Buzz
Living the life of a ‘morning person’ seems like a dream. Picture waking up early and on time to make breakfast, do yoga, select your outfit, or calmly prepare for the day ahead. Sounds amazing, right? In reality, many of us are rushing to wake up in a panic, constantly ignoring our alarms until the very last moment, scrambling to start the day in chaos.
So, how can you manage to wake up on time if you’re prone to sleeping through your alarm?
Ensure you're getting sufficient sleep
Dr. Guy Meadows, the co-founder and clinical lead at Sleep School, shared, “People often fail to get sufficient sleep at night when they sleep through their alarm in the morning. Whether it’s just one night or over several nights, failing to get a full eight hours of sleep results in a sleep debt that must be repaid.”
Catching up on sleep over the weekend won't make up for the sleep debt accumulated during the week. Your body will strive to reclaim lost rest time unless you actively ensure it gets enough sleep, so it's crucial to set and stick to a consistent bedtime.
For instance, try to make it a habit to sleep around 10 p.m. every night. Start winding down by 9 p.m. Relax and enjoy activities like reading a book, sipping caffeine-free tea, following your skincare routine, or putting on your coziest pajamas. Put your phone down.
The key is to commit to actually going to bed at your designated time. Resist the urge to finish that gripping chapter in your book or mindlessly scroll through TikTok. By following a schedule and sticking to it, you’ll develop healthier sleep habits.
Understand your own sleep patterns and habits
You may not be a ‘morning person’ in practice, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you’re not one by nature.
Meadows shared, “Some individuals may sleep through their alarm because their sleep schedule doesn’t align with their chronotype, or their natural sleep tendencies. For example, ‘night owls’ naturally stay up later and thus sleep in longer. When their alarm rings, especially in the earlier morning hours, they tend to be in a deeper sleep phase compared to those who go to bed earlier in the evening.”
This is a tough situation. The world doesn’t accommodate your personal sleep needs. Your chronotype may naturally favor late-night productivity, but your boss expects you at the office at 8 a.m., and your body’s rhythms don’t factor into that. Neither do your kids' teachers nor the friend you’ve committed to meeting for a morning jog or coffee. You have to wake up and engage with the world at the conventional hours for productivity, even if it doesn’t align with your natural cycles.
Nonetheless, knowing your own body is a valuable practice. It can help soften the blow of disappointment when you miss your target wake-up time. Show yourself some grace and aim to improve the next day.
Take other factors into account
You might be someone with ‘more sleep spindles’ compared to a light sleeper, which means you sleep more deeply and are less likely to be disturbed by noise, according to Meadows. There could be other factors influencing your ability to hear and respond to your alarm each morning, however.
Meadows mentioned, “A common symptom of depression is oversleeping. If you’re consistently sleeping through your alarm, it could be a sign of depression. Depression and sleep issues have a bidirectional relationship—poor sleep can contribute to depression, and depression can increase the likelihood of sleep disturbances. These disruptions can impact serotonin levels, the hormone that helps regulate mood.”
It’s worth considering whether your mental health might be influencing your sleep. If you suspect depression or another medical condition is at play, it’s important to seek help from a professional.
So, what can you do tonight to ensure you wake up on time tomorrow?
In addition to setting and sticking to a consistent schedule, here are a few more strategies to help you wake up on time:
Establish a morning routine. Incorporate elements like a shower, coffee, exercise, or breakfast each morning to make it a habit. Give yourself something to look forward to when you wake up.
Wake up with light. Open your curtains or use a sun lamp to let in natural light. A soft, natural light will help wake you up and keep you alert. Avoid the harsh overhead light your parents used when you were a kid to drag you out of bed.
Find an accountability partner. Make plans with a friend or partner to create some social pressure. You could attend a workout class together, walk the kids to school, or explore a new breakfast spot. The idea of letting them down by staying in bed might be the motivation you need. Or, ask an early riser to give you a wake-up call or persuade your partner to help get you up in the morning.
Change the alarm sound. Switch up the alarm sound every night to keep it unpredictable. The surprise of a new sound may help jolt you awake. You could also use a service like WakeUpDialer.com, which offers wake-up calls with your ringtone to startle you out of sleep.
Use an app. Meadows’ Sleep School offers a “30-Day Sleep Essentials” course that helps you build a consistent wake-up routine. You can also use apps like Alarmy, which forces you to complete a task before shutting off the alarm—typing sentences, solving puzzles, or scanning a barcode, like the one on your toothpaste. This brain engagement might be enough to help you shake off the sleepiness.
Meadows suggests, “If nothing seems to work and you’re still unable to wake up to your alarm, try setting multiple loud alarms and placing them out of reach. You’ll have to physically get out of bed to turn them off, making it impossible to ignore or hit snooze. This guarantees you’ll get up.”
