# How do you wake up? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 8, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142 "2017-05-08T17:59:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/1 "2017-05-08T17:59:17Z")
A classic brass wind-up alarm clock, your cell phone, your kids jumping on your stomach? Poll to follow. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/2 "2017-05-08T18:02:47Z")
…bladder? I’m old. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/3 "2017-05-08T18:03:04Z")
I said cellphone, because I set my phone’s alarm for the time I need to get up. 90% of the time, however, I wake up a few minutes before the alarm goes off. However, I sleep better knowing it’s going to get me up and I don’t have to worry about it. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/4 "2017-05-08T18:03:11Z")
I wake up to an alarm about twice a year, otherwise I’m awake well in advance of any alarm. Circadian clock. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/5 "2017-05-08T18:04:26Z")
I tend to wake up before my digital radio alarm clock goes off these days. It is rare I need the clock anymore. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/6 "2017-05-08T18:06:09Z")
I suppose option #3 covers a digital clock radio, set to my favorite classic rock station’s morning show. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/7 "2017-05-08T18:08:01Z")
Digital alarm clock. Set to 4:42 AM on workout days, and 5:07 AM on non-workout days. No alarm on weekends (unless some activity requires). I wake up like a machine, instantly ready to go – a habit I learned in the Navy (and one that still amazes my wife). ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/8 "2017-05-08T18:11:03Z")
I am a natural early riser, I have flex-time at work, and I almost always get to work before anyone I normally interact with. So I don’t use an alarm of any sort, wake up naturally, and go to work. On the three mornings per week when I commute, this means I usually wake up at 5:00 AM and arrive at my desk before 6:30 AM. On work at home days, I usually wake up around 6:00 AM and start working. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/9 "2017-05-08T18:11:54Z")
I have terminal insomnia, so it goes like this: Wake up at 2:30 a.m. due to the TI. Go to the bathroom as long as I’m up. Lie in bed wide-awake until 5 a.m., when it’s time to get up to get ready for work. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/10 "2017-05-08T18:17:28Z")
I reset my alarm a while back to two hours later because I was pulling an all-nighter at work, but did not notice it until yesterday. Because a large furry creature with a cold nose and a large pokey paw needs to Go Outside and have his breakfast at 5:58am. I would like very much if I could teach him the concept of “it’s Saturday, dammit” but so far with no success. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/11 "2017-05-08T18:34:42Z")
Battery-powered analog clock. (With another one set across the room as a backup.) ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/12 "2017-05-08T18:35:26Z")
I don’t even own an alarm clock nor a cell phone nor any other such device. When I travel, I carry a kitchen timer, and I set it to buzz the requisite number of hours I want to sleep. Small (size of a snuff can), cheap (3 bucks), lightweight, reliable, AA battery, never has to be reset for time zone, magnetic with a spring clip. Everything you could want in a clock except the time of day. I have a $5 watch for that. At home, I go years at a time without ever needing to be up at a certain time, I’m always awake by 6, get up around 7. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/13 "2017-05-08T19:14:46Z")
Light sleeper, and wake up frequently during the night. I’ve never needed an alarm clock-- I have this internal clock that works to the point that I can usually guess the time within ~5 minutes when I wake up. Usually. Once in a while I be way off, but that’s unusual. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/14 "2017-05-08T19:26:22Z")
I use my cell phone, it goes off every M-F but not on Sat and Sun. I generally wake up right before it goes off but still want to use it. I’m always afraid I’ll be sick and/or tired and not wake up at the right time some days. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/15 "2017-05-08T19:38:54Z")
Oh, you mean, “What wakes me up?”. Nevermind… ---
**Author:** ![Tranquilis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tranquilis/32/3639_2.png) [@Tranquilis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tranquilis)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/16 "2017-05-08T20:00:57Z")
Did a career in the Nav. I can parse 1MC announcements and even alarms in my sleep - I know when I’m needed, and when I’m not. I know when I have to be somewhere, and when I don’t. I usually use my smartphone as my alarm, but if I don’t need to be anywhere, I’ll wake when I feel like it - usually right about the time the dogs decise it’s time for their morning stroll. 😛 If I have business to attend, I’m awake before the dogs - and usually before the alarm. If the power goes out, I’ll be vertical and alert without knowing how I got there - But I WILL be aware there’s a power outage. If someone - kid, wife, dog, is getting sick, I wil be awake even faster than that. NOTHING can generate teleportation like the sound of a kid or dog getting sick. > [@Shodan](#): > > …a large furry creature with a cold nose and a large pokey paw needs to Go Outside and have his breakfast at 5:58am. I would like very much if I could teach him the concept of “it’s Saturday, dammit” but so far with no success. > > Regards, > Shodan Cosmic truth. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/17 "2017-05-08T20:02:35Z")
Combination of daylight and needing to pee. We haven’t owned an alarm clock since we retired, but can use the cell phone, if really necessary. I’m usually up between 6:30-7:00 anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/18 "2017-05-08T20:26:36Z")
One of those old flip-number clock radios flips from 5:59 to 6:00, followed by the closing bars of “I got you, babe” and then some jackass tells me not to forget my booties cuz it’s coooold out there. Every. Freaking. Morning. Sometimes I feel like I’m stuck in a loop or something. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/19 "2017-05-08T20:26:39Z")
Cat and/or bladder. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2017, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142/20 "2017-05-08T20:42:14Z")
When I have to go to work, it’s a clock radio. Otherwise, who knows - bladder, dog, disturbing dream, eyes popping open… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-wake-up/786142.md?page=2)