Problems getting up in the morning

JackieO

Hi all

I know most people don't like getting up in the mornings but I think I have a serious difficulty. I generally get 8+ hours of great quality sleep at night. I rarely wake during the night, although sometimes I do wake an hour or so before I need to get up, but I usually go straight back to sleep.

The problem comes when the alarm clock starts to go off. All sence of reality goes out of my head and all I can think about is staying in bed. It doesn't even matter if I'm going to be late for work. Its just the waking up part that I find difficult. I know I sleep very deeply, but even if I'm half awake, the problem is actually getting myself out of bed. Once I get out of bed I'm fine and I don't really feel tired at all during the day or anything (well bar the occasional 3pm slump, that is!).

Anyway, just wondering if this is normal. This happens pretty much every morning. Just wondering if anyone has any tips for help me improve the getting up process.

Goodshape

Steve Pavlina has an interesting article / guide about this on his blog :
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/04/how-to-get-up-right-away-when-your-alarm-goes-off/

It's a long post (though worth a read) but to summarize : it basically boils down to your 'morning brain' not being awake enough to act on intent and good meaning. You can tell yourself all you want the night before about how you really really need to get up early this time, but after eight hours sleep your brain doesn't know, doesn't care, and is going to take the easy route -- run on auto-pilot for a little longer and let the rest of you do whatever comes natural.

So at the moment, what comes natural for you is to roll over and go back to sleep. Pavlina makes the point that this natural behaviour can be changed by repetitious 'practice' --and getting yourself used to the idea that 'alarm sound' equals 'stand up and get dressed'.

He literally suggests setting your alarm for 5 - 10 minutes from now and getting into bed during the day. Alarm goes off, get up and do something you'd usually want to do in the morning. Repeat often enough for a few days (and always doing the same thing) until it becomes an almost automatic response and hopefully that will also become the automatic response for the morning alarm.

Only trouble might be finding those spare 5 - 10 minutes a few times a day to "practice" getting up, when you've already slept in too late , but in my mind it's worth a shot.

Tupins

I have exactly the same problem Jackie0 - It's absolute torture for me getting out of bed every morning. It's actually quite depressing. I do get plenty of sleep but I hit snooze about 10 times every morning and I fall back to sleep instantly each time. I would be physically unable to get up with the first alarm as I literally can't wake up properly. It sounds ridiculous but sometimes I feel like crying because I have to get up - I feel so tired as if I haven't slept in days.

I've tried sleeping more and I've tried sleeping less but it makes absolutely no difference.

I read that article that a poster recommended above but I don't think it's exactly the same problem as mine as the guy refers to 'arguing' with himself in the morning time - i don't do this as I fall back to sleep instantaneously!

I'd love to sort it out as the thought of this for the rest of my working life is just depressing!

I've heard of these lamps that you put in your room and you set the time you want to get up and they start to get bright slowly to simulate the sunrise - apparently your body wakes up more naturally! Anyone ever used one? Although, my husband would probably protest as he prefers to sleep in pitch darkness - he already complains that our curtains are too light!

Any help would be appreciated.

JackieO

Its so great to see that other people know what I'm talking about. Now I don't feel like a complete failure, which is how I feel about this whole thing.

Its really annoying because when I was younger (i.e. a teenager) I would jump out of the bed at the first alarm. Now, I usually have alarms (2-3) going off for about an hour and a half or so.

I don't know about the light thing. I can sleep with lights/radio/tv on and this doesn't bother me - although I don't usually do it.

JackieO

THanks Goodshape

That article is definately interesting. I'm going to give it a try - absolutely nothing to lose.

By the way, I definately do the arguing withself in the morning.

I would be rationalising what I could cut out of my morning schedule that wasn't completely essential so that I could have a few extra mins in bed including skipping breakfast every day.

LadyMayBelle

Must give that article a read...I have the exact same problem, I do think It different from just not wanting to get up...For my job I have to be there at 8am to take over from another person (I'm in the care profession) yet I just cannot get out of bed..all sense of reality escapes me too! I set my alarm to go off around 4am, so I wake up and then realise I have three gloriius more hours to sleep, but when the alarm goes off at 06.50...yeesh..trauma.

dreamingoak

interesting... I have exactly the same problem, sheer exhaustion, and complete lack of reality in the morning.. i will just keep hitting the snooze button. now its at the point where I have alarms set on my mobile from 7.30, (my ideal getting up time) every 15 mins to 8.30 ( my-absolutely-must-get-up , child-will-be-late for-school-time) plus the clock radio. my partner is so long suffering, god help him. It dosnt help that he doesnt have to be up usually till later, and just lies there while I struggle on in the morning. It really helps if the other person is getting up too! I feel such a mess about it like the rest of you! It's definately worse when I'm stressed. I think I just dont want to face the day. Then i'm even more groggy in the morning which is awful for my daughter, and I feel even worse about it.

I'm studying chinese medicine and acupuncture at college at the moment (always late of course). According to that it's a 'spleen/heart deficiency, causing somnolence' so I'm taking herbs for that, and its helping a little. But it's a longstanding problem, so will prob take a long time to re-balance.

Has Anyone managed to resolve this??

Red Hand

I had to wash my pillow recently and had to do without one for the last few days. And every morning I've woken up since then, I've felt brilliant.

