Author Topic: No SNOOZE April  (Read 8583 times)

SCUBAstache

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No SNOOZE April
« on: April 01, 2018, 10:49:00 AM »
Hi folks. This is a long overdue challenge for me. I've never been a "morning person" but lately my snooze habit has gone from bad to worse. And I'm finally sick enough of it to do something about it. So I declare April my no snooze button month. I started off strong today by setting my alarm for 8am (early for my weekend standards, but still just enough to get a full 8 hours of sleep) and did get up immediately. I think tomorrow the work week will be the real test! And obviously a key part will be going to bed on time. Hoping my excitement about the challenge (and this public accountability) will help me push through!

I truly believe my crappy multiple snoozes start to my days recently is detrimental to my happiness. In addition to this challenge, I'm going to be tracking other areas of my life that I also want to focus on being better at (food, exercise, tomorrow prep, social, self-care, reading) though I'm resisting setting strict goals in any of the other categories in an effort not to overwhelm myself. I'm hoping the mere act of tracking these things will motivate me to do better... the whole "what gets measured gets managed" idea.

Feel free to join in!

SCUBAstache

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #1 on: April 01, 2018, 01:47:30 PM »
So I have gotten away with my bad habits this past year because my boss let's me work a flexible schedule. As long as it isn't ridiculous (after 10 or so?) and I don't have any early meetings, I can pretty much show up whenever I want. Great, right? Not for me!! I dread my commute, and getting ready, and generally enjoy sleeping so it's very easy to hit that snooze button for "just another five minutes." Ha. So I go into work late, have to stay late as a result, get home late with hardly any time or energy to do anything (including prepare for the next morning) before it's technically time for bed. But then I often stay up too late anyway zoning out on the internet, and thus want to sleep later. It's become a vicious cycle and I've had enough.

RenaissanceGal

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #2 on: April 01, 2018, 02:42:10 PM »
I so need this challenge right now--I'm in!

As a freelancer, I don't need to be out of bed at any particular time. That, combined with seasonal lethargy (winter is still holding on to Michigan by its fingertips), has me staying in bed far longer than I need to in the morning. I know I'll feel better and have a more productive day if I get up early, and maybe a little added accountability will actually make me do it.
 
The goal is out of bed by 7 a.m., maybe working my way toward 6 as the month progresses.

beattie228

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #3 on: April 02, 2018, 08:34:11 AM »
Great idea for a challenge. I consistently hit 2-3 snoozes each morning. Instead of snoozing, got up with the first alarm and went for a run before work. Then spent some leisurely time with a cup of coffee and my spreadsheets. Once I'm actually up, I don't miss the extra few minutes of sleep. Just need to retrain myself to make this the norm.

Chadbert

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #4 on: April 02, 2018, 09:35:21 AM »
I challenged myself to this years ago and it has been great.  I started by setting my alarm to the latest possible time that I could get up and get to work on time.  That forced me to get up the first time because there was no time left to hit the snooze.  After a couple of weeks of that, I started backing up the time in 5-10 minute increments until I was giving myself a full hour to get ready for work in a relaxed way every day.  My sleep generally feels better and my day starts off much nicer this way.  My wife is a natural morning person, so multiple snoozes would really disrupt her sleep.  As it is, she gets up around the same time as me on a semi-regular basis, even though she really needs more sleep (pregnant with a toddler in the house).

SCUBAstache

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2018, 03:01:31 PM »
It's nice to have some company, thanks for joining in guys! It's funny, and no coincidence that I never had a big problem when I had to be at work at a fixed time, or if I have an early meeting I can't miss, etc. Sure, I might still hit the snooze a bit, but I KNOW that I have to be there at X time, and thus won't go crazy with it. I guess I need the external accountability with a flexible start time, since as a sane person it's not like I naturally want to go to work. :)

So far I am 2/2. Set my alarm for 6am this morning and got up immediately. Was in bed by 9:30ish last night and probably asleep by 10:30ish so just a bit off my 8 hour goal. Not hitting the snooze didn't magically make my work day better, but it definitely made my morning better and it was certainly nice to leave work early and beat some traffic home. One of the best benefits was not having that annoying morning dialogue/bargaining with myself about when to get up, dreading traffic, and scrambling to get ready.

