Knowing my own tendency to ignore alarm clocks, I set it last night to 5 different times - 08:45, 08:50, 08:55, 09:00, 09:05.

This morning I woke up naturally at about 08:44:50. ARGH.

This happens to me from time to time, some subconsious timer or whatever. If I don't set my alarm I will sleep well through the time I'm supposed to get up. If I do, then I end up waking up near the time the alarm was going to go off anyways.

Most alarm clocks make a very low noise when they are readying the alarm, which wakes people up just prior to the alarm going off a lot.

[quote author=Yoni link=board=2;threadid=4023;start=60#msg35231 date=1071385515]
GRR. I woke up at 8:44:50 AM and the alarm went off at 8:45 AM. This should never happen.
[/quote]

For some strange reason, this often happens to me. At least one third of the mornings, I wake up some seconds before the alarm goes off. Either it emits something before going off, some radiation, noise, whatever, or I just have an internal alarm clock to keep me from having to hear the alarm go off.

[quote author=Soul Taker link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=0#msg35237 date=1071387192]
Most alarm clocks make a very low noise when they are readying the alarm, which wakes people up just prior to the alarm going off a lot.
[/quote]

I think you're right.

Good, I'm not crazy. I've been doing this for many years. It's quite annoying. It gives me the false feeling that I was somehow cheated out of some time.

Maybe some capacitor is triggered to charge up a few seconds before the extra power is needed for the loud sounds? Whatever it is, many people can detect it.

You should repost this as a poll - how many people have experienced this?

Some time I'll try setting my alarm when I'm awake and listening carefully to hear exactly what kind of noise it makes before.

It's not at all unusual. If you get up at the same time every morning, your body clock gets used to it, and wakes you up by itsself. I've often used this in the past when my alarm clock was broken or one was not available. I'd imagine you wake up slightly before your alarm goes of because alarms are obnoxious by their very nature, and the less you have to hear them, the better :)

[quote author=Arta[vL] link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=0#msg35297 date=1071416990]
It's not at all unusual. If you get up at the same time every morning, your body clock gets used to it, and wakes you up by itsself. I've often used this in the past when my alarm clock was broken or one was not available. I'd imagine you wake up slightly before your alarm goes of because alarms are obnoxious by their very nature, and the less you have to hear them, the better :)
[/quote]

Except the alarm goes off at a different time every morning due to the day not being the same length by a few minutes. Your body is more tuned to the Earth's cycle than a clock cycle, is my guess.

But your theory is a good first one. I thought about it before when this used to irritate me, so sometimes I'd set my clock to get up a significant time earlier or later (more than 40 minutes). Yet still, on occasions where I wasn't dead tired, I would still wake up prior to the alarm. This is the first time I ever spoke of it to anyone because I didn't believe anyone else experienced it.

[quote author=Yoni link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=0#msg35232 date=1071385656]
This morning I woke up naturally at about 08:44:50. ARGH.
[/quote]

*wonders what Yoni would say to me in this situation*, Oh

You'll get over it. :P

[quote author=Grok link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=0#msg35307 date=1071417989]
This is the first time I ever spoke of it to anyone because I didn't believe anyone else experienced it.
[/quote]

I wonder how many such phenomena there are...

This happens to me all the time. It gives me a feeling of satisfaction, like I conquered the alarm clock. Usually mornings where the alarm wakes me up, I wake up in a bad mood. But if I get up before the alarm wakes me, I get up happy :)

Yes, that applies somewhat for me too. If I wake up to beat the alarm clock, I've slept well. If I don't, I'm tired.

Yes ive done that sometimes but other times it goes off i drag myself out of bed and turn it off and go back to sleep and im like just 2 more minutes. Then you know the rest of the story.

I think your brain still works in some way when you are asleep. When I was studying at the university, I often find the solution to difficult math and physical problem in the night when I was sleeping. When I woke up, I could write the solution down.

Back to the alarm clock, I also think we have a built in clock. If we not are too tired, we know what time it is, even when we are asleep.
I always wake up in time, just before my alarm clock if I know I have important things to do in the morning.
Compare to animals, horses know when its time for food, cows when it's milk time. There are a lot of examples.

Actually, I was thinking the same thing Arta said a while ago, didn't include it in my post but honestly I think you get used to waking up at a certain time and there for naturally know its time to wake up. More so I think you subconsiously build up a hatred for the alarm clock, you know that it means you may no longer sleep, you despise the sound of it wether its a radio alarm with a nice song or a more annoying and loud sound then a fire alarm. There in some back process in your mind you know you're better off without hearing it and there for know its you should wake up before this happens. It mainly comes after a routine as well so its hard to say and I think one of the only ways you would be able to tell is if you monitored someone who only occationally sets off the alarm, and enable it without them being aware. If they wake up moments before the alarm going off without having the slightest knowledge before hand that it was enabled, then its perhaps some sort of sixth sense or a distinct change in the environment before hand. If they don't wake up then where there could me more possibilities, its likely that it may be a subconsious tendancy.