So maybe experiment and get rid of your pillow?

Tupins

Oh I'm going to try the no pillow experiment - will let you know if that works!

thanks.

ozone08

For me, it's not so much that I don't want to get up out of bed, it's that I don't want to get up out of my morning dreams. The dreams I have when waking up in the morning seem to be more pleasant than the dreams I have during the night.

I suffer from a lot of stress during the day and especially at bedtime as I often have difficulty falling asleep. That dreamlike state in the morning where I am half awake, half asleep and drifting in and out of REM is the only real comfort I experience. Maybe this is an excuse, but I think it makes as least some sense.

dreamingoak

any luck on the no pillow experiment? Damn those sweet and drifty morning dreams...

Delirium

Just a quick suggestion, I also had problems getting out of bed. So, as a solution I moved my alarm to the far side of the room. Now when it goes off, I have to get out of bed to turn it off. Works a treat so far.:)

The_Minister

I have taken to hiding my alarm clock all over the room, in order to force myself to wake up.

Mink

It's so nice to find people with the same problem. I've had this problem since early teens through to now - mid 20's). After getting told off at work for being late several months ago (mortifying), I decided to try a new system.
If you have the alarm/phone right beside you then you'll always click snooze & I OFTEN turned the alarm off altogether but didn't realise cos was so out of it. I got a really loud annoying alarm & put it on other side of room. I have my phone beside my bed & it is set to go through 2 snoozes before the loud annoying one goes off. Because I hate the sound of it (& don't want to annoy others in the house) I've been getting out of bed 1-2 mins before it's due to go off - ie; right after the 2nd snooze on the phone alarm. Make sense? Works an absolute treat for months now & I have plenty of time & brekkie in morning. Woo hoo.
On another note - I could sleep for Ireland and could sleep for 9-10hrs if allowed but I've heard this isn't good for you. I don't feel like I've had a proper lie-in if wake up after 8hrs.

P.C.

Mink wrote: »

If you have the alarm/phone right beside you then you'll always click snooze & I OFTEN turned the alarm off altogether but didn't realise cos was so out of it. I got a really loud annoying alarm & put it on other side of room. I have my phone beside my bed & it is set to go through 2 snoozes before the loud annoying one goes off. Because I hate the sound of it (& don't want to annoy others in the house) I've been getting out of bed 1-2 mins before it's due to go off - ie; right after the 2nd snooze on the phone alarm. Make sense? Works an absolute treat for months now & I have plenty of time & brekkie in morning. Woo hoo.

I just get up, turn it off, look at the bed, get back in and go back to sleep.

Mink wrote: »

On another note - I could sleep for Ireland and could sleep for 9-10hrs if allowed but I've heard this isn't good for you. I don't feel like I've had a proper lie-in if wake up after 8hrs.

I captain the first team.

I try to get only 8 hours sleep a night, and an afternoon nap.

Mink

LOL. I think what happens is that getting of the bed wakes me up enough to coherently realise that it would be far too much hassle to fart around reseting my alarms, & I just decide that I should really stay up!

Photi

Leave a glass of water on your bedside table/locker and splash a little over your face the minute your alarm goes off.

opr

I remember reading about this cool kinda alarm clock that was hooked up to your body somehow.

Basically you sleep in cycles and if your awoken by an alarm clock at the start/mid cycle etc this is pretty bad and can leave you feeling like crap. I presume it would be even worse if your a deep sleeper. If you woken at the end of a cycle you should feel much more refreshed when you wake up.

Neat idea i thought at the time

/heads off to google to see if i can find one of these clocks.

Opr

opr

Boom first hit in google and its endorsed by Dr Phil lol

Basically here's the idea they use to promote it.

"When you sleep, your body goes through a series of sleep cycles. The average adult experiences 4-5 full sleep cycles over an 8-hour period. Each cycle lasts about 90-110 minutes and comprises five different stages.

By monitoring your sleep cycles for optimal waking moments during the preset ALARM WINDOW, SLEEPTRACKER® finds those almost awake-moments and gently wakes you when you're most alert. The result? You wake up refreshed instead of groggy."

http://www.sleeptracker.com/

Opr

Thoie

Try these alarm clocks:

http://www.firebox.com/product/1913/Clocky
http://www.firebox.com/product/2236/Hanging-Alarm-Clock
http://www.firebox.com/product/1681/Flying-Alarm-Clock

For the person wondering about the sunrise lamps, look here:
http://www.bodykind.com/productindex/CatIDx67/productindex.htm

I have the lumie sunray, and I have to say since getting it I'm less zombified on winter mornings - I used bounce out of bed in the summer, ready to go, but in the winter I had a lot of problems waking up properly - this does seem to mean I'm more with it when the alarm goes off.

opr

haha i love the flying one !

Opr

hexagramer

haha! i too have noticed that some days i wake up feeling great and dandy, then some days feelings pure groggy, and i think this is something to do with those cycles!! cool!

Tupins

Hhhm, I'd love to try that Lumie sunrise thing but the problem is my husband doesn't have to get up until later than me so the light would be annoying for him.

Also, tried the no pillow experiment but it was too uncomfortable so I had trouble going to sleep instead of waking up!