@RenaissanceGal I think I would REALLY struggle with freelancing and/or working from home because of this exact reason. Good for you for taking this on! One of my secondary motivations for this is that I hope it might help me do better in early retirement so I don't sleep the day away.

@beattie228 That's great that you got a run in, I always feel so much better when I work out before work. Then it's DONE and I can move on with my day with a feeling of accomplishment. Maybe I will incorporate that into my personal challenge next week... And yeah, I feel the same way that once I'm up it's fine - it's just the getting out of bed part that I really struggle with.

@Chadbert thanks for the advice! And I'm sure your wife appreciates the consideration. This will definitely help my boyfriend since he's the light sleeper of the two of us.


ptobest

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #6 on: April 02, 2018, 04:59:17 PM »
Great goal! I never hit snooze - guaranteed by positioning the alarm clock such that either I have to crawl over another person or physically get out of bed to hit snooze or turn it off, but I'd really like to get out of the habit of needing the alarm in the first place. I always feel much more refreshed when I wake up naturally, instead of being woken up mid-REM by that pesky alarm. So, my twist on this will be "force myself to be in bed by 11pm every night to ensure I have enough time to fall asleep, get my needed hours, and wake up before that alarm". The tricky part of this is forcing myself to keep to it on the weekends.

SCUBAstache

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #7 on: April 02, 2018, 05:18:38 PM »
I share your dream @ptobeast - I love the idea of not having to set an alarm at all. Both in the sense that I'd like to wake up naturally early-ish, and also retire and not having any early morning commitments! I guess that's why most of us are here on this forum anyway.

Sadly I must admit that if I don't know I have to be somewhere (and am not committed like I am this month), past experiments with my "set the alarm out of reach" have ended with me getting up, hitting snooze, and crawling back into bed. :-/ I was able to do this in such a zombie like trance that my body didn't register it as truly "waking up." I'm glad it works for you, though.

I'm not sure what to do about weekends, either. Everything I read says to stay on the same schedule for optimal sleep hygiene, but I feel like I "deserve" to sleep in at least a little? Maybe I will compromise with an hour later than most weekdays or something like that.

RamonaQ

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #8 on: April 02, 2018, 06:20:56 PM »
Oh, man, I am a snoozing snoozer who snoozes.  I currently have three alarms set on my phone because I can turn them off basically still in my sleep.

I did some time tracking for a while and was horrified to find how much time I waste either in bed in the morning snoozing or in bed in the evening procrastinating on going to sleep because I'm dreading waking up early the next morning.  And yes, I realize how illogical this is.

Maybe if I read about people having success here I'll be inspired to actually commit to it myself. 

Syonyk

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #9 on: April 02, 2018, 09:34:08 PM »
Sadly I must admit that if I don't know I have to be somewhere (and am not committed like I am this month), past experiments with my "set the alarm out of reach" have ended with me getting up, hitting snooze, and crawling back into bed. :-/ I was able to do this in such a zombie like trance that my body didn't register it as truly "waking up." I'm glad it works for you, though.

In college I wrote an alarm clock that required me to log into my computer and do math problems to shut it up to solve this issue.

Quote
I'm not sure what to do about weekends, either. Everything I read says to stay on the same schedule for optimal sleep hygiene, but I feel like I "deserve" to sleep in at least a little? Maybe I will compromise with an hour later than most weekdays or something like that.

Get up early and be productive?

============

I'm bad at turning my alarm off and going back to sleep.  I'm in.  6AM all April.

Cressida

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #10 on: April 03, 2018, 12:01:18 AM »
I'm definitely following this challenge.

SCUBAstache

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #11 on: April 03, 2018, 06:08:20 PM »
... and be productive?

Whoa, pump the brakes. One step at a time (for me at least). Maybe next month I can add the productive part. Good luck with 6am! I still think I might do 7 on the weekends, TBD.

3/3. Today was successful but felt a little harder. Maybe the initial first few days enthusiasm is starting to wear off, or maybe I just slept poorly last night. But, I did it, so that's all that matters. The hours really drug at work today, but my commute was SO MUCH BETTER than normal thanks to the early hour.

