It’s simple: i use the Sleep Cycle alarm clock. It’s an iPhone App that wakes you within 30 minutes of the set alarm time when you’re not in deep sleep. The result: i feel more relaxed in the morning, less sleepy or light-headed. And it goes on into the day. It just works, for me at least.
The significant part about this is that, for a long time, i tended to go to bed later and later every night and so waking up later and later in the morning – or simply feeling more and more tired after each night when i had to get up around the same time.
Over time i developed a terrible habit – i actually set my radio alarm clock to 30 to 60 minutes earlier than when i really have to get up. I used to think that helps me feel more relaxed just from the great feeling of waking up, realizing i still have another 10 minutes, turn around, hit the radio snooze button, sleep another 9 minutes. Or at least lay in bed, tired, for 9 minutes. Rinse and repeat until i finally have to get up. But that always made it hard to get out of bed and it almost always caused me to feel very tired during some point in the day, usually after lunch or right before dinner time. So tired, in fact, that i used to take power naps at work at least one or two days per week. But fortunately i did not snore like others through closed doors, head bent backwards over the chair and tablet pen still in hand. :p
Now with sleep cycle this dreadful “wake up, sleep 10 more minutes” behavior definitely hasn’t stopped, especially if i don’t have to get up at a certain time. But i do make a point to allow the sleep cycle alarm go off first and i’m using my radio alarm only as a backup. And it’s surprising that the alarm goes off when i’m almost mentally present, it’s as if it was acknowledging that i just woke up anyway.
Plus i continue to set my alarm to some time between 8 and 9:30 … quite early for me to wake up voluntarily. I mean, if i wanted to i could sleep till noon most of the days. But i don’t because i know that behavior is actually making me very unproductive, over time sleeping longer and longer and going to bed later and later as i said.
I did not believe it before because i haven’t given it much thought, but …. healthy sleep is very important for a productive work day. And it’s not all about the hours, it also has a lot to do with how you wake up!
These are four states with progressively lower activity patterns. They are also a reflection of health. I’m sick since two days and as i get progressively sicker (it started with dizziness and feeling of absence and slight headache, progressing to fever, slight freezing, more headache, sore throat, coughing, sneezing) it parallels these activity levels.
When i’m fit (both mentally and bodily) i tend to create. If i’m not that fit, usually burnout from the day and not wanting to actively create something i turn to interactive media – typically games. When i’m getting sleepy and/or sick i don’t even want to interact and just consume one TV Show after another, sleeping in between.
Not sure why i’m posting this, it seems rather obvious. What i’m thinking is just that if you’re a person who rarely interacts (not necessarily playing games), let alone not being creative, you can’t be feeling “whole”. So, stop watching TV and create something. It doesn’t necessarily mean art, or anything even remotely useful, really. I think “re-creating” your living space counts, too. And that’s just a pun i threw in to upset my girlfriend.
Back to Fringe … somehow not as good as X-Files, Lost or Dexter but at least it’s new and not bad either. Just right for my mind right now and doesn’t really matter if i fall asleep while watching.
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