Alarms Are Evil

If you're struggling to get up on time, you don't need more alarms, louder alarms, puzzle alarms. You need fewer alarms.

Those five alerts with escalating ringtones? The snooze button negotiations every morning? They're not solving your problem—they're creating it. Your body already knows how to wake up. You just need to let it.

Your body has the best alarm

Your body will wake up on time if you let it. For thousands of years, humans woke up when they needed to—for hunting, farming, caring for livestock—all without mechanical alarms. Our bodies haven't suddenly lost this ability; we've just stopped trusting it.

It's only during the Industrial Revolution two centuries ago that people started to let the clock dictate life. ¹ Mandating strict start times and long hours become a way for factory owners to squeeze their employees for economic gain. Sometimes these economic structures continue. But for most, working life has changed. Manual labor is disappearing, and long hours don't lead to great output. Creativity, focus, and intensity are key. Well rested individuals full of energy are the new peak of human capital.

Our bodies try to run on a precise circadian rhythm that regulates everything from hormones to alertness. When we maintain consistent sleep-wake times, this internal clock works in our favor—allowing our bodies to complete essential restoration processes like clearing metabolic waste from the brain, consolidating memories, and repairing tissues. Research shows regular sleepers have better sleep quality and wake more refreshed. They complete full (~90 minute) sleep cycles naturally, and wake when their body is ready. Alarms, by contrast, yank us from deep sleep mid-cycle and before restoration is completed. Not only leading to a groggy person, but also increasing the odds for a range of medical issues including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and depression.

But...

Alarms should only be used as backup. For one-time events where the cost of being late is just too high: catching a flight, giving that big work presentation. If you wake up by an alarm every day, you're just subsidizing your bad sleep at the cost of your body and your mental sanity.

As with everything in life, there are exceptions. Some people work shifts. They have kids that prefer to wake at 3AM. They have a job that demands working at odd hours, going against their sleep chronotype. Some professions do require alarms, unfortunately. I'm not suggesting nurses miss their night shifts to honor their circadian rhythms. If anything, we should be extra grateful to people doing critical work for society, as they often do it at the cost of their own sleep and health².

But most people reading this will not fall into this category. So if you can, let your body sleep.

Just try it out

If you already wake and sleep at a regular schedule then cutting out the alarms will be easy. But for those struggling with waking up regularly, here are some suggestions.

Get honest about your actual constraints versus your assumed ones. When do you really need to be somewhere, versus when you think you 'should' be there? Many of us are prisoners to arbitrary start times. Unless you're performing surgery at 7 AM, showing up 30 minutes late occasionally might matter far less than showing up exhausted every day. A well-rested employee who arrives at 9:30 twice a month contributes more than a chronically tired one who's always there at 9:00 sharp.

Once you're honest with yourself about your priorities, it's time to give it a try!

1. Pick a wake time that works for you every day
2. Count backwards to find your bedtime (7-9 hours)
3. Actually go to bed at that time
4. Before sleep, mindfully remind yourself at what time you want to wake up

Stick to the schedule. Even if life comes up and you have a short night, try to wake up at the same time as normal. Try it out for at least two weeks. You'll be amazed how capable your body can be at waking you at the right time consistently.

Your body will start waking you up naturally, usually within a 15-minute window of your target time. You'll feel more alert. That morning grogginess will fade, and you'll wake up with less stress and more energy.

For your own mental comfort, you could put an alarm as backup. After all, that's what they're actually for. Just make sure they're at least 30 to 60 minutes after your preferred wake time. If these end up waking you every day, re-evaluate and try again.

Wake up

If you need an alarm to wake up, you might be trapped in a cycle that's not serving you. Time to wake up! Run on your own schedule, instead of external ones. Do yourself a massive favor, and let your body wake itself up. You'll fix your bad sleep in the process, and wake up a happier person.