Syonyk

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #12 on: April 03, 2018, 08:22:08 PM »
Whoa, pump the brakes. One step at a time (for me at least). Maybe next month I can add the productive part. Good luck with 6am! I still think I might do 7 on the weekends, TBD.

I'm up at 6AM a few times a week anyway, so this is just pushing it to the rest of the days.

SCUBAstache

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #13 on: April 04, 2018, 06:12:31 PM »
4/4, going strong. Traffic struck back though, despite the early hour an accident caused a solid 15 minute delay getting to work. Oh well. Earlier this week I felt pretty energetic and inspired to do things when I got home. Today I did not. Can't win 'em all.

Syonyk

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #14 on: April 04, 2018, 06:49:40 PM »
Today was not ideal.  Woke up at 6, laid down to read a bit, fell back asleep.  *sigh*

haypug16

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #15 on: April 05, 2018, 01:49:58 PM »
I'm a little late to the game but I'm in. I hit snooze at least once but often 3-4 times in the morning some morning I'll snooze for like an hour. It's ridiculous. My goal will be to set my alarm and get up at 6:30AM. I too have a flexible work schedule but would prefer to get in earlier and leave earlier. I hope to work my way down to a 5am wake up so I can work 6:30-3:00 but that's a while away and would really only be needed if I end up having any kids. I'll be happy with 7:30-4:00

SCUBAstache

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #16 on: April 05, 2018, 05:55:12 PM »
Welcome @haypug16 ! I would also like to do a 5am wakeup eventually so I have plenty of time to workout before work, but 6am seemed like a more reasonable place to start. Good luck!

@Syonyk hang in there. Hopefully the set back won't derail you --- I've used one misstep in past challenges as an excuse to abandon the whole thing... so don't be like me! There's no way I could read in bed without falling asleep! I think even reading on the couch that early would be tough for me. In a future FIRE scenario, I like the idea of going for a walk first thing.

How's everyone else doing?

I'm still going strong at 6am. 5/5. Though today was a bit frustrating because I was in a class that didn't start til 0830, so I had an hour plus to kill at work. Oh well, at least I beat most of traffic. The real test is coming up soon --- weekend! Yikes! I think I am going to give myself 1 hour extra to sleep in and make it a 7am wakeup like I did on April 1st. I will still aim to be in bed by 10 so I'm getting an extra hour of sleep rather than just going to bed later.

haypug16

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #17 on: April 06, 2018, 06:48:13 AM »
Well day 1 for me was a big success. I actually woke up about 2 mins prior to my alarm going off and didn't hit snooze at all! Though I laid in bed with DH talking about summer plans, and our list of things to do this weekend until about 7:15! yikes! Anyway, I'll call that a success. We have big cleaning/organizing plans tomorrow so I will set my alarm for 7:30 am to get an early start.

1/1 No Snooze

beattie228

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #18 on: April 06, 2018, 11:36:28 AM »
This morning was a success. Got up with the first alarm. Yesterday, not so much.

No morning obligations this weekend so I'll count both Saturday and Sunday as a win since there's no alarm set to hit snooze on :-).

SCUBAstache

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #19 on: April 06, 2018, 03:18:15 PM »
No morning obligations this weekend so I'll count both Saturday and Sunday as a win since there's no alarm set to hit snooze on :-).

Interesting loophole!! I like it! But I'm going to resist using it because I know I'll sleep til 10 or 11 if I let myself, which isn't great in most cases. But I hope you enjoy it.

Today was a little tougher for me, as I stayed up til midnight last night reviewing some work stuff. Not a great move. I did, however, get up on time and not hit the snooze so it was a success. I'm looking forward to my extra hour of sleep tomorrow!

missundecided

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #20 on: April 06, 2018, 03:56:14 PM »
In for the public accountability too!

I'm weird in that, not only do I hit snooze multiple times, but when I finally get out of bed, I'll walk my dog...then crawl back into bed "just for a few minutes." This habit is so ingrained that even my dog will make a beeline back to my our bed once we get back inside.

