To find it impossible to wake up? HELP!

[teethingproblems]

Right, I'm a teacher which means I have to leave by about 07:30. For the last year I've been getting up (no exaggeration) about 8 minutes before I have to leave. My mornings are so rushed and it means I go into work feeling like a mess.

I set alarms for 06:30 but then always end up snoozing them or setting later ones.

Ive tried the trick of leaving your phone on the other side of the room - I simply get it, snooze the alarm and get back into bed.

Ive tried everything, I physically don't get up until I'm cutting it so fine that I may be late to lesson 1. IT is awful!

I would love an alarm clock that would gradually wake me up and perhaps gently play the radio or something, so I give myself 45 minutes to have breakfast, a shower etc. Any recommendations?

I simply get it, snooze the alarm and get back into bed

What happens if you dont get back in bed??

You can get up, because you get up to your phone then get back in bed. How about instead making the adult decision to not get back into bed? How do you not absolutely stink and look a mess, waking up 8 mins before you leave?!

Do you guys have any recommendations of alarms...?

I used to have one of those sunrise clocks where instead of a strident alarm, you are gradually woken. Not sure what happened to it but I much preferred it to any other way of waking up.

My DH loves his lumie alarm. Has a gentle sunrise until it's at max light. Some of the more expensive ones have birdsong or something. Takes about 30/40 mins to go to full light.

But dude, just get up! It sucks, especially in the dark. But just get out of bed. It's the only way.

I totally get it. You need to wake up to the alarm and before hitting snooze count to five and by the time you get to five you need to be out of bed. I also find it helps to have my dressing gown right by the bed so I can put it on and don’t have the excuse of being cold making me go back.
Good luck!

You could get a clock / radio , that will give you the gradual wake up that you need.

People saying "dude just get up" clearly don't understand what it's like and don't struggle I wouldn't be posting asking for alarm advice if I could just "get up"! X

I feel your pain. Early morning the will is weak! Could you try setting a timer plug for 30 mins before you want to get up with a lamp plugged in? The increase in light may cue your body to starting‘getting up’ preparations.

What time do you go to bed? You may have to go to bed way earlier for a couple of weeks. Say 9pm?

I was also going to suggest a sunrise clock, and also blue/cool/daylight bulbs. Put one in a lamp next to your chair and use it for a couple of hours each evening. SAD can make it difficult to wake up, especially early in the morning.

My echo dot has a gradual alarm
Can set it to play music or an alarm tone etc

This is crazy. Obviously you can get up, otherwise you would be late for school every day or never arrive at all. So it's not you can't get up - you just choose not to.

Just get up. Just try it one morning.

I don't think this is a problem that will be solved by a different alarm clock, it's likely more to do with your sleep hygiene -- bed comfort, right kind of pillow, are you doing the right things before bed the night before, etc etc.

The obvious question is are you getting to bed too late? I only feel like that if I haven't slept enough. How much sleep are you getting?

I really understand this, trying to get up feels like poking yourself in the eye.

I would certainly recommend the Lumie clock.

Also worth kindly asking yourself, non-judgementally - are you are getting enough sleep, are you well hydrated, eating plenty of fruit and veg, limiting caffeine after midday, keeping processed food to a minimum?

I came to the conclusion with me that it was a lack of motivation in my job. If I got up, I had to face the day. And I didn’t want to! I think it was actually depression just didn’t realise at the time. Basically what I’m saying is that it could be a subconscious reaction to your circumstances. But feel free to ignore that obviously doesn’t necessarily apply to you!

Lumie alarm light will change your life, I am Someone that was shit at getting out of bed! It gradually lights up and I’m usually awake by the time the noise starts (you can have birds or music of radio).
It also dims the light gradually to help me sleep and plays a meditation! I love it (I promise I don’t work for them.)
Lumie Sunrise Alarm - Sunrise Wake-up Alarm, Sunset Sleep Feature, Sounds & Mood Lighting www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07GB2MMK5/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_9M7JBM7MT7S2V9MSV0VS?psc=1&_encoding=UTF8&tag=mumsnetforu03-21
I paid £120 for mine 10 years ago, it looks like mine can do everything this one can do and it’s £33!!! Bargain.

Oh, I do struggle. I freakin hate it. Left to my own devices I'd wake at 8 in the winter.

But I have to get up at 6 on a normal day and 5:15 on days where I have to do the commute.

My alarm goes off,I get out of bed. Simple as that. No snoozing, just feet on floor. It's the only way.

I'd also recommend the lumie Dawn simulator alarm click. It has an option for a hefty loud beep at the time you set the alarm for, but I'm generally awake about 10 mins earlier having been gently woken by the increasing light.

I am exactly the same! I was like this at high school and university. I have done 20 years of night shifts now, which doesn't help you. I still oversleep when I have important things on during the day. I have a lumie clock with daylight and birdsong which does help a bit. Some people are natural night owls. Do you go to bed late?

I have real difficulty waking up OP, not just for work but every day. Always have. For me it’s the physical waking rather than the getting up. I’m fine once I’m up - it’s literally the opening the eyes bit- they feel so heavy like I’ve been drugged, it takes a monumental effort to wrench them open! Doesn’t make any difference what time I go to bed, habits before bed etc. i do usually manage to get up on time if I have to but I really struggle.

I tried the sunrise alarm thing - it is definitely preferable to the usual blaring alarm and has different settings eg light only / sound only and lots of different noises like nature sounds, waves, music. But it didn’t suddenly make me wake feeling refreshed so sadly I’m still in the same position 🤣 definitely worth a try though!

I used to really struggle with this. Sunrise alarm definitely helped me, plus setting radio to come on a good 15 mins before I need to get up, then an alarm to actually wake me up, again with time to snooze it once before I actually need to be out of bed.

Though I don’t really struggle in the same way any more (ironic given I now have fatigue issues due to covid!) - I make sure I prioritise sleep, take a high strength multivitamins and iron and I actually find waking up less of a struggle now.

Lumie sunrise alarm here. Plus actual beeps after the half hour sunrise. It’s the only thing that wakes me up - without the sunrise I’m so dead to the world when the alarm goes off that my conscience brain does not know what the noise is. (For those saying “just get up” it’s honestly like sleepwalking, there’s no conscious decision involved. )

What time do you go to sleep?

As a lifelong non morning person… I have reluctantly come to accept that the only solution is going to bed earlier. Much earlier.

Any kind of slow wake up alarm, I will simply ignore and then go back to sleep once its 45 minutes or whatever is over.