Ask HN: Most effective and "non-invasive" morning wake up alarm method?

18 points by gangorgasm 1 year ago | 41 comments

Seriously folks. Those with evening circadian rhythms will understand (and those without might appreciate) the question. Throwing this out there for your help on this: Is there an effective yet least jarring alternative to early morning alarms than the traditional alarm clock? Are we doomed to starting the day with the equivalent of a gunshot?

Interested in any and all alternatives that might exist, even in learning about morning routines that work for you

the__alchemist 1 year ago |

Go to bed early enough so that your natural circadian rhythm wakes you up prior to your alarm most of the time. The alarm becomes a backup mechanism.

This isn't always feasible due to social obligations (Many people like hanging out late), but if you can do it, it is fantastic.

jerkstate 1 year ago | |

This is really the best answer. I finally learned to go to bed on time when I had to quit caffeine. It took a couple of weeks for my body to learn to fall asleep and I supported it with calming music (singing bowls and chants at a quiet volume) and not using screens within an hour of bedtime, as well as getting more exercise during the day. The results have been life-changing though. Some words of wisdom: never stay up late to do something you wouldn’t wake up early for.

mlhpdx 1 year ago | | |

> Some words of wisdom: never stay up late to do something you wouldn’t wake up early for.

That’s wisdom I totally get. Yet, to each their own.

thorin 1 year ago |

The least jarring method is to get enough sleep, food, water and exercise and don't set an alarm. I've started to use alarms when absolutely necessary recently, but since covid lockdowns I've been home based and either my kids wake me up or I naturally wake up in good time for work or whatever I have planned for the day. If this doesn't happen, you probably have some issues that you need to deal with. Of course I'll set an alarm if I have an important meeting or need to catch an early train or something, but that really hasn't happened that much in the last 5 years.

runjake 1 year ago |

I wear my Apple Watch almost 24/7 and use it's sleep functionality to wake me with gentle wrist taps. Twice a day, I charge it for a small amount of time:

1. Once, while reading right before bed gets it to 100%.

2. During my morning shower, which tops off the battery for the day.

Background: Apple Watch Series 7 with the fast charger it comes with, plugged into an Apple 20 watt USB-C charger that I think came with one of my iPhones.

subpixel 1 year ago | |

The wrist taps are the answer. I can wake up whenever without disturbing anyone else I am in bed with.

barnabee 1 year ago |

I use a Philips wake-up light. I've also heard good things about Lumie. They wake you up with graduallu brigtening light rather than any sound and I could never go back to a daily alarm clock.

I do also have music (usually a radio station) come on about 15 mins after the light reaches max, (a) in case I don't wake for some reason; and (b) because I like listening to music in the morning.

rozenmd 1 year ago | |

I also have the Phillips, game changer for northern hemisphere winter

gangorgasm 1 year ago | |

Thanks will look into both!

al_borland 1 year ago | |

I have a Phillips as well. If I get a decent amount of sleep the light will wake me up, otherwise, it starts making bird/owl noises that will wake me up. They come in soft and gradually get louder. It is much better than a loud electronic beep.

barnabee 1 year ago | | |

I turned those noises off, but they're definitely nicer than most alarms

matheist 1 year ago |

I use a vibrating alarm on my cell phone under my pillow (off to the side, not directly under my head).

I sleep with both earplugs and a white noise machine, so an audio-based alarm can't work for me. (City living! the garbage trucks come for some house on the block on every weeknight.)

I still have traumatic memories of my radio-alarm-tuned-to-static waking me up for high school, and when the garbage trucks used to wake me up before I started with earplugs and noise machine, I'd wake up with a jolt of adrenaline, so I relate to your "gunshot" comment. The vibrating alarm doesn't trigger that for me.

datadrivenangel 1 year ago |

I got smart window blinds and set them to go down at 10:30pm and go up at 6:30am to let natural light in.

So far I'm consistently waking up around 6:45am as the summer sun washes over me. I don't actually get out of bed until my alarm goes off hours later though because I'm still tired...

japhyr 1 year ago |

I was terrible with snooze buttons when I was younger. What finally worked for me was getting up the first time I woke up anywhere near when my alarm was supposed to go off. That works most mornings, and the times when I sleep until my alarm are infrequent enough that I don't bother with the snooze button anymore. Focusing on this approach also made me pay closer attention to how much sleep I was getting. I started going to bed earlier some nights when I was tired, because I knew I wanted to have a reasonable chance of waking up rested.

If I needed a regular alarm again, I would look for a good sunrise alarm clock. Light definitely wakes me up during the summer, and I'm pretty sure the good light-based clocks would work well for me.