Rosy

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #21 on: April 07, 2018, 02:31:48 PM »
I had read somewhere that you can train your mind to wake up at any given time. So I tried it and it worked for me.

It has been years since I set my alarm. I stopped setting my alarm once I became a freelancer, even though I had appointments and work to do.
First, I experimented with ten to bed, seven to rise since I generally require a full eight hours of sleep to be fully functional.
These days I can go to bed at ten or eleven or even twelve and still rise at 7:00 to 7:30 - ten to eight is my latest.

I am still surprised that I can actually do that. No anxiety, just awareness of the time.
If I get up any later than eight then too much of the morning is gone already, I like to spend an hour just for breakfast and getting things ready for the day.

Most of the time that I worked for Corporate America, it meant the alarm would go off at 5 AM and I'd get up at 5:05 AM. So seven or seven thirty is a great luxury even in retirement. I'll never be one of those old folks or military types who can hit the mat at six sharp - although I often get up at 6:30 if I went to bed early.
I think a lot depends on just how much sleep your body needs - some people need only six hours others nine hours.


SCUBAstache

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #22 on: April 08, 2018, 01:06:49 PM »
@Rosy how exactly do you "train your mind" ?? Glad it has worked for you, pretty neat trick!

So, this weekend. Overall pretty good on the sleep front. Saturday I woke up to my alarm at 7 as planned and got up right on time. That night, however, I just couldn't bring myself to set my alarm. So I just woke up naturally today, around 8. Definitely cheated after I said I wouldn't, BUT... I'm still pretty happy with 8 for not setting an alarm. That could have easily been 9 or 10am in the past. And... I technically didn't hit the snooze button as @beattie228 pointed out!

How did everyone else fare this weekend?

haypug16

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #23 on: April 09, 2018, 08:18:33 AM »
I also decided not to set an alarm on the weekend and woke up about 8:30 AM. I count it as a win since I did not go back to bed when I woke up which I sometimes do and then find myself waking up at 10!

Today was a "real" success since I set my alarm and woke up without hitting snooze.

4/4 No Snooze

Rosy

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #24 on: April 09, 2018, 09:00:33 AM »
@Rosy how exactly do you "train your mind" ?? Glad it has worked for you, pretty neat trick!

So, this weekend. Overall pretty good on the sleep front. Saturday I woke up to my alarm at 7 as planned and got up right on time. That night, however, I just couldn't bring myself to set my alarm. So I just woke up naturally today, around 8. Definitely cheated after I said I wouldn't, BUT... I'm still pretty happy with 8 for not setting an alarm. That could have easily been 9 or 10am in the past. And... I technically didn't hit the snooze button as @beattie228 pointed out!

How did everyone else fare this weekend?

Give yourself credit for this weekend - the fact is, you got up at seven and at eight! Victory!:)
I wish I could remember which book I took the idea from - it sounded so preposterous at the time, that I still remember thinking, yeah, right - these people obviously don't have a lifestyle as busy as mine. There is no way I could ever train my mind to do that.

Actually, you sort of practiced exactly that this weekend:) so allow yourself a little time, don't obsess and try to force the issue.
See the thing is, in the beginning, you are still anxious and often your body does need a bit more rest than you think. It takes about a month to see "reliable" results and for the undercurrent of anxiety of worrying about not making it to an appointment on time to fade.

It is nothing but a new habit and having a new regiment in place to support your success is vital.

Key is that in order to be successful, you need to learn to listen to your body. That's just common sense and not hard to do at all. Pay attention to what exhausts you most, what times of the day you are tired and how in general your body reacts to different bedtime routines.
A couple of no brainer things to remember is to not have alcohol, coffee, sweets or snacks within 2-3 hours of retiring for the night.
There are also any number of relaxing herb teas (non-caffeine), I like to combine mine with herbs that strengthen your immune system. It's just a matter of finding one that tastes good to you.
Hydration in general is important, so even a glass of water is a good thing and helps with that groggy feeling in the morning.

For me, not having to listen to that damn alarm in the first place was utterly anxiety reducing and worth experimenting and exploring what my body responded to the best.

