7 Techniques People Used to Wake Up Before Alarm Clocks Existed

We have a complicated relationship with alarm clocks. They're crucial for keeping our schedules and jobs intact, but few people genuinely enjoy being woken up by the same sound every morning. Despite your growing resentment for that incessant beep, waking up was no easier for past generations. After all, there were no snooze buttons for church bells or factory whistles. Here are seven ways people woke up before the modern alarm clock was invented.

1. Drinking Excessive Water

Ancient people would drink large amounts of water if they needed to rise before dawn. If you’re over 30, you’ve probably experienced the need to wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. Native American tribes are said to have practiced drinking heavily before bedtime to ensure they’d be alert and ready for early morning raids.

2. The Clepsydra

Speaking of water, the clepsydra, or water clock, was used by ancient cultures for thousands of years. These weren’t exactly clocks, but rather timers, operating similarly to a modern hourglass. It wasn’t until 245 BCE that Ktesibius of Alexandria enhanced the clepsydra, also known as the “water thief,” and created the world’s first mechanical clock. It's incredible to think about Ktesibius' achievement: Seasonal cycles required uneven water levels to flow into a receiving vessel with fixed hour-marks, while daily cycles needed varying hour-marks and consistent outflow. Transforming the clepsydra into an alarm clock only needed a floating bob that would trigger an alarm once it hit the preset level. Later versions introduced gears, activating alarms or even launching a projectile into a metal plate.

3. Church Bells

In many early Christian communities, bells were used to summon worshippers to morning prayers. These religious bells also signaled the passage of time throughout the day, long before watches were common. In Islamic traditions, audible sounds and prayers mark the day’s beginning (as they still do today). The Fajr (“dawn”) prayer is the first of five daily prayers, echoing across the village. The remaining four prayers follow the sun’s movement, marking the passage of time each day.

4. Peg Clocks

Around 1555 CE, Taqi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ma’ruf invented several types of mechanical alarm clocks, including one that could be set to sound at any specific time. This was accomplished by inserting a peg into a hole on the clock’s face. Taqi al-Din was born in Syria and educated in Cairo. Similar clocks were also created around the same period in Western Europe.

5. The Knocker-Up

The Knocker-Up (or Knocker-Upper) was an individual who used a long stick, typically with wire or a knob at the end, to wake clients at a prearranged time. Clients would either agree verbally or post their preferred time on doors or windows. For a few pennies each week, they could rest easy knowing their Knocker-Up wouldn’t leave until confirming the person was awake. This role became more common during the Industrial Revolution, with larger factories and mills often employing their own Knocker-Ups to ensure workers arrived on time.

6. The Factory Whistle

During the Industrial Revolution, when workers lived near their factories, they would awaken to the sound of the factory whistle. Steel and textile mills attracted farmers from rural areas. Time became a valuable commodity, and in factories, it could be strictly managed. Work was no longer determined by the seasons; instead, it was broken down into specific time intervals. It was the factory whistle, not the sunrise or birdsong, that signaled the start of the workday.

7. Levi Hutchins’s 4 a.m. Alarm Clock

In 1787, Levi Hutchins from Concord, New Hampshire, designed an early version of the alarm clock. Encased in a simple pine box, a gear mechanism triggered a bell. However, the bell on his clock was set to ring only at 4 a.m., the exact time Hutchins needed to wake up for work.

This article was initially published in 2018 and has since been updated for 2023.