Ask HN: How you wake up? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: How you wake up?

#11

Post by mattbgates » Mon, May 08, 2017, 11:56 PM UTC

viral_krieger wrote: post #6

mattbgates wrote: post #5

I have come to accept my schedule. I work afternoon/evening shift (3 - 12 AM) and after work, I cannot sleep at all. I used to beat myself up for not "getting to sleep early" and waking up late. However, once I changed my mindset, I really don't mind anymore. We are a household that sleeps during the early part of the day, and we are an afternoon/evening kind of people. So now, I work on my side projects and do whate…

>If I do set an alarm, I usually set two: one to remind me that I'm alive. The second to remind me that I have to get up. The first is normally set an hour beforehand, while the latter is an alarm set around a half hour before I have to actually wake up to let me know: Seriously, get up. Would you benefit from an extra half an hour of uninterrupted sleep instead of setting two alarms? I find myself worse off in the m…

I need the first and second alarm because if I don't set 2 alarms, I'll actually turn off whatever alarm there is and go right back to sleep. The second one tends to serve as a warning and I might hit snooze once, but that's all that is necessary, usually. I've set one alarm and slept right through it. I guess its a reminder to me to take life more seriously on the second one.

Re: Ask HN: How you wake up?

#12

Post by meric » Tue, May 09, 2017, 12:14 AM UTC

I wake up an hour before sunrise, open the curtains, go back to bed. When the sun is up it shines brightly into my room it's much easier to wake up.

Re: Ask HN: How you wake up?

#13

Post by tedmiston » Tue, May 09, 2017, 12:50 AM UTC

I wake up naturally and start my day remotely and the time I begin work isn't fixed.

I am one of those people that really needs 8-9 hours of sleep per day. If I get 4-6, my day really suffers from it.

If I wake up early, I like to "take the morning" [1] and reclaim it for whatever personal desires, but usually reading on the Kindle, meditating, and taking the time to brew a nice coffee by hand.

I only use an alarm clock if I have a meeting before 10 am.

At night I try not to look at any blue light more than 1-2 hours past sunset.

[1]: https://backchannel.com/how-i-got-my-attention-back-c7fc9297...

Re: Ask HN: How you wake up?

#14

Post by venerable » Tue, May 09, 2017, 12:57 AM UTC

Lately I've been waking up and staying in bed for a little while, anywhere between 20 minutes in bed to two hours, especially if I'm low energy and without coffee.

On workdays I have no time for myself until I hit the road. I rush through a shower without fully waking up. I'm awake, but I'm usually focusing on getting clean first. Sometimes I have time for a small breakfast, maybe coffee, but I don't center myself until I get picked up by car pool.

Re: Ask HN: How you wake up?

#15

Post by andymurd » Tue, May 09, 2017, 5:29 AM UTC

I generally wake up when 5 kilos of fur jumps on my bladder and shouts "MEOW!"

However, in my life before cats I really struggled to wake up for a 9-to-5 until I got an alarm with a lamp that lights up very gradually, simulating sunrise. I was surprised at how well it worked and definitely recommend them.

I had a Bio-Brite model, which I don't think are made nowadays but google for "alarm clock lamp sunrise" and there are lots of alternatives.

Re: Ask HN: How you wake up?

#16

Post by mirimir » Tue, May 09, 2017, 5:50 AM UTC

Bed shaking/vibrating alarms have worked best for me. They tend to have large digital displays, so you can place them far enough from the bed that you need to stand up to reach them.

Re: Ask HN: How you wake up?

#17

Post by telebone_man » Tue, May 09, 2017, 8:49 AM UTC

For me, I drink a pint of water before bed.

And then I balance a pint of water on my phone/alarm, which forces me to drink that when I wake up.

Re: Ask HN: How you wake up?

#18

Post by bckygldstn » Tue, May 09, 2017, 12:43 PM UTC

My last few jobs have had flexible hours, so I wake up naturally every day. If I feel I can go back to sleep, I will.

Getting enough sleep every day and never having to force myself out of bed makes a huge difference to my work performance and general mood, to the point where I don't think I could do a job without flexible hours.

Re: Ask HN: How you wake up?

#19

Post by tmaly » Tue, May 09, 2017, 2:22 PM UTC

For me, I need at least 6.5 hours of sleep to be mentally productive. What I do is set the alarm for 7 hours later from the point I go to bed. I realize it can take a little bit of time to fall asleep. I also avoid any caffeine past 3 pm.

I do not jump out of bed as I ended up getting an injury one time from the quick movement of my knee.

When I do get up, I drink a glass of water and get dressed right away and go for a 2 mile fast walk.

This gets my blood flowing and allows me to work out things on my mind.

Re: Ask HN: How you wake up?

#20

Post by orky56 » Tue, May 09, 2017, 6:21 PM UTC

I ensure I get to bed around 11:30pm so that I can wake up at 6:30am (M/W/F). I use one alarm which sounds like birds chirping and another alarm for 6:40am. 80% of the time I wake up at 6:30am and the other 20% is at 6:40am. My routine once I get up is to brush and get to the gym by 7am.

On T/Th/S/S, I wake up naturally around 6:30am but have my alarm set to 8am which is usually when I'll actually wake up. If I do wake up early, I'll do some light exercise like walking/running/swimming. I don't have to get to work till 10am so the morning is all mine to do as I see most productive.