Here is the long version of what I do to calm my mind and mentally prepare for the next day. Not sure if these steps were from the same book, but I find it a helpful, stress relieving routine.

1. No alarm clocks allowed, especially nothing that has fluorescent green or red big numbers bathing the room in alien light:), no TV or computer or other blinking lights in the bedroom.
I do have a travel-sized alarm clock without LED, in case I need to catch a flight on time - not that I ever actually need to use it these days. But, I wouldn't want to miss a $1000 ticket flight - so I just kill the alarm button as I get up naturally in plenty of time.

2. I am a fan of aromatherapy. I use lavender in our bedroom, just sachets of naturally dried lavender in drawers and under the pillow:) No artificial sprays - just organic flowers from my garden mostly. The idea is that soothing scents aid your sleep and increase your sleep quality.
I am also a fan of fresh air and sleep with an open window whenever possible. I hate AC and the sound it makes, but living in Florida I don't think I could survive without it.
No matter the climate, I air out the bedroom in the morning and evening for thirty minutes, fifteen minutes if it is super cold or hot.

3. Once my head hits the pillow - I take a few deep breaths and let the day's events parade in my mind.
I acknowledge the good things that happened that day and count myself lucky:)
Then I review the not so good parts of the day. I don't look for solutions immediately anymore like I used to - I just take note. I've learned to stop replaying the bad stuff in my mind - it does not change anything and solves nothing.

I ask the Universe to help me sort it all out and help me see the problems from every viewpoint. (I know I react too quick and too emotional, I do not always see the big picture until it is too late, so taking a step back is helpful to me).
Full disclosure: If I'm really upset or in trouble I ask G to help me and remind myself that this too shall pass:) Can't get that Catholic upbringing out of my mind. (Childhood indoctrination:)
Knowing that everything in our lives is only temporary is huge.

Are you rolling your eyes yet?:)

4. Then I decide what my first task - action of the day will be and promise myself not to get sidetracked but take care of that one most important thing first - no matter what.
Then I think about all my projects and build a list of three to five priorities, often this is the time I remember a forgotten detail or realize I could make a change and improve everything.

5. Sometimes I wake up with a solution that hadn't occurred to me before or I suddenly change all my plans, because I had a better idea.
I live by my various to-do lists, it gives me the illusion of control of my life and reminds me, that all in all, I'm getting things done, sometimes at lightning speed, sometimes at a snails pace - but hey.

I think it is the de-tethering myself from the shrill alarm interrupting my sleep that makes it possible to even wake up refreshed, with new ideas and ready for the day - instead of instant anxiety and fuzzy, disorganized thoughts.

Carry on:) - my apologies for the wall of text.

beattie228

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #25 on: April 09, 2018, 11:31:05 AM »
Got up with the first alarm this morning. Hoping the habit sticks because I've enjoyed not being so frantic to get out of the door in the morning.

SCUBAstache

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #26 on: April 09, 2018, 05:27:35 PM »
Nice job @beattie228 and @haypug16 ! Yeah not being frantic is a huge benefit I've noticed, too.

@Rosy I actually didn't roll my eyes and really enjoyed that, thanks for taking the time to write it out! I'm actually pretty tempted to give it a shot since I don't have to be at work at a certain time most days, it wouldn't be the worst thing if I did "oversleep"... and it would certainly fall in line with "no snooze" April!

Today was kinda rough. I was bad and stayed up past 11 last night and it showed this morning. I got a little too ambitious and set my alarm for 5:30 --- and I snoozed it, argh! But, I did wake up to my 6am alarm as usual and got up to that, so all things considered not too bad of a transgression. Realistically it just wasn't enough sleep for me going to bed that late. On a more positive note, I went to the gym before work! So that was a nice change, to have it done and out of the way. The only negative is having to shower/get ready at work. The locker room is decent, but it's kind of a pain hauling the extra shower stuff to work. If I workout AFTER work, I don't need to shower or change until I get home, so no extra stuff other than workout clothes. Not sure which is better to aspire to, but I will say I did feel more energized than usual this morning. 8/9

haypug16

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #27 on: April 10, 2018, 08:39:08 AM »
I hit snooze this morning but didn't actually fall back asleep I just thought I might. I was out very late (10PM) last night at a work dinner. So the snooze was precautionary since I was so tired this morning I was afraid I would shut off the alarm and fall back to bed and sleep for hours. But I didn't I hit snooze then got up :) So does that count?


