Getting Up In The Morning..

[mom4cem]

Hi,

Any of you have difficulty with the mornings? Now that school has started, officially today here,(have to get the kids off to school and now, me back to work also) having the alarm go off to wake me up was awful. I don't do well with alarms, not even music type, the adrenaline really shoots and my heart races. Then I take my beta blocker and have to wait for that to kick in before I can shower or stand for longer than just moving around otherwise heartrate is everywhere.

Anyone have any ideas on a gentler way to wake up in the a.m.?

Thanks..

[flop]

Hi,

I hate getting up too and I have to have 3 different alarms getting progressively louder, with the last one the other side of the room to force me to get out of bed. I could sleep until the afternoon if I let myself (don't think my boss would be too impressed though).

I've never seen or tried this but I can remeber reading about it in a magazine - you can get a light box that starts with a low glow and gradually gets brighter and brighter. It is supposed to mimic sunrise and be good for waking up people who have "SAD" (seasonal affective disorder). However if light would help to stir you more gently then it might work as a sort of "pre-alarm" so that you are more awake and not startled awake by a loud noise.

My other thought would be the disability aid that some deaf people use - a vibrating "clock" that goes under your pillow.

Hope you find something that suits you.

Flop

[Rachel]

Hello,

You said that the music type alarm doesn't work. Is that an alarm that plays it's own "beeping" type of music? Or is it an alarm that plays a cd?

I used to use a cd player for my alarm. I'd set the play time and it would play whatever cd was in the cd player. This allowed me to pick music that didn't startle me in the morning. If you haven't tried this, perhaps it would work for you. You could play something soothing like Enya or even a lullaby cd.

I've heard of alarms that turn a light on and it gradually gets brighter. There are also alarms that vibrate. Perhaps something like that would work. It should be fairly easy to find because deaf people need alarms, but can't use the traditional kind. If you do a search for "alarm clocks for the deaf", "vibrating alarm clock", and "bright light alarm clock" I think you'll find something that would work for you.

Here are three sites I found:

http://www.naturestapestry.com/light.html

http://www.marilynelectronics.net/products/clocks/index.htm

http://productsforthedeaf.com/alarm_clocks..._vibrators.html

Hope this helps.

Rachel

[Rachel]

Haha! While I was posting, Flop beat me to it!

Rachel

[Bella127]

Hi,

I have a hard time getting up in the mornings. This is along the same lines as what flop and rachel said, but I'll leave my 2 cents anyway!

At first, I tried playing a CD of nature songs - what helped me was a "soothing rain" song. There was no music to it at all, just the sound of rain - no thunder, loud noises, etc. And I set it so that it would start playing softly when the alarm went off, and after 15 seconds, gradually increase until it was to the full volume that I set it to. That was a nice way to wake up because it was gradual, so at first you're in the "dreamy" stage, and wondering if its raining outside, but then as it gradually gets louder, you wake up.

It was nice for me, because as you said, waking up to a sudden "beep beep beep" isn't a great way to wake up in the morning. We have a hard enough time getting up as it is!

Another thing I thought of that helped - do you have a computer in your bedroom? There is software for music alarms (although, I'm sure there is an easier way to do this that I just don't know about) and for a while I was making my own "wakeup" playlist on my iTunes, setting it to the alarm, and also doing the "gradual start". But this way you can pick something, like a favorite song/playlist, or something soothing to wake you up. Again, similar to the CD thing, except with your own playlist, so it's more personal.

There are also alarm clocks for iPods, (kind of like an iPod dock/alarm clock on your nightstand) but I know they can be a little expensive -- although I think I've seen them at Target for around $50. Not sure how well they work, but same idea - set your iPod to whatever playlist you want to be woken up to, and the dock also charges your iPod at the same time.

I was thinking of looking into that because I've stopped using the computer to wake me up - I was using a trial run of the alarm clock software (too cheap to buy it! ) and the trial ran out.

Overall, having my own "playlist" really helped, as did waking up the the "soothing rain".

Hope these suggestions help! Let us know!

Chrissy

[pamyla]

I have one of those nature sounds alarm clocks and I wake up to the sound of the ocean. I find it much less shocking than music or beeping I also tend to set my alarm about 15 min earlier than I really need to get out of bed. That way I can hit snooze once or twice and wake up more gradually.

good luck,

Pam

[OCsunshine]

I don't have any good ideas, but just thought I'd share that I totally understand. I also have so much trouble in the morning... just walking from the bed to the bathroom can get my heartrate all messed up and I feel the THUMP THUMP if I don't get my beta blocker in my system IMMEDIATELY.

Sometimes I put my beta blocker on my nightstand and I take that about 1/2 hour before I even need to get up out of bed.

Other than that small idea, I don't know any way to make mornings easier. I just hate them altogether.

[Mrs. Burschman]

I also feel crappy in the mornings (just really jittery is the best way to explain it.) And I hate my alarm clock! I was curious, does anyone know if there is an explanation for why we feel so awful in the mornings? I have problems with nausea early, too. And no, I am not pregnant!

