

Engineering a Better Alarm Clock - sdp
http://www.heuristicism.ca/2009/09/15/how-to-get-up-in-the-morning-the-forceful-approach/

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rfreytag
Maybe he has sleep apnea:
[http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/SleepApnea/Slee...](http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/SleepApnea/SleepApnea_WhatIs.html)

This would mean no matter how much sleep, it's never enough.

By the way, there is considerable evidence that a significant number of ADHD
cases in children and adults is really due to poor sleep with apnea being a
major factor ([http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-
apnea/news/200608...](http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/sleep-
apnea/news/20060821/sleep-apnea-kids-brain-power)).

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coglethorpe
I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and can't tell you how much a CPAP machine
has helped me. I'd wake up feeling worse than when I slept, and it's hard to
pay attention in that condition, which might be the ADHD connection.

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cglee
Which CPAP machine do you have? I haven't been officially diagnosed, but I'm
pretty sure I have sleep apnea. I'd be willing to try out a decent CPAP
machine to see if it helps.

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avinashv
While I have never gone through this much effort to wake up in the morning--
although, reasonably costed, this would be a product I would consider
purchasing--I can understand this guy's pain. I think he is a little worse
than I am, since it only takes me 5 minutes out of bed before I won't go back,
but those 5 minutes can seem like a whole day sometimes.

I think a lot of people who have good early-morning discipline don't
appreciate how truly difficult it is for someone who just cannot. I think it
has a lot to do with the fact that your brain might just not be wired for
learning discipline in that condition.

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catch23
I think the fundamental problem with waking up has little to do with the power
of the alarm clock. If the alarm clock could detect the sleep cycle pattern,
it could wake you up when you're not in REM sleep so that you wouldn't wake up
groggy.

When you get into a very rigid sleeping schedule, the REM cycles are more
rigid as well and you'll tend to wake up less groggy since you're able to
position your REM sleep cycles away from the wake up time. Waking up properly
also doesn't require a clock that runs away from you.

So there's 2 ways to solve it: get a smart alarm clock that can
predict/measure your sleep level, or fit yourself into a rigid sleep schedule
for a long time so that your body adjusts to it.

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ars
I actually saw an alarm clock that did that (detected REM sleep), but I think
it was a demo, and not a commercial product.

Maybe make use of OpenEEG and build one.

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dminor
<http://www.sleeptracker.com/>

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anigbrowl
_…or, just get a wife._

This hack only works with a spouse of opposite polarity. If you select for
compatibility, then you will amplify the existing patterns of staying up late
and turning off the alarm.

Now a baby, on the other hand...

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ibsulon
No -- they'll just be pissed to keep hearing the alarm go off and you rustling
the bed, unless you have to wake up at the same time.

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jkmcf
I've tried the <http://www.sleeptracker.com/>, but it was the first version
having the stupid button on the face, which inevitably meant tossing and
turning would disable it. Other than that, it was pretty good.

The new versions seem better, but I'm not going to sink $180 to find out.

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pmichaud
Interesting, but seriously, wouldn't it be easier to take some time to learn
self-discipline, even while groggy?

Alternatively, go to bed earlier so you wke up at a decent time on your own. I
wake up between 5:30 and 6 am every morning without an alarm. That's because I
go to bed when I'm tired.

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modoc
I'm a night owl. Even if I'm underslept and am tired during the day, I have
the most energy and awake feeling at night. If I went to bed when I was tired,
it would be 3-5 AM almost every night. Unfortunately I'm not yet able to sleep
until noon and stay employed;)

As it is, I try to go to bed ~ midnight. It typically takes me a while to fall
asleep, but it's the only way I can be up by 8-9 AM without being tired during
the day.

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pmichaud
I too was a night owl. Healthy diet, exercise, and something exciting to get
me out of bed in the morning changed that.

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modoc
I have a very healthy diet, I work out almost daily, and love my job, wife,
and life. Still a night owl.

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HeyLaughingBoy
_The obvious solution is to get a wife_

I tried that, but it didn't help. If we wake up early/on time, we end up just
having sex and falling back asleep. If we wake up late, she decides that since
I'm going to be late for work anyway, we may as well have sex, then I fall
back asleep again!

If this keeps up, the only solution is divorce :-)

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gwern
One random idea for getting up in the morning I've wanted to try is an
elevated bed which goes into freefall (and presumably repeats until stopped) -
the idea being that freefall evokes a panic response which completely bypasses
any conscious rationalizations or impulses.

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Luff
I hate having to wake up on mornings but love music. This is how I solved it:

I have installed the linux-dist openwrt on my Asus WL-500g Deluxe router. This
router has two USB-ports to which I have connected an USB-soundcard and a
80gig 2.5 hard-drive. On the device I have installed Music Player Daemon which
makes it possible to play music by controlling it either by php, or a MPD-
client.

The client I'm using is a modified version of Pmix for my android phone. It's
open-source, so downloaded it and added an alarm feature. Before turning of
the light I set the time and select which albums it should play.

Works like a charm!

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DarrenMills
I've always wondered why they don't build alarm clocks based on sleep cycles?
We sleep best in 45min REM cycles, and waking up in the middle makes you feel
groggy. When setting the alarm there should be a dial that has sleep-cycles
printed on it, and you turn the dial to select how many you want. The clock
will read what time the alarm would wake you up as you select each setting.
Select as many cycles as you can get, while still getting up on time. Then
simply tell the clock how long you take to fall asleep.

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cake
My main problem with waking up is not to get up, you'll have to do it at some
point anyway. It has more to do with the alarm clock in itself, I sometimes
wake up with the choc of the alarm sound. The strident noise catches me by
surprise while sleeping and it produces a boost of adrenaline which I would
love to avoid.

I pretty convinced that a very progressive and friendly sound as an alarm
sound would work great.

Does anyone have any experience with such an alarm clock ?

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epe
I used to have the exact same problem and used something along these lines for
years and liked it:
[http://www.meijer.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=131845&#...</a>

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cake
Thanks I'll have a look.

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paul7986
For me I use my work (<http://sleep.fm>) to wake up to and I leave my mac mini
on so i have to get up, walk across room, turn monitor on & stop the alarm.

I don't share this fellow hackers pain(more so waking up got easier after
getting into a 9 to 5 routine), but I do wonder how huge of a pain point this
is? How many face this same problem and if you do, how old are you? thnx if
you share!

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erikwiffin
I don't have his problem, but I still think an alarm clock with weight sensors
on my bed is an awesome idea. In much the same way that having lights that
turn on when you enter a room is cool, having an alarm that turns off when you
get up is something I can get behind.

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cracki
Most awesome project i've ever seen!

I have the same problems with getting up in the morning. It's mostly lack of
sleep, I think. I just can't get myself to go to sleep early enough... perhaps
a sleep schedule with 2+ sleep phases would suit me better?

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prat
One of my previous roommates wouldn't wake up if there was a garbage truck
inside the room. Nothing short of hitting him would do the trick. That's
another idea for an alarm clock.

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cracki
maybe he'd get calluses after a while, from getting hit in the same spots all
the time, which is when you'd need to drag him out of bed and dowse him with
ice water...

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huherto
While we are in the topic. It is not too difficult to me wake up in the
mornings, but why do I get sleepy after lunch? Does it have to do with my
diet?

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scott_s
I can't say your diet isn't involved, but that's what most people experience
as a part of their circadian rhythm:
<http://ride4ever.org/images/normalsleep.gif>

