Question for the early risers out there

[highvoltage]

I started a 30 day trial of getting up at 06:00 every day, and now I'm on my 7th day. So far I've been successful and haven't slept in at all, but several times I've woken up before my alarm clock goes off. Like, half an hour to an hour before it goes off (around 05:00-05:30).

My question is this: Should I just get up at that time, even though it's nearly an hour before my scheduled wake-up time?

If it were 05:45-05:59, there wouldn't be any question in my mind to just get up. But since I'm trying to reprogram my circadian clock (from about a noon wake-up time to 0600), would getting up an hour earlier than my planned wake-up time do more harm than good? I think I've shocked my body pretty good by moving my wakeup time 5-6 hours back in one fell swoop, so my sleep isn't totally restful yet, which is why I think I sometimes wake up so early, and other times not. What say you?

[Michael Howe]

I usually get up when I wake up, and that's actually about 5 minutes before the alarm goes off. If you want to wake up at 6, then I'd say stay in bed until around then. It's like telling your body, "No, you're not going to get up until I want you to, so you better start waking up then, not now." Of course, maybe you're falling asleep too early. Try having an unfixed time to fall asleep at, and just let your body tell you went it needs to shut down, but wake up at the same time, if you're not already. ^.~

[Calculusaurus]

I don't use an alarm clock and always wake up around 5-6am naturally, but never at the exact same time, just within that 1hr window.

It makes more sense to wake up when your body tells you to. If you did fall back asleep you'd probably spend most of the time in light sleep and it wouldn't really help much.

Give it 7 more days and it should stabilize. If you find that you keep waking up earlier and earlier (e.g. 5:00.. 4:30... 4:00, etc) then try a 30m bright light exposure 2 hrs before bedtime.

[highvoltage]

Cool, thanks for the tips guys. I'll to stay up later tonight until I'm really sleepy, and then go to bed. I have sort of been going to bed at a fixed time each night, but then it's also because I'm getting tired pretty early. I usually fall asleep pretty quickly after I go to bed, which has been about 21:00 since starting this experiment. I've wanted to make sure that my body gets all the sleep it needs during this transition period, but maybe 9 hours is a bit too much.

[Calculusaurus]

You may find that you simply need less sleep as an early riser.

The benefit is that you become exposed to sunlight at the right times. Even if you mostly stay indoors most of the time, there are several occasions where the bright light enters -- while you're driving a car, when windows are open, etc.

Sunlight has such a strong resetting effect on your circadian rhythm that sleep becomes more efficient when you tend to sleep only when the sun is down.

The strength of this effect depends on your personal photosensitivity. Generally, however, those who tend to live by artificial light and sleep by light (LEDs in the room, sunlight seeping in from the window, etc) -- these people can eventually "flatten" their circadian rhythm and experience a lighter sleep and less vitality during the day. But then again these people tend to drink lots of caffeine so they probably don't notice

[shakra]

I'm going to try a similar experiment..

I want to rise at 5am every morning.. go to the gym, eat breakfast etc.. all before 9am.. I normally have coffee and something naughty to eat at 9-9:30am when I arrive at work.

I'd like to get here earlier so I can get out of here and get home and make a healthy dinner..

I have been eating dinner after 7pm and it's not doing me any favours.. need to get my daily routine started way earlier..

[Cran]

This happens to me, too, but not always. I rise at 5, and often wake around 4:45.

I think this happens because my sleep-cycle has been reprogrammed to 5, and I wake up if a sleep cycle has finished around 5, instead of entering a new one.
This does not happen if I am VERY, VERY tired (less than 5-6 hours of sleep).

[Rose of Cairo]

I don't use an alarm clock and don't always wake up at the same time, but it's generally around 4-5am. I know it's way easier for me to wake up at 4-5am than at 6am! Dunno why. It's just more natural to me. Maybe this is the case with you too?

Just like it's way more natural for me to go to bed around 8-9pm than later.

I'd say, just get up when your body wakes up. Then stay awake and go to bed when you feel tired.

[bluedragon]

If I get up earlier than I want to, I just go back to sleep. It may be because I am cold, or because I need to use the bathroom. I feel that the morning sleep refreshes me a lot, and I basically fall asleep the moment my head touches the pillow again, so I don't think it would take more than an hour to get to the REM phase. But then again, I almost never wake up earlier than scheduled, because I usually get less sleep than I need, and have to make up for it whenever I can. I wake up at 5:30 2 days a week to go to the Tai Chi lessons, and on the rest of the week, I get up at 7 or 8, and I have no difficulty getting up ever, especially if I have to be somewhere.

[highvoltage]

Heh, I woke up at a little after 05:00 again this morning. I didn't get up right away and just sort of drifted in and out of sleep until about 05:45. At that point I was wide awake, so I just got up. And that was after only getting about 7 hours of sleep, which is about an hour less than I would sleep before I started this experiment. Maybe I just need less sleep now, which would be cool.

Originally Posted by Rose of Cairo

I don't use an alarm clock and don't always wake up at the same time, but it's generally around 4-5am. I know it's way easier for me to wake up at 4-5am than at 6am! Dunno why. It's just more natural to me. Maybe this is the case with you too?

Just like it's way more natural for me to go to bed around 8-9pm than later.

I'd say, just get up when your body wakes up. Then stay awake and go to bed when you feel tired.

That very well could be me. I just don't have a good reason to get up before 6, though, because the library at the University I go to doesn't open until 07:30. I know that I study way better on campus in the library than I do at home, so I don't really have a good way to spend an extra hour in the morning.

[Calculusaurus]

Originally Posted by highvoltage

Heh, I woke up at a little after 05:00 again this morning. I didn't get up right away and just sort of drifted in and out of sleep until about 05:45. At that point I was wide awake, so I just got up. And that was after only getting about 7 hours of sleep, which is about an hour less than I would sleep before I started this experiment. Maybe I just need less sleep now, which would be cool.

There's a great book by Dr Rubin Naimen called Healing Nights. He talks about gradual awakenings such as yours.

According to him, the transition from sleep to waking is like the contrast of land and sky at the horizon. At first glance, it seems that land and sky are two entirely distinct objects.

But in reality, the two flow into each other.

Gazillions of tiny dust particles float up from the ground and into the sky every second. And the molecules found in air soak down into the soil every second. In fact, trees get their 'nutrients' straight from the air, not so much the soil.

The same distinction can be made of daytime and nighttime consciousness. Most people go through life thinking that the two are entirely distinct. That daytime consciousness is "awake" and nighttime consciousness is merely, well, being unconscious.

But the truth is that the two flow into each other. And I'm not just talking about REM dreams, but in all stages of sleep there is a consciousness. And if you're willing to adopt the right sleep practices and lifestyle habits, you can get a strong glimpse into these mental states that border daytime and nighttime consciousness.

The process of a "gradual awakening" is truly cool if you develop the right kind of attitude and mental awareness. People tend to associate the drowsy state upon waking up wit negativity and laziness, which is just not the case.

Read Healing Night for a more thorough explanation

[HighGrace]

Sure! Get up and use the hour for something fun--a walk, reading a book, whatever suits your fancy.

Then evaluate how you feel. If OK, do it again if you wake early. If you feel washed out, hit the snooze alarm next time and catch a few more ZZZs.