Have you ever taken a moment to think about your alarm clock choices? Have you ever considered what type of alarm clock person you are? The answer is probably: no. Chances are someone in your life as made the comment of whether you are a “night owl” or a “morning bird,” but have you ever given deep thought and meaning to these simple phrases? Let’s dive in and discover which of the six-alarm clock types best fits you and what it might mean about your sleep.
The “early bird”
The Early Bird wakes up in the weeee hours of the morning, often beating the sun to its morning post in the sky. These folks wake up from from 4 to 6 am, even if the alarm clock is set to go off later. Wild, right? This person hops out of bed on the first attempt and is ready to take on the day. Ummmm, teach me your ways. There are always cons to every type: if an awakening occurs near the morning, it may be hard to return to sleep. The Early Bird may be resigned to their fate and simply start the day earlier than intended, getting out of bed and turning off a still silent alarm.
The Natural
The Natural is a fascinating phenomenon best known as the circadian rhythm, which regulates the body’s internal master clock. This type of person almost doesn’t even need an alarm to wake up at the same time every morning. The Natural wakes right on time (and perhaps even a minute or two before the alarm is set to go off). Naturally, this is the person who nearly everyone else hates. Their sleep needs have been met by getting adequate time in bed. I would categorize myself here, except the Natural falls asleep quickly, gets back to sleep easily after waking in the night, and wakes in the morning feeling refreshed. I’m zero for zero here. Blame Netflix.
The Gentle Riser
The Gentle Riser is the incredible individual who, however reluctantly, wakes immediately as the alarm goes off and climbs out of bed. My husband is a PRO at this. He will never miss or snooze the alarm. Alarm goes off, he sits up, he leaves the bed. HOW.
The Hibernating Bear AKA The “snoozer”
Hello, I’m a hibernating bear. I completely rely on my alarm’s snooze function with repeated alarm to wake me. This is the type of person who quite literally sets their alarm 10-30 minutes before they even need to wake up. They choose to snooze a hundred times before being forced to get out of bed. Does this make any sense? No. Does it inevitably make you more tired? Yes. This individual prefers to keep sleeping. It is hard to wake up at first. It may take a few attempts to get the day started with several false starts. Think of a bear waking for his long winter hibernation, let’s ease into the “waking up” phase.
The Neutralizer AKA The “slept through the alarm-er”
The Neutralizer (sounds so cool, but it’s not) hears the alarm and responds promptly.. by turning the alarm off. Dangerous game to play, my friends. Unsurprisingly, this may lead to oversleeping. Insert shocked Pikachu face. Everyone knows one of these, the person who somehow constantly forgets to either set their alarm or is always hitting the “off” button in a sleepy haze instead of hitting snooze or just sets the alarm for silent accidently. Whatever today’s excuse is, this person just can’t seem to wake up!
The Unwaking Dead
Last on the list and certainly the LAST to wake up: The Unwaking Dead. These are the unsuccessful ones who are nearly impossible to wake when the alarm goes off. Think of any teenage you’ve ever met. Often categorized at night owls, staying up until 2 or 3 am, they will not easily wake until at least 10 am. It’s impossible to wake them up. And if you DO manager, guess what? They fall right back to sleep. My advice: let in the sunlight. Morning sunlight can help to reset these circadian patterns and make it easier to wake the person. If it’s a dark and rainy morning, forget it. They’ll never rise.
