The Real Reason You Can’t Wake Up Early

Spoiler alert — it’s not you, it’s the alarm.

Photo by Usman Yousaf on Unsplash

As I write this, I can vividly imagine the default iPhone alarm. I feel it ringing in my ears and feel a traumatic flashback.

Because I’ve been rudely awoken so many times with that sudden, shrill, and loud sound, my brain has started to naturally associate it with sleep deprivation and tiredness.

When I used to wake up to a loud or unpleasant sounding alarm, I used to hate waking up, regardless of the time.

Ever since I moved to a slow, pleasant, and an easy on the ears alarm, I manage to get out of bed with relative ease — even if it’s 5 in the morning and I’ve had less than 5 hours of sleep.

You’re obviously way more likely to get out of bed if you actually like the sound that you’re waking up to. Similarly, you’re much more likely to quickly snooze or shut the alarm without waking up if you hate the sound of it.

How you start your day often sets the tone for it. So, do you really want to start your day with a loud or a sudden sound?

Here are a few good alternatives —

• Here are a few alarms from the “bedtime” feature on iOS that gently wake you up with a slow rising sound. My personal favorite and the one I use is “Early…