For the past three days I have woken up really early by jerking awake and being absolutely convinced that I am late for work. Then I look at the clock and it says 5 a.m. and I realize that the alarm clock isn’t set to go off for another hour and a half. Then I feel like a jackass and go back to sleep only to jerk awake again in 20 or 30 minutes feeling like I’m late for work again. My body seems convinced that I am sleeping through my alarm clock (which isn’t at all possible, actually, because it is one of these clocks that makes the shrillest noise I’ve ever heard) and will not let me sleep.
I have done this from time to time before but never for several days in a row like this. What the heck is going on that is making me jerk awake like this? Has anyone else ever had this problem? Is there a solution that doesn’t involve prescription drugs?
I don’t know if this is directly related to your problem, but here’s what happened to me:
For years, I was trying to get the “recommended” 8 hours of sleep. However, I constantly overslept and was chronically late for everything.
What I found out later is that the recommended 8 hours is actually an average. Individuals can range from 6 to 10 hours. I was on the 10 hour end, but my friend was on the 6 hour side.
If you aren’t sleeping through the night, it’s possible that you are on the lower end and may be better off sleeping a little bit later.
Maybe you’re going through an anxious spell and since the clock is so shrill, you are waking up to avoid being awakened by it. I had one of those too. Dreadful damn thing.
My internal clock would wake me up minutes before a loud alarm. Sounds more like an alien abduction and they have their flashy lighty memory thing set on daylight savings time.
Keep tabs on your diet and see if anything changes.
I did make some changes to my diet about a month ago. I’ve been eating more fruits and vegetables and less processed crap. I thought that was supposed to make me sleep better, not worse!
I will look into getting a less frightening alarm clock and see if that helps.
Melatonin pills don’t require a prescription and I’ve started taking them recently. I have little problem *falling *asleep, but quite a bit of trouble *staying *asleep, particularly in the early morning about an hour before I’d like to be awake.
The melatonin seems to help, although if that’s just placebo effect, that’s still OK with me!
I’m 27. I know that as people get older they wake earlier but this is a jolting sensation with my brain screaming, “You’re late!” If that is how it is as you get older I am not going to be very fond of the aging process!
I don’t drink alcohol at all, actually. I also don’t smoke and I only allow myself caffiene once a week.
I will certianly look into melatonin and see if that helps!
Personally, I’ve been under a lot recently, due to family health worries. There was a period of a few months this past spring and summer when I was getting all sorts of upsetting phone calls and making multiple late night trips to the emergency ward, etc.
Things have finally calmed down a bit, but now I keep getting woken up in a panic in the middle of the night by dreams of the phone or doorbell ringing. Logically, I know they’re just symptoms of lingering anxiety and I’m hoping they’ll happen less often as time goes by but that isn’t very comforting when adrenalin is giving you the shakes at 4am.
When I started eating better and exercising more, I stopped being able to sleep for about three weeks. I think my body was mad at me, as I never had trouble sleeping before or since. I don’t know how that would explain the late to work feeling, but in my case I guess it was an adjustment to the new efforts I was making.
A change in diet for the better doesn’t mean it won’t affect your sleep. You’re colon may feel younger and more refreshed for your efforts. If your alarm is scaring you then buy a radio with 2 alarms. I have one like that with a CD player so I have the choice of radio, alarm or CD for both wake settings. Set the first one to music and the 2nd one to a CD of music that won’t give you a heart attack.
Melatonin is a natural hormone (God know’s how it’s made) that triggers sleep. Start out with the smallest amount and work your way up.
I’ve had this experience for months, but earlier, sometimes at 2am or 3am and sometimes 6am when I would like to sleep in. I took a sleep problem course online from Kaiser Medical (only for insurance members) and after six weeks of advice and sleep logs and relaxation exercises I was no better off. But this is the first year I’ve had any trouble sleeping, so it’s unsettling. Just have to ride it out I guess.
