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Ask HN: How can I get up early in the morning?

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Re: Ask HN: How can I get up early in the morning?

#74
post #25

If you do not sleep enough, your life will be shorter!

Is there real evidence for this?

There is some discussion in the Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10...) from 2005.

Here is some stuff about it on WebMD (http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/important-sleep-h...). This one does not outright link it to death, but many things which help death come knocking.

I thought this was well known, so sorry about the lack of links in the first assertion. Is that why I'm gaining negative marks, or are you shooting the messenger for the news you don't like?

Re: Ask HN: How can I get up early in the morning?

#75
post #70

set an alarm and be disciplined enough to get up and not hit snooze.

Unfortunately I sometimes wake up with no alarm going off, think to myself "hmm, where's the alarm? what time is it?", look at the clock and realize that it's 4 hours later than I intended and the alarm has been turned off. Since I have no recollection of turning off the alarm, it isn't really a matter of discipline :(

Edit: Of course, I'm not suggesting that this is a deal breaker, or that I've 'given up', just that it's not always as simple as "just get up when the alarm goes off." I also have been known to pass the turing test in my sleep. I once convinced my wife that I had the day off when she tried to wake me up... Yea, I was really late that day.

Re: Ask HN: How can I get up early in the morning?

#76
Do something interesting. My project consumes the whole of me. I go to bed thinking about it, sometimes I get ideas in my sleep, and I wake up eager to implement or research whatever I "dreamed" up :-)

It also helps that my girlfriend is on a different time zone and calls me early in the morning for her good-night kiss and chit chat.

Re: Ask HN: How can I get up early in the morning?

#77
I swear by this concept: http://www.homedics.com/products/soundspa-sunrise.html Even just a simple timer on a lightswitch or lamp works for starters. I find the natural sunrise effect to be less jarring however. I used to use an X10-type system as well, controlled by a server to dim lights at night and brighten them in the am. This was ideal but X10 was flaky so I'm using the SoundSpa Sunrise until I can upgrade to something more reliable.

Re: Ask HN: How can I get up early in the morning?

#78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To go to bed earlier 1) get up earlier 2) You can only shift your schedule about 1 hour per day. You can try shifting it more, but you're going to have sweater-head, nausea and hot flashes. If you go from getting up at 11 to getting up at 5, expect five days of feeling like crap. 3) The pineal gland is activated by light incident on the retina. So calculate when you need to go to sleep based on when you get up, and s…

The starvation study I remember said _don't_ eat 16 hours before you wake up, and then eat well. Then the body will remember the time you got food, and make sure you're awake for it. Also, this is the least useful comment by pg i've seen in a long while. It's not even funny if you happen to be a late sleeper.

The description by niels_olson is thorough and in large part amounts to "how to get to sleep earlier". The pg comment simple cuts to the point and says "get to sleep earlier" without the medical explanations of "how and why".

The are both very useful and correct answers to the OP. I don't think it needs to be funny. Its simply correct. Most of us have far too much to do every day and end up working too late. If you want to wake up earlier, you have to stop doing that.

I'll leave with this one (also not meant to be funny):

"Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."

Re: Ask HN: How can I get up early in the morning?

#79
post #77

I swear by this concept: http://www.homedics.com/products/soundspa-sunrise.html Even just a simple timer on a lightswitch or lamp works for starters. I find the natural sunrise effect to be less jarring however. I used to use an X10-type system as well, controlled by a server to dim lights at night and brighten them in the am. This was ideal but X10 was flaky so I'm using the SoundSpa Sunrise until I can upgrade to s…

I forgot to mention...for those occasional must-get-up-very-early mornings, I drink a coke before bed (usually I'm tired enough it doesn't phase me) and sleep with the light on. 4-5 hours later, I'm up.

Re: Ask HN: How can I get up early in the morning?

#80
post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To go to bed earlier 1) get up earlier 2) You can only shift your schedule about 1 hour per day. You can try shifting it more, but you're going to have sweater-head, nausea and hot flashes. If you go from getting up at 11 to getting up at 5, expect five days of feeling like crap. 3) The pineal gland is activated by light incident on the retina. So calculate when you need to go to sleep based on when you get up, and s…

I don't know what Plato you've read. Most of his dialogues are very dense.

It's all a matter of context. The New England Journal of Medicine makes the Symposium read like Tom Clancy.
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