Do you use an alarm clock?

[Miss Cellane]

This came up in conversation over the weekend. In my group of family and friends, I'm the only person who does not use an alarm clock to get up in the morning on a regular basis.

Pretty much my whole life, I've woken up between 5:30 and 6:30 am, depending on when I went to bed the previous night and when sun rise is--I tend to sleep a bit later in the winter and, unfortunately, wake at dawn in the summer (that can be a bit too early for me). There's no need for an alarm, because I don't routinely have to be out of bed before 6:30.

I mean, when I've had an early plane to catch or some other reason I needed to be up earlier, I set the alarm. And then spend the whole night waking up in a panic, afraid I will miss the alarm and oversleep. And waking up 5 minutes before the alarm goes off.

Everyone, and I do mean everyone, was surprised that I could get up on time without an alarm. I, on the other hand, began to wonder if any of these people gets enough sleep, if they need an alarm every single day. They were starting to make me feel like a freak.

And it's not all fun and games waking up like this. It's almost impossible to sleep in, even if I've gone to bed at 3 am, because something in my brain says, "Up! You're awake! Time to get UP!"

What do other people do?

[Float On]

Nope - none needed. I always wake up about 10 minutes before I intend to. If something happens and my internal clock doesn't go off then I can hear my husband hit his snooze button 3 times or 20 minutes later hear my teenagers' alarms even though they can't hear them at all. One of them even sets 3 alarms because he feels guilty that I have to wake him up everyday and he still can't hear his alarms - and trust me they are loud enough. That is probably why I wake up early my psyche is preparing itself for the chorus of unheeded alarms.

[CathyA]

I usually always wake up on my own between 6 and 7a.m., but if I'm supposed to be somewhere, that would be the day I woke up at 8. So I only use one if I need to go somewhere.

[treehugger]

I also have always had a very strong internal clock, which can be useful since it means I don't have to jolted out of sleep by a blaring alarm. But it can also be annoying because it means no sleeping in, ever, no matter what time I went to bed; also it takes me at least a week to reset for the 2 time changes per year.

If my internal clock ever fails, my backup is my external one in the form of Enzo the greyhound, who also has a very strong internal clock (which is stored in his stomach). Breakfast can be no later than 7:00 a.m.

[KayLR]

I have one, and I use it weekdays. But usually it is preempted by my hungry furry feline clock.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I use the alarm feature on my cell phone. So yes. If I used purely an internal alarm it would have me sleeping later :laff:

[ljevtich]

Well, I usually do not need one in the winter, as during the week, we did not have to be anywhere special.

While working in Canyonlands NP, I usually have to set an alarm in the beginning, ultimately do not need it, but DH always does. We stay up too late.

[JaneV2.0]

No. Like others, I just set my mental clock and wake up on cue. If I don't have a schedule, I just wake up "whenever."

[Rosemary]

I am a morning person and generally wake with the sun. In the winter, there are many days when I do need the alarm, which is set only as backup to my natural waking. I set it for the time that I absolutely need to be out of bed, because I figure that if I don't wake up earlier than that, I need the extra minutes of sleep.

[Gina]

When I was young I would sleep for 8 hours regardless of when I went to bed. I only use an alarm now if I need to be someplace in the morning. That allows me to relax because I know I won't sleep too late. It's an ancient clock radio so the sound is not a buzzer or anything harsh.

[Stella]

I don't use an alarm clock. I have to get up whenever my son wakes up, so I usually wake up when I hear him.

[goldensmom]

No alarm clock, no watch. I wake up at the same time every morning regardless of the time I go to bed.

[Bootsie]

I don't use an alarm clock and neither does my husband who has to be at work by a specific time. We just wake up. The exceptions are if I REALLY cannot risk oversleeping, such as when I need to catch a plane or meet someone early in the morning, but those are rare events in my life.

[Mrs-M]

I don't, but between DH and I we have two and occasionally his will go off in the morning. He sets it as a safeguard measure just in case, but normally I'm up long before anyone in the house. Must be the mom coming out in me from when my kids were little and needed me.

[Reyes]

I do. I get up just after 5am to head to the gym. There is NO way I would get up at that time on my own:-)

[Life_is_Simple]

I don't set an alarm clock. I let my body get enough sleep, and then I get up.

This is incredibly healing

:cool:

[Kestrel]

We have cats ... :)

[H-work]

I wake up to my toddlers boots shoved in my face, because she wants me to put them on her first thing (she loves shoes!). I haven't needed an alarm because the explosion of kids waking up was louder than any alarm, bar none. That, and I never, ever schedule anything earlier than 10 am, not being a morning person.

[Spider In The Bath]

We use an alarm clock as we need to get up for work in the morning and make sure we are not late. I would probably be OK without one as I am up early anyway, but my husband would not be. He sleeps like a hibernating hamster and at the weekends when the alarm is not set he is up hours after me.