I appreciate you asking this, because my teenager is not doing well with standard alarms, and this is helping me think through other approaches for him.

gangorgasm 1 year ago | |

I hope you find something that works

AnimalMuppet 1 year ago |

I use an alarm radio. But either its antenna is broken (old radio), or it's in a location (basement) where it can't pick up signal. Anyway, all it gets is static. White noise, not too loud, seems to work as a fairly gentle wake-up method.

gangorgasm 1 year ago | |

You might have stumbled upon something, actually

pants2 1 year ago |

Two things that will help immensely:

1. Have sheer window blinds that let natural light in as the sun comes up.

2. Set your thermostat on a timer to raise the temperature in the room (or at least turn off AC) before you need to wake up.

littlecranky67 1 year ago | |

> Have sheer window blinds that let natural light in as the sun comes up

I would advise against that. Not a scientist in the field but there are advocates that argue sleep is better in totally dark environments - even the moonlight can worsen your sleep. This can be individual, but one should consider this.

freetonik 1 year ago |

I've tried multiple smart watches for the sole purpose of having a silent vibrating alarm, and nothing is as comfortable to sleep with and reliable in waking me up as Apple Watch.

dc_rog 1 year ago | |

I finally splurged on an Apple Watch. But before I had a very cheap $20 alarm vibrating watch marketed towards reminding people to take their pills. It worked great as a vibrating morning alarm so I didn’t wake my partner up.

littlecranky67 1 year ago |

I use a smart band (xiaomi mi band, 40€) for alarm vibration on the wrist. It is supposed to avoid deep sleep wakeups (if enabled, alarm within 20minute frame) but I dont use that.

shanecleveland 1 year ago |

I use the silent mode on my Apple Watch. It does require topping off the battery in the early evenings and/or keeping it on the charger after I wake up until after showering.

Jugurtha 1 year ago |

A song with a volume that goes crescendo. Sleeping with the window open, so you'll start getting sun-light with gradually increasing power starting at dawn and you'll tend to ease into waking up, and you'll notice you'll wake up earlier.

Birds help. I've planted a dozen trees near the house fifteen years ago. Now they're huge (three stories high) and attract all kinds of birds, and the chirping definitely helps start the day and tops any alarm clock.

mlhpdx 1 year ago | |

This is my summertime method, but at this latitude (Portland, Oregon) it’s not really practical in the winter, so I revert to the musical alarm method.

MaiaIva 1 year ago |

Watch alarm vibrations work pretty well for me, slow and delicate awakening experience.

gangorgasm 1 year ago | |

Now need to find a vibrating alarm watch to try with

littlecranky67 1 year ago | | |

Xiaomi Mi band is cheap enough and has that feature

AdamJacobMuller 1 year ago |

I have a https://sleep.me/, it keeps you cool at night and then raises the temperature to wake you.

I have it set to warm wake me ~15m before my alarm goes off, and I'm virtually always awake before the alarm.

perryizgr8 1 year ago |

Ever since my wife and i had a baby we've never needed to set the alarm.

ativzzz 1 year ago | |

Same - I have now become a morning person against my will. I also haven't set an alarm since the kid was born (almost 2 years)

jotux 1 year ago | | |

Eight years now -- I don't need to set an alarm unless I need to wake-up before 7am. Occasionally I try to sleep in on a weekend and can't sleep past 730 anymore.

mcrwfrd 1 year ago |

This morning I started to stir when my Casper Glow light turned on. But what really got me out of bed was when I heard the faint gurgle of my timed coffee machine auto brewing the first cup of the day.

Bluestein 1 year ago | |

> faint gurgle of my timed coffee machine auto brewing the first cup of the day.

Also, the smell of coffee :)

owenpalmer 1 year ago |

  let bedtime = intended_wake_time - required_sleep_duration - buffer

Then set an alarm just in case. Let your body decide how much sleep you get each night.

philomath_mn 1 year ago |

This is interesting, I'm not sure my alarm actually wakes me up all that often. I'm usually mostly awake and the alarm is more so an indicator of what time it is.

This is the case even when I set extremely early alarms like my 2:30 wake up time the other day.

But being a parent has also trained me to be an extremely light sleeper

giaour 1 year ago |

I have a really hard time waking up, and the two things that have worked best for me are:

1. A Phillips wake-up light/sunrise alarm, and 2. A vibrating alarm on my watch.

The wake-up light worked really well but wasn't a great solution for me since I share a bed with someone on a different sleep schedule.

sprobertson 1 year ago |

Simply using a calmer custom alarm (some soft music that slowly builds) before the gunshot alarm

kcrwfrd_ 1 year ago |

Automated smart blinds and lighting.

aristofun 1 year ago |

Vibrating watches