Monday, January 25, 2010

Turn It Off! Just Once.

Some people get up within the first five pulses of insistent alarm beeping. Others reach out a hand, groping to quiet the combustion of annoyance mere inches away from what was a peacefully sleeping face, just one minute prior. And then they fall back asleep. And are equally, if not more, annoyed when the darn thing goes off again, eight minutes later. It's almost more insulting the second time because they are just relaxing in to sleep again. So they slam down the button in fury and curl their body back into the warm comforter with tousled hair splayed against the pillow. This happens until the last possible second, when the final alarm goes off, the one that demands a flurry of activity if said sleeper is interested in keeping their job.

If the latter individual sounds like you, you're a snoozer. I'm a snoozer.

Was a snoozer.

I have always known this is a horrible habit. The last 24 minutes or so that I allowed myself to snooze were always the kind of sleep that leaves you more tired than if you would have avoided sleeping altogether. In addition, my household has not been, ahem, the calmest of all places in the morning. Let's just say Aidan and I do not have spare time where we're tapping our feet in the kitchen and trying to fill the void before we depart for the day.

I have proudly gotten up when the alarm goes off for a week. Okay, the first day was to prove a point. The second day I did it begrudingly because, again, how could I make a statement that I am going to change something so very in my control and not follow through. Now? Now I love getting up when the alarm goes off. I practically bounce up! I am not kidding, it has only been one week and I'm falling in love with not being a snoozer.

Aidan and I had breakfast at the table last week. Leisurely breakfast. The kind we have on weekends with no plans where we chat and I actually have time to load the dishwasher afterwards. My hair has been dry and at least somewhat styled when going to work for the last week. I've been early to work every day. Not only do I not miss the snoozing but I actually feel more rested by avoiding the whole dragging myself back and forth between the contentment vs. exasperation alarm clock scene.

I was a snoozer my whole life. And I think I've permanently stepped over to the other side.

Do you get up when the alarm goes off?

(In full disclosure, I must admit that part of the reason I'm posting this is because I feel like I will owe you, Internet, and I will not snooze even if I feel like it. I can't tell the Internet I'm not going to be a snoozer and then have to admit failure at getting myself out of bed!!)


11 comments:

  1. Oooh - I am so printing this off and posting where my husband must read it. See, another advantage to being single - if you are NOT a snoozer, you don't have to deal with having the last 30-45 minutes of your sleep every morning ruined by a chronic snoozer (at LEAST 4 snoozes). Drives me insane!

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  2. Thanks for stopping by, Josey! Thank you, also, for reminding me of another single perk! :) Hopefully your husband will get a laugh and maybe think about losing his snoozer ways!

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  3. I'm a snoozer. A bad one. I wasn't for a long time, but having a job that requires me up by 530 every day just makes me build in time to snooze so that I don't miss that last alarm. I call it thinking ahead.

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  4. I'm with you on not snoozing, Penelope. I think some people actually enjoy that "limbo" phase (some of my friends snooze for hours!). I'm all about maximizing real sleep. Once my alarm goes off, I'm up to make the bed (after shaking the cat off the bed). Good luck in your mission to not snooze!

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  5. I know exactly what you mean by posting it on the internet as a sort of accountability thing. I always do that when I'm trying to make myself stick to something.

    And I am very much a snoozer. I used to have three alarms, placed in different spots around the room, because I got to the point where I would turn the alarm off instead of hitting snooze, and, well, that was not so good.

    Our current system is pretty good: Will's alarm goes off at 7:30; he snoozes a few times and my alarm goes off at 8:20. Sometimes he is up and in the shower before my alarm goes off, sometimes he's not, but we both know that when my alarm goes off it's time to go to bed. Unless we're REALLY tired...then we just kind of bury ourselves in the covers, moaning things like "oohhhh I'm sooooo sleeeeeepy" and "I don't waaaaant to go to wooooooork" until it's embarrassingly late and we realize we are going to be late for work. Luckily, we both live 10-15 minutes from our workplaces. Unluckily, we know this, and are not as good about waking up on time.

    When I had to commute, I took a shuttle to work, and could go from cozy in bed to getting on the shuttle in under 10 minutes. That was dangerous.

    Ah, I just love to sleep!

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  6. I've tried this. but have since gone back to snoozing. Neither of my girls are morning people (and frankly, nor am I) and I've found that if we have time in the morning, it's just an excuse for the girls to bicker! But I do wish my oldest daughter would stop using ME as her snooze button!

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  7. So weird, just last week I too removed my snooze from hitting the button 5 times to hitting it once. One of these days I'll move over to 'alarm goes off, I'm up' but I felt like I needed a baby step.

    I agree totally though that the 30 minutes you thought you were letting yourself sleep wasn't worth the effort. Now that it's gone I feel so much better crawling out of bed.

    Go you.

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  8. It's hard to not snooze! I put my alarm across the room so I have to get up and turn it off. I also put my running/swimming/yoga stuff next to the alarm so I have to look at them and hopefully put them on and get out the door.

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  9. This is so funny, because i was just thinking about this very thing yesterday! my compromise to myself was setting my alarm clock for 4:18am instead of 4:02. That way i get my extra minutes of good sleep without the snooze limbo! ...and yes, those few extra minutes make all the difference, especially when i don't get to bed till 11 some nights!

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  10. How funny, I've been doing this too and have also been surprised at how different it feels! And my kids have actually noticed how great it feels to not be so rushed and late. Great post!

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  11. @Kim- Thanks for letting me know I'm not the only one who will feel accountable to the Internet!

    @Heidi- You get up so early!! Glad you're not snoozing.

    @Desperately Seeking Me- Thanks for stopping by! It does feel great not to be rushed.

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