how the light gets in
Jan. 12th, 2010 01:26 pmI discovered ages ago that I wake up a lot better when there's some sunlight in the room. I also have trouble sleeping if it's light out. I can fix this problem by closing the blinds in the room when I want to sleep in past dawn, but that just exacerbates the waking-up difficulties. Given a choice between "wake up at six-thirty" and "wake up with the alarm at quarter past seven, grumpy and woozy from being jolted awake," I've so far gone irritably with the latter.
For Xmas I got a sunrise clock. This is basically a 60-watt light attached to an alarm clock. You set the alarm for, say, quarter past seven, and starting at quarter of seven it gradually turns on. The simulated sunrise supposedly wakes you up gently. (There's also a beeper alarm for backup.)
It works pretty well for the most part. The actual clock part is too small and dim for me to read without my glasses so I now have two alarm clocks on my bedside table. The light nominally gets bright enough to read by; far as I'm concerned it diffues too much for that, so I keep the reading lamp around as well. The past couple days I've been awake by shortly after seven without having to deal with RREEP RREEP RREEP.
Unfortunately my subconscious knows exactly how to deal with this: by burrowing down into the covers on the side with the light. This may yet turn me into one of those "five more minutes mom" kids.
Clearly the solution here is transparent blankets. I am brilliant.
For Xmas I got a sunrise clock. This is basically a 60-watt light attached to an alarm clock. You set the alarm for, say, quarter past seven, and starting at quarter of seven it gradually turns on. The simulated sunrise supposedly wakes you up gently. (There's also a beeper alarm for backup.)
It works pretty well for the most part. The actual clock part is too small and dim for me to read without my glasses so I now have two alarm clocks on my bedside table. The light nominally gets bright enough to read by; far as I'm concerned it diffues too much for that, so I keep the reading lamp around as well. The past couple days I've been awake by shortly after seven without having to deal with RREEP RREEP RREEP.
Unfortunately my subconscious knows exactly how to deal with this: by burrowing down into the covers on the side with the light. This may yet turn me into one of those "five more minutes mom" kids.
Clearly the solution here is transparent blankets. I am brilliant.