Rosy

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #28 on: April 10, 2018, 08:54:29 AM »
Thanks for the kind words, Scuba:)
If you are sure that you are not really a morning person, you might try the exercise routine after work and see how your body responds. I've always been a morning person, obnoxiously chipper (says my son who is a night owl like his dad:).
Generally, I taper off around three and rally again around six/seven and I'm usually done in by around ten.

One is simply more effective when one gets enough sleep and isn't constantly stressed out - tough to do in today's working world or if you have little ones.
Good Luck with finding the best routine for yourself!

SCUBAstache

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #29 on: April 10, 2018, 06:43:25 PM »
Thanks @Rosy ! I've always been more of a night owl, but I've never given the "morning person" thing a consistent chance, so who knows... still time for expirementation! But, regardless, it seems like with my current life situation, morning person would be the best case scenario.

@haypug16 I think you should cut yourself some slack - doesn't count as a transgression in my book!

I am 9/10. Got up at 6 per usual today, but didn't get a workout in before or after work - just wasn't feeling it. Today I was exhausted after work and took a nap on the couch around 5:30pm... so I'm concerned I may not sleep well tonight. I usually try to resist naps but the pull was too strong today.

Rosy

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #30 on: April 11, 2018, 08:32:12 AM »
Naps are fine as long as they stay between 15 to 20 minutes - longer than that and they may affect your nightly sleep. Read that somewhere too:), but you should easily be able to google it for scientific evidence:)

I like a small cup of coffee for a pick-me-up in the afternoon. I grew up in Germany where if you are invited over for coffee that generally means three o'clock in the afternoon. Thank G the states finally has some good coffee, real beans - not that dusty powder they had when I arrived in 1969:)
Capresso or Ninja coffee bars are my friends - no flavored ready made cups for me.
I scaled down my coffee intake from all day long to morning, two big cups and afternoon, a small cup. Your body changes and reacts differently with age. I drink more herb tea now.

Usually, I make a pot of herb tea in the evening after supper. I often bring some back from Germany because they have such good tasting interesting mixes to aid your overall health. It's a lot more expensive, three to ten times to be exact, to find good tasting, quality organic herb tea here.
But, over the past ten years it has become more available and at least it isn't so difficult to find even a basic mint or organic chamomile in most supermarkets.

It is wonderful to see that the new generation is more into health in general and discovering the benefits of organic foods.
My area is blessed with lots of small shops and several open-air markets plus the Greek, Polish and Meditteranean and Arabic store carry the real thing. The Asian market has some killer Dragon teas ... I think that stuff must have more caffeine than my occasional espresso.

I do visit the health food - natural food stores in my area just to keep up with what they now offer and I always have to grin when I discover something I've known about for decades that is suddenly a hot item:)
Digressing ... just meant to point out that the amount and quality of food and drink do affect our bodies and in turn our sleep. Like having a Guinness to relax my aching muscles from working in the garden:)
 

TVRodriguez

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #31 on: April 11, 2018, 08:59:39 AM »
Really nice challenge you've got going there, SCUBAstache.  Other posters had some great points--I especially enjoyed Rosy's contributions to this topic. 

My two cents:  Last summer, I challenged myself to wake up at 6am every day, weekends included, and I wrote down what time I got up each day.  I have school-aged kids, and I have to leave the house with them by 7:30 to get to school on time during the school year.  Over last summer, I didn't have that daily deadline, but I got up at 6am anyway, and I used the time to exercise, read in Spanish, journal, meditate, catch up on news, prepare for my day, whatever, while my kids played.  I had a summer-time nanny who arrived at 9am.  It was great.  I felt like I had more time for everything.  My workouts showed.  I got through three novels in Spanish.  I cooked breakfast for us all before heading to work.  I read to my kids after breakfast.  The bigger challenge was the weekends.  I allowed myself to nap if I needed it.  Anyway, by the end of the summer, I found it easier to get up on time during the week.  I do still snooze, but I'm always out of bed by 6:30am weekdays and often by 7 or 7:30 on weekends.  Once the kids are out of school, I think I'd switch to 7am and go running or swimming.  I'm in Florida, too, and in the summer, IMHO the best time to be outside is before 8am.

