The Hows and Whys of Waking up Without an Alarm Clock

People whose internal clocks are tuned enough that they always wake up on time, without an alarm clock, are generally on time and on the ball. I know a few.

As a heavy sleeper, the alarm clock has been an enemy throughout my life. I associate it with breaking my sleep cycles at all the wrong points and with prematurely waking others in the house.

I’ve experimented with getting up without an alarm clock for a while, but I’m committing myself to doing it this week. I’ll report back on the experience at the end of the week, and then again at the end of the month. My goal is to decrease dependence on the alarm clock without missing important events.

Why I’m Ditching My Alarm Clock

The benefits of waking up without an alarm clock are many. Ditching your alarm clock allows your body to naturally transition from deep slumber to a peaceful wakefulness in its own time. Waking up without an alarm clock spares our body from the jarring shock of loud noises. But perhaps most importantly, the practice forces us to develop greater time- and self-awareness. It dema nds that we tune into our inner clocks and cycles, to our bodies.

Here are the guidelines I’m using to help me wake up:

1. Meditate on your wake up time for a few minutes prior to bedtime. Before going to bed, meditate on the wakeup time and hold a firm intention to wake up at that time. An alarmclockless person explains: "I just give myself a good mental ‘suggestion’ of what time I will awake, and I wake up at that time, . . . unless I am EXTREMELY exhausted . . . or sick."
2. Don’t try and get less sleep than your body needs. As the quote suggests, you won’t get up at the intended time if your body legitimately needs more sleep. You can’t fool your body. So if you’ve pushed yourself at the gym or are sick, then ask your body how much sleep it needs and adjust accordingly.
3. Don’t use a backup alarm clock unless you must. Bit if you really must set a backup alarm (just in case), try waking up well in advance of the backup clock’s time. For example, if you absolutely MUST get up by 7:30am, set the backup timer for this time but try waking up at 5:00am. Once you get up, make sure you turn off the backup clock to avoid the temptation to go back to sleep.
4. Set a sleep alarm. Most people never know when they’ll be in bed but they know exactly when they have to get up. I’m setting the cell phone alarm for 8:30pm; since my absolute sleep cutoff is ten hours later — at 6:30 — I should be fine during this initial week.
5. If you absolutely must use an alarm, consider getting a noiseless but light-based such as a Soleil Sun Alarm.
6. Arrange your bed so that you see sunlight. The human body reacts to sunlight, setting off chemicals that wake us. It’s hard to sleep through morning sunlight.

I hope that these help! Good luck to us both.

~Clay

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