# Who needs an alarm clock to wake up? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 2, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998 "2008-02-02T18:00:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/1 "2008-02-02T18:00:43Z")
Inspired by [this thread in GQ](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=453940), I wanted to find out who gets up via their alarm clock, vs. who awakens automatically. I don’t need an alarm anymore, and haven’t for a good many years. I automatically wake up within about 5 minutes of the time I need to get up, 49 times out of 50. I don’t know how this happened, I spent my first 30 years alarm-clock dependent. But it is sort of nice to awaken spontaneously, and not be dragged from sleep by the screech of the alarm. I will note that I still set the alarm, for that one time in 50 that I sleep longer than intended. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/2 "2008-02-02T18:07:19Z")
I rarely need the alarm clock. I’ll only set it out of paranoia, or if I have to get up at some abnormal time. Usually I am awake , as is the OP, 5 minutes before the alarm would go off on a normal workday. 5:30am is standard. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/3 "2008-02-02T18:10:23Z")
Same as you – I set it but I’m always awake before it goes off. It’s only been like this for the last few years. When I worked full-time and had to be up at 5:30 or 6, I depended on the alarm clock. Mine has a sweet little chirpy sound, so I didn’t mind waking to it. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/4 "2008-02-02T18:14:46Z")
What sucks is that I find I can’t sleep in on the weekends anymore, unless I stay up waaaaaay late the night before. My alarm is set to go off twice, 15 minutes apart. After the second one, I lay in bed until after the weather report on the news, then I’m up. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/5 "2008-02-02T18:29:19Z")
My favorite part of Saturday is turning off the alarm clock the night before. While I do tend to wake up around the time my alarm goes off during the week (6:05 am), it is very easy for me to fall back into sleep for several more hours. For me, there is a difference between being awake and being up, and the alarm clock makes sure I get from awake to up. ---
**Author:** ![ForumBot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@ForumBot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForumBot)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/6 "2008-02-02T18:32:19Z")
Count me in with those who need the alarm clock. One of the side effects of my medication is insomnia, so I have a very irregular sleep schedule. ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/7 "2008-02-02T18:37:23Z")
No need for alarm for me either. Still set it but am always up well before it goes off. I can’t stay in bed on weekends either, once I am awake I can’t stand laying around in bed. I don’t seem to have the same problem with the couch though… ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/8 "2008-02-02T18:41:59Z")
I have a talking alarm clock. Push the big button, & it speaks the time. That way, I don’t have to hunt for my glasses in the dark. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/9 "2008-02-02T18:50:21Z")
Does anyone else do this?: I put my alarm clock on the other side of my room, so I have to get out of bed to turn it off. Otherwise, it’s too tempting to hit snooze a few times before getting up. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/10 "2008-02-02T19:06:29Z")
[QUOTE=Atomicktom] Does anyone else do this?: I put my alarm clock on the other side of my room, so I have to get out of bed to turn it off. Otherwise, it’s too tempting to hit snooze a few times before getting up. [/QUOTE] I need to do that. My routine is to hit the snooze for an hour or so which leads to horrible sleep. I have to use an alarm. (I usually just set my phone) On days without an alarm, I wake up around 9:30 or so, too late for work. ---
**Author:** ![NinjaChick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@NinjaChick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinjaChick)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/11 "2008-02-02T19:10:08Z")
I definitely need an alarm. In fact, most days I set two: One that goes off at 7:30 right by my bed (and I _always_ hit snooze at least once or twice). The other is across the room and doesn’t go off until 8:15, which is when if I’m not already out of bed, I’ve _really_ got to get up. Without an alarm I will easily sleep at least an hour or two past when I need to get up. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/12 "2008-02-02T19:17:33Z")
The degree to which I need an alarm is inversely proportional to how much I’m going to enjoy whatever I’m getting up to do. I’ve woken up on my own at 3 a.m. to catch a lunar eclipse before, but I needed the alarm every single day this summer to get up and go to the job that I hated. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/59ef9b/32.png) [@Don\_t\_fight\_the\_hypothetical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_fight_the_hypothetical)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/13 "2008-02-02T19:23:00Z")
I’m 50 and have never owned one. I bought my first color TV about 3 months ago. Used. ---
**Author:** ![Cowboy8467](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Cowboy8467](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cowboy8467)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/14 "2008-02-02T19:43:18Z")
Yea, definitely don’t need the alarm clock any more. I needed it back when I was in high school and I had to wake up around 5:30 in the morning, but now that I’m waking up at a slightly more reasonable hour for work (7:00), I’ve found that I almost always wake up 5 minutes before my alarm goes off. It is very infrequent that my alarm actually wakes me up. I just set it for that 1 time out of 50 that it does. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2008, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/15 "2008-02-02T23:49:52Z")
I usually wake up before the alarm, but nowhere near reliably enough to not set the alarm. ---
**Author:** ![DadWagonDriver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/edb3f5/32.png) [@DadWagonDriver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DadWagonDriver)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/16 "2008-02-03T01:13:19Z")
I need at least two alarms to get up anywhere near on time. I don’t get much sleep, so my body resists a whole lot. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/17 "2008-02-03T01:21:15Z")
I have 5 dogs - who needs an alarm clock? Actually, the get me up about an hour before I have to be up, and I have a clock radio as a backup. StG ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/18 "2008-02-03T01:26:22Z")
[QUOTE=Atomicktom] Does anyone else do this?: I put my alarm clock on the other side of my room, so I have to get out of bed to turn it off. Otherwise, it’s too tempting to hit snooze a few times before getting up. [/QUOTE] I had a friend who used to lock his in a tin box by his bed and leave the key in a bucket of water across the room. Maybe you guys need [this](http://www.latestbuy.com.au/sonic_grenade_alarm.html)? ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/19 "2008-02-03T01:40:47Z")
I can wake up when I want to. I usually set an alarm as a backup, but it’s not really necessary. This includes waking at 2 or 3 in the morning if I need to catch an early flight. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2008, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998/20 "2008-02-03T01:55:51Z")
Nope, I don’t bother to set mine anymore. Always awake within 5 minutes of 530 am, have to be at work by 630 am. Fortunately I’m only 5 minutes drive away. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-needs-an-alarm-clock-to-wake-up/435998.md?page=2)