Glad I dropped into this thread.

beattie228

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #32 on: April 11, 2018, 11:56:26 AM »
Hit the snooze not once but twice this morning. Womp womp. Hoping to get a streak going next week so that I don't feel tempted to break it.

finallyfrugal

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #33 on: April 11, 2018, 01:36:17 PM »
Late to the game, but I'd love to join this challenge! I have a habit of the 1 snooze a day, but I'd like to form a new habit of just getting out of bed when the alarm goes off.

Tomorrow will be day 1 for me!

SCUBAstache

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #34 on: April 11, 2018, 07:25:04 PM »
Glad you've joined us @finallyfrugal ! And thanks for stopping by @TVRodriguez , it's nice to hear other's positive experiences with getting up earlier.

@beattie228 I snoozed this morning, too. :-( Just as I predicted, my nap threw me off (it was nearly an hour long, oops) and I ended up staying up til 1am! So, not exactly shocking that I had trouble getting out of bed this morning. Wasn't a huge transgression. Woke up to my backup phone alarm at 615 instead of my usual 6. Oh well. Tomorrow will be better! 9/11

Syonyk

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #35 on: April 11, 2018, 07:47:29 PM »
I'm... eh.  I'm up earlier, but still not 6AM unless I have somewhere to be.  If I'm heading out in the morning, it's no problem at all, but if I'm just staying at home, I'll get up and read for a while, then typically doze off a bit.  Nobody else is up, and short of going out to my office in the dark, I don't particularly have anywhere set up to write. :/

haypug16

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #36 on: April 12, 2018, 08:12:49 AM »
Woke up before my alarm today! I kind of already knew this but as I am working through this challenge I can confirm I need 9 hours of sleep. I pretty much don't need any alarm if I go to bed and am able to sleep for 9 hours. 7.5 hours is fine as far as being a function part of society but 9 is perfect if I want to wake up on my own and feel fully rested. So if I want to get up by 6:30AM I just need to make sure I'm in bed with the lights off and my white noise app going by 9:30PM. Of course once I start working towards my eventual goal of 5AM I'll be going to be at like 8PM. I think I can handle that if it means feeling as rested as I do today. :)

7/7 No Snooze

finallyfrugal

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #37 on: April 12, 2018, 12:33:21 PM »
Glad you've joined us @finallyfrugal ! And thanks for stopping by @TVRodriguez , it's nice to hear other's positive experiences with getting up earlier.

@beattie228 I snoozed this morning, too. :-( Just as I predicted, my nap threw me off (it was nearly an hour long, oops) and I ended up staying up til 1am! So, not exactly shocking that I had trouble getting out of bed this morning. Wasn't a huge transgression. Woke up to my backup phone alarm at 615 instead of my usual 6. Oh well. Tomorrow will be better! 9/11

Thanks for the welcome! Day 1 was a success! I only did it because of this challenge! haha! The challenge is working so far! Only the rest of my life to go!

SCUBAstache

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #38 on: April 12, 2018, 03:35:03 PM »
Oh man - I had my worst day yet - snoozed twice, shit! I was still up by 6:30, but yikes, I don't like this trend. Gotta reverse things. For whatever reason I've been resistant to going to be early this week, and it's really been kicking my ass a result! 9/12 @haypug16 Great job and I think I'm probably like you needing the 9 hours, so clearly I need to prioritize the early bedtime more than I am!

haypug16

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #39 on: April 13, 2018, 08:22:59 AM »
Got only 7 1/2 hours last night but still got up with my alarm no snoozing. Possibly because DH started snoring shortly before it went off. Not as well rested as 9 hours but still feeling good about just waking up. Next steps needs to be avoiding my phone and lying in bed checking social media for way too long.

