Personal Development for Smart People Forums - View Single Post - setting alarm 90 minutes before waking time

rocketman · 05-17-2009, 11:11 AM

as the theory/fact is that we sleep in 90 minute cycles, i have tried setting my sleep schedule to sleep for a factor of 90 minutes as suggested.

my problem is twofold:

1) the time it takes me to fall asleep is never constant and thus, the empty time i am lying in bed throws off the arithmetic and i end up waking to my alarm in a very groggy state. (note: i realize there are factors such as hormonal levels and diet/exercise which are influencing this "fall asleep" time but work with me here, i can't perfect everything at once...)

2) due to work demands, i am not always able to go to bed at the same time.

in either case, if my target is to wake up at 5AM on my own feeling refreshed, it's not happening and i end up waking to my alarm (at 5AM) completely groggy.

i am wondering, if i set my alarm for 3:30, and a second alarm for 5:00, would it have the desired effect? in my extensive sleep research, i haven't seen this would-be "hack" suggested anywhere, so i am naturally skeptical that i am making some intrinsically inaccurate assumption here.

if you set it 90 minutes before you need to get up, since you immediately fall back asleep after turning off the alarm, won't you be completely refreshed if awakened 90 minutes later?

05-17-2009, 11:11 AM	#1 (permalink)
rocketman Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 228	setting alarm 90 minutes before waking time as the theory/fact is that we sleep in 90 minute cycles, i have tried setting my sleep schedule to sleep for a factor of 90 minutes as suggested. my problem is twofold: 1) the time it takes me to fall asleep is never constant and thus, the empty time i am lying in bed throws off the arithmetic and i end up waking to my alarm in a very groggy state. (note: i realize there are factors such as hormonal levels and diet/exercise which are influencing this "fall asleep" time but work with me here, i can't perfect everything at once...) 2) due to work demands, i am not always able to go to bed at the same time. in either case, if my target is to wake up at 5AM on my own feeling refreshed, it's not happening and i end up waking to my alarm (at 5AM) completely groggy. i am wondering, if i set my alarm for 3:30, and a second alarm for 5:00, would it have the desired effect? in my extensive sleep research, i haven't seen this would-be "hack" suggested anywhere, so i am naturally skeptical that i am making some intrinsically inaccurate assumption here. if you set it 90 minutes before you need to get up, since you immediately fall back asleep after turning off the alarm, won't you be completely refreshed if awakened 90 minutes later?