:03am.
  • Day 3: Intended to wake up at 6:00am; woke up at 5:40am.
  • Day 4: Intended to wake up at 8:00am; woke up at 8:00am.
  • Day 5: Intended to wake up at 6:00am; woke up at 6:02am.
  • Day 6: Intended to wake up at 7:00am; woke up at 6:55am.
  • Day 7: Intended to wake up at 7:30am; woke up at 7:29am.

As you can see, I often woke up very close to the intended wake-up time.

12 things learned after a week of alarm clock-less mornings (for tips on how to wake up without an alarm clock, see here):

  1. If I want to get up at a specific time, I should meditate on that time before going to bed and my body will wake me up as requested.
  2. I am able to get up whether or not I am tired (I just go back to bed if I’m tired).
  3. If I am centered, healthy, and treating my body well, then I always get up when intended.
  4. It’s important for me to pay attention to how I feel when asking for the internal “wake-up call.” The human body instinctively knows what time it is, and it also knows what’s best for us. If I am sick or absolutely need to get more sleep in the morning, then my body won’t go too far against its best interests.
  5. Despite the above point, I WILL get up earlier than my body wants to (i.e. in a sleep deprived state) when I have a clear intention to wake up early.
  6. Knowing that I’ll have to get up without an alarm clock forces me to be healthier in the evenings. Since I know that I have to be centered and feeling good to wake up on time, I now treat my body much better.
  7. There seems to be a correlation between getting up when I intend to and meditating, being hydrated, not drinking, and generally having myself in order.
  8. Getting up when I want to — and without an alarm clock — is no guarantee that I will immediately rise up and seize the morning, although it is MUCH more likely.
  9. My ability to get up without an alarm clock is a measure of how right I am with myself and the world.
  10. I don’t think I can ever go completely alarm clock-less. I will still use my cell phone alarm when I have to make a meeting while being sick, sleep deprived, sad, or jetlagged.
  11. Kava tea is great for inducing a relaxed state and helping you go to bed.
  12. Discovering my ideal sleep and wake times was important. Over this week I’ve discovered that the best time for me to go to bed is ~10:30pm and the best time to wake up is around ~6:00am.

If you have any questions, please feel free to post them in the comments!

~Clay

[tags]morning, alarm clock, waking up, waking up without an alarm clock, snooze button, meditation, intentions, intentionality, kava[/tags]

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  • Please - come back to us! We need you...you will become hypnotized by the glowing red numerals and the annoying beep tone. You are getting sleepy, sleepy...
  • It's amazing how the mind can do the same as a alarm.. I have tried a similar sleep test with powernapping and it always is so close to the time you ask your self to wake up at.. :)
  • Though I'm using an alarm clock, I wake up between 5 and 20 minutes before it goes off. I also “meditate about the time I want to get up” ;-)
  • HP
    Kava tea is bad for your liver. For this reason all kava products are forbidden in Germany by law. Be careful using this drug!
  • Mary
    Clay,

    I can't wait to try this. I will let you know my progress and hopeful success.
  • Clay -
    i just stumbled onto this marvelous gem of your creativity.
    i LOVE your work - and you - i think…he..he...

    i've never used an alarm clock unless i need to catch a flight.
    i typically wake up relaxed and enjoy luxuriating with a hot Café laté and essentially spend a good hour ( sometimes 2) in the AM as if i have all day to myself (despite the fact that i definitely have other responsibilities). during this AM time, i journal, brainstorm ideas, sometimes i paint, when it's nice out I love to garden and spend time in the soil.

    I literally go off to my executive job (which i do love) daily without a care in the world. for me this complete relaxation in the AM works beautifully.
    I practice yoga daily and cannot imagine my life without it and it's benefits. Yoga plays a huge role in the "taking care of/ connecting with self" sphere. Yoga along with delicious home cooked and slowly enjoyed dinners is my evenign relaxation I suppose.

    my natural/ideal sleep-time 10:30 - wake time 5:30.
    i also love your correlation of your ability to wake up as you wish to your how right you are with yourself
    and the world."
    I'd never thought of it in this context before. it makes excellent sense.

    ciao
    AJ
  • p5max
    Clay,

    I was going through your article and particularly that time log part - "A record of the first 7 days of my alarm clock-less experiment " got me interesting.

    Also, Because of the influence of Steve Pavlina's blogs and "the sectet", these days, i am leaning towards the idea of "Intention Manifestation".