8/8 No Snooze

tomorrow DH and I hit the road at Stupid Early O'clock so we'll see how I do with 6 hours of sleep. At least I can probably sleep in the car for a bit.

Rimu05

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #40 on: April 13, 2018, 08:44:21 AM »
AHHHH, Nope, don't think I can do it. I am a massive snoozer. I literally have an alarm clock that makes me do math in the morning and I literally wake up. Concentrate on the three questions. It's multiplication and addition so something like (36x7) + 52. You have a time limit, but I still do them and then reset my alarm to ten minutes later. I have gotten very good at such basic math though.

Rosy

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #41 on: April 13, 2018, 10:25:25 AM »
Oh wow Rimu - math before coffee, isn't there a law against that?:)

finallyfrugal

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #42 on: April 13, 2018, 11:08:06 AM »
2/2 but it might have been a cheat, because I set my alarm later today. But I didn't hit snooze!

SCUBAstache

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #43 on: April 13, 2018, 07:07:12 PM »
2/2 but it might have been a cheat, because I set my alarm later today. But I didn't hit snooze!

I "cheated" today too, and didn't set an alarm. It was great :) And sure enough I was awake after about 9 hours. I have noticed, especially today sleeping in, that I feel anxious about getting up when I don't have a plan. Like I was happy that I took today off work, but since I wasn't sure what I was going to do today my indecisiveness kept me in bed for longer, oddly enough. Not sure what to do about that other than maybe set a very strict morning routine? 10/13

AHHHH, Nope, don't think I can do it. I am a massive snoozer. I literally have an alarm clock that makes me do math in the morning and I literally wake up. Concentrate on the three questions. It's multiplication and addition so something like (36x7) + 52. You have a time limit, but I still do them and then reset my alarm to ten minutes later. I have gotten very good at such basic math though.

That is hilarious! At least you are improving your math skills.

wordnerd

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #44 on: April 13, 2018, 08:02:16 PM »
I've checked this thread but didn't join because I never use an alarm anymore. I'm a non-morning person who wakes up between 6:20-7:00 everyday (My secret? I had a baby who sleep trained me--not necessarily recommended).

Anyway, I set an alarm today because of an early meeting, and, wow, I forgot how jarring they are. I hope to avoid alarms for as much of life as I can. Even waking up to a baby is somehow better.

RamonaQ

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #45 on: April 14, 2018, 10:41:29 AM »
While on vacation last week I still set my alarm just about every day since we had time-sensitive things to do.  But, it was quite easy to get up without snoozing.  Partially that might be because my phone (alarm) was across the room so I had to get up.  But mostly I think it's because I was really looking forward to the things I "had" to do.  Getting up for the start of a race, or to get to an amusement park early, or even just to get a fun day started.  Getting up to go to work is a whole different ballgame, and that is when I tend to snooze.  Unfortunately that's also when I tend to procrastinate going to bed - I don't want to go to sleep because then the next thing I know I'll wake up and have to do obligation things. 

finallyfrugal

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #46 on: April 15, 2018, 05:33:08 PM »
I'm at 3/4 -- I didn't set an alarm today, and also didn't get up right away when I woke up. But tomorrow will be back to the alarm!

beattie228

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #47 on: April 17, 2018, 08:09:17 AM »
Hit 3 snoozes this morning. Recently returned from a trip to New Orleans and I'm still sleeping off the whiskey. Planning to get back on track this week.

finallyfrugal

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #48 on: April 17, 2018, 12:48:49 PM »
I'm at 5/6...And I am hating that I committed to this challenge! Every morning I think, "Why did you do this?!?!" Morning Me really really really wants to hit snooze. It has been my way of life for a while now. But Daytime Me is totally on board and knows this is a good thing. Discipline is good. Forming new habits is good. But it is a fight every morning!

Thanks for keeping me honest and for the accountability!

finallyfrugal

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Re: No SNOOZE April
« Reply #49 on: April 19, 2018, 03:01:33 PM »
Two more days of not hitting Snooze for me! I'm at 7/8 now. It is getting easier. I woke up before I needed to this morning! How is everyone else doing?

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!