Amy

[Dawg Tired]

I have a vibrating alarm clock, he wakes me up every morning at 7:30 if I am still asleep.

If I try to go back to sleep he licks my nose....

His name is Hector.

He's also big, white and fuzzy and he likes to have cream while I have coffee....

Okay. I also have a birdsong alarm, but it is rare for me to be able to sleep long enough to use it.

[lloppyllama]

Hello,

Mornings arent fun for me either, but i actually use the alarm from my Ipod, and it doesnt keep going, it just goes off once and then stops. I like that because with a regular alarm, I get scared and the adrenaline messes me up. I do have to take a BB and then go back to bed for a while before it kicks in, just like you. So i just set the alarm again so that i make sure i dont fall back asleep.

I dont know if the alarm you use is like the one i have or not, but if its not it might be worth looking into as it has been a big help for me

[dizzygirl]

hmm good suggestion.. i learned some new wake up things for myself that i didnt even know where available!

I know i absoultley despise my alarm clock! i always have the urge to want to throw it down the trash chute..LOL....

can you get the light alarm thingy anywhere? like walmart or something?

[mom4cem]

Some great ideas gals, thanks so much! I'm looking into the nature sounds alarm clock and I set myself to get up 15min earlier, take my pill and hang in bed till 6:30 before I have to get up.

Dawg Tired, well I don't have anything that fuzzy and nice to wake me up wish I did.

[Rachel]

Dizzygirl,

I don't know where the light alarms can be found. I've never seen them in a store, but I've never looked for them either. You could definitely order one over the internet, though. And then you don't have to leave the house to go shopping!

Rachel

[thejohnsongang]

Mornings in short terms just suck. During the summer I'm fine and wake up "sometime" on my own. I can't stand the alarm clock either. I feel shocked or jolted when I hear it and it takes forever to settle down. Now that school is back in session, I usually use my 16 year old. She sets her alarm in her room and then comes and wakes me up. Just hearing her open my door is enough. I'm used to her voice and it never startles me. I'm sure not everyone has a 16 year old but it works great for me. She also has POTS, but the alarm does not effect her like it does me. If she fails to get up on time, my husband wakes me up when he gets home from work..usually about 1/2 hr later than normal, but still within a time range for the kids to get to school on time.

I hope you can find something to work for you. It is a horrible feeling to be jolted out of sleep like that. Not a good way to start your day.

Nolie

[persephone]

I am having a terrible time with getting up in the mornings- the alarm makes m heart race so mcuh that I have to lie down and sleep off the tachycardia

I don't know what the answer is

[mattsmum]

At the moment my dear son is my alarm clock he annoys me and the dog around 7am then the alarm goes off at 8am to get up. Gotta hate that tachycardia tho specially if someone wakes you up in the middle of the night (DH often goes to bed later than me) takes forever to calm down to get back to sleep!

[persephone]

Just wondering how mom4cem got on with the gentler alarm?

I'm having trouble with alarms again- the suddenness with which I get woken up really makes my pulse go nuts and it's a bad way to start off the day, feeling so lousy

[joiedevivre516]

Haha my alarm is my pump beeping to tell me my overnight infusion is done! It actually works pretty well, since the beeps start with a lot of space between them and then get faster as it runs out... But before that I used a music alarm (always set to something very gentle and soothing) that gradually got louder. It worked really well -- usually I woke up because I thought I was hearing music in my dreams, and then realized it was the alarm. But I would have to caution you against those vibrating alarms that you put under your pillow. My roommate had one during my freshman year of college, and *I* could hear it when it went off, despite the fact that it was under her pillow on the other side of the room! It also used to startle her to death, and she was perfectly healthy, so I definitely wouldn't recommend it for anyone with Dysaut!

[ajw4790]

I thought it was so crazy when I saw this post, because I didn't realize others had this same issue! I am glad I am not just weird! Although, I have been know to sleep through alarms etc. There are many times where if I am in a deep enough sleep and the alarm or loud outside noise happens and I get startled, it jumpstarts everything, and I tend to not be able to go back to sleep, because the adrenaline is pumping.

I had this happen 3:00 one morning during a storm, and there was a huge clap of thunder that startled me so bad, I couldn't go back to sleep! I could feel my HR etc. out of control.

I also have found that one days where I am sleeping hard, the alarm can just wake me up to harshly and just sets things off from the beginning.

No fun!

[Kitsakatsa]

Provigil 1.5 hours before your alarm (most clocks now have 2 alarms) For me, it just pops me awake naturally.

and

I haven't tried this, but Verilux (maker of SAD lamps) makes a gentle daylight alarmclock lamp. It looks great. It wouldn't work so much in the summer, but it would be interesting. Another cheaper idea would just be lamps on timers.

Can you set your alarm clock to play music instead of the harsh tones?