    So, last night, before i went to sleep by 12 (i usually need 6 - 7 hours of sleep).. and just thought (for a brief period of time) of waking up by 6.15 AM next morning and set the alarm clock too and went to sleep.

    Next morning - i woke up by 6.13 AM happily. I didnt find myself being happy(i was actually smiling) while waking up for a long time and today morning i did!.

    I am not saying that there is a link between automatic-body-alarm and waking up happy. But, i observed that too along with how awesome this worked.

    I wasnt trying to exactly experiment the automatic-body-alarm thing last nignt.. Though i just put out the intention (as i was reading your blog just before sleep)..

    I am interested and am going to experiment this tonight also..
  • Robert
    I am a teenager and if I didn't have my alarm clock, I wouldn't wake up until noon.
  • I can wake up any time I want as well. unless I have to catch a flight, then I wake up every 30 mins after midnight!

    the problem I have is going to bed at the right time.
    in the past few days I gone to bed at 7:30 am, 3 am, 10pm, 12 am... so you see its not really healthy.
  • Clay Collins
    @Alanna: My schedule was not pre-set. I just picked those times to see whether my body could wake me up at different times of the day. And if a severely morning person who's always had trouble waking up can do it, then person others can as well.
  • Alanna
    Hi Clay,

    I found your blog from a comment you posted on Zen Habits, and I found Zen Habits on digg about two months ago. :) I liked this post a lot, very interesting stuff. I do have a question for you, though. Was your schedule pre-set, as in did you really have to wake up at 4:30 on one day, 6:30 on another, or did you just choose these times to test waking up without an alarm clock?
  • Clay Collins
    @Kristina: you are awesome for commenting on my blog. I miss Minneapolis and Emerson Ave. Where are you living now? I hope that you like your new life and congrats on all the fellowships and other successes.
  • kristina
    Hmmm... I have been doing this for years. I HATE the sound of an alarm clock and if I don't wake up, I have a furry friend who will let me know. Thought this was interesting in light of your "embrace your night owl" type article. I enjoy my mornings too much to stay up too late anyway- maybe you are right about the myth of thinking one is getting ahead? In the morning all possibilities are still open and I am convinced I am going to have a great, productive day.
  • Caron
    At different times in my life, I have been very successful at waking up with no alarm at the required time on time everyday, even on days with very important events. I would just tell myself what time before I went to sleep. I would usually wake up at different times in the night & check the time to see if it was time to get up yet, but I would just go right back to sleep if it was too early. I always still feel very well rested in the morning.

    Nice post.
  • Clay Collins
    @Annie: If you end up trying this stuff, please let me know how it goes. Best of luck to you.

    ~Clay
  • Annie J
    Hmm, waking up without an alarm clock. Nifty! I shall take your advice into account and try it sometime!
  • Clay Collins
    @Chris: nice! Good luck to you. You're collecting really interesting raw food data information on your blog, by the way. It's great that eating better would lead to better sleep. I've found that hydrating, meditating, taking care of myself is the key. Oh, and here's another funny thing: getting good sleep leads to better sleep. Kind of a feedback loop.

    If you end up ditching your alarm clock, and you can think of it, stop back here and let me know how it all went. I'd enjoy hearing other's experiences.

    Thanks for stopping by!
  • Fantastic stuff.

    I found that when I started my 30 days of eating raw foods, I changed from a completely hectic and awful sleeping "schedule" (if you could call it that), to one that is very rock solid.

    I think I'm now going to add this in as well and see how it goes!

    Much Love,
    Chris Regnery
  • Laurie
    Oh my god, that video is hysterical. "The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is."
  • Clay Collins
    @Laurie: You were no doubt the inspiration. Did you mention the alarm clock thing the first time we met? I remember thinking, this woman knows what time it is, as in this video at ~2:28. :-) Glad you stopped by and I'm honored that you're forwarding the post.
  • Laurie
    This post made me so happy! It was a great idea to track your alarm-free success. Added you to my RSS feed and will be forwarding this post to others!
  • Clay Collins
    @Max: glad you stopped by. Yeah, Kava's great. It's an herb, but I think it should be treated like any other pharmaceutical. It works a lot like a gaba inhibitor and puts you at ease right quick. I imagine addiction is possible (although I'm not certain), and that's never good.
  • Max
    Good call on #6. I've found that when I can fall back on the ol' alarm clock I'm much more likely to stay up to all hours of the night/early morning. I'm also a big fan of tea, and I'm going to check out this kava tea that Clay mentions....sounds great!
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