My alarm clock doesn't even work. i wake up and it's still set to buzz at 5:42, and never does

[quote author=UserLoser. link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=15#msg35353 date=1071434845]
My alarm clock doesn't even work. i wake up and it's still set to buzz at 5:42, and never does
[/quote]

Same with mine, either that or I sleep through it.

But Grok, you know when you set the alarm for :) If you want to make that experiment work, you should have someone else set the alarm for you, and don't look at the time. Just make sure they're not evil bastards who'll set it for 3am :)

[quote author=mejal link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=0#msg35335 date=1071427360]
I always wake up in time, just before my alarm clock if I know I have important things to do in the morning.
[/quote]
That's a very good point. I'm much more prone to waking up just before my alarm if I know there's something important to do that day.

Arta - Good idea :)

But explain to me this - I AM dead tired today, I went to bed at 9am, set my alarm for 4:15pm, and woke myself up at 4:00pm, still dead tired. How can THAT be explained by a sound, or by psychology, eh? Oh yeah, my dog decided that the pedistrian on the street might be an imminent threat to our welfare and started barking.

I rarely use my alarm clock. Actually, the only times I use it are when I must catch the early early early flight out of DFW to some forsaken place. I typically don't sleep well knowing that I have to get up much earlier than normal. When the alarm does go off, I am pissed off because I'm still tired and now have to ingest insane amounts of caffiene. Maybe I would be better off just staying up all night.

[quote author=Thing link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=15#msg35482 date=1071498321]
Actually, the only times I use it are when I must catch the early early early flight out of DFW to some forsaken place.[/quote]
Like Canada? :)

[quote]I am pissed off because I'm still tired and now have to ingest insane amounts of caffiene.[/quote]
Don't you anyway? :P

hehe, proof that you guys never read what I say! :'(

[quote author=Hostile link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=15#msg35563 date=1071525918]
hehe, proof that you guys never read what I say! :'(
[/quote]

Yeah, I tend to skip most paragraphs that are square if they don't immediately interest me :P

this is all too common, because I, too, experience waking up slightly before my alarm goes off. I think setting the alarm clock before you go to sleep is a way to tell your mind that you're waking up at your set time. Psych 101 or something like that ^^

I'll answer both your questions Iago.

Foresaken-
Anyplace that meets one of the following:
North of the Red River
South of the Rio Grande
East of Texarkana
West of Odessa

The notable exceptions are:
Las Vegas - That place is just non-stop fun.
New Orleans - Even though that place smells like a urinal, Mardi Gras is a blast.
Florida - I've only been there a couple of times but I bet the weather kicks ass all year. Hurricanes don't scare me since I went through a few during the years I lived in Houston.

Caffiene-
Uhhhh Yes.

I hate waking up in the moring, I hate alarm clocks. But I use em anyways.

[quote author=SNiFFeR link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=15#msg35652 date=1071547962]
I hate waking up in the moring
[/quote]

http://www.save.org/prevention/youth_depression.html

If you think a child may be suicidal…
* Ask questions about suicide like, "Do you ever…
* wish you could go to sleep and not wake up?

[quote author=iago link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=15#msg35377 date=1071440596]
But explain to me this - I AM dead tired today, I went to bed at 9am, set my alarm for 4:15pm, and woke myself up at 4:00pm, still dead tired.
[/quote]

That happens to me too. I know I can't sleep long, so I don't sleep long. I sometimes actually wake up several times before I need to get up if I'm really intent on just taking a short nap when I go to sleep.

[quote author=Adron link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=15#msg35688 date=1071565469]
[quote author=iago link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=15#msg35377 date=1071440596]
But explain to me this - I AM dead tired today, I went to bed at 9am, set my alarm for 4:15pm, and woke myself up at 4:00pm, still dead tired.
[/quote]

That happens to me too. I know I can't sleep long, so I don't sleep long. I sometimes actually wake up several times before I need to get up if I'm really intent on just taking a short nap when I go to sleep.
[/quote]

I wasn't, since I was working night shifts.

I typically sleep around 6 hours a night IF that... I always believed in a biological clock that might wake us up because typically if I don't set the alarm ( not that it makes a difference because I usually sleep thorugh it ) I'll wake up at the same time I'm accustomed to. Of course now that I'm working 3rd shift as a computer operator I work 10 hour shifts and sleep during the day and get all fucked up. Regardless I typically will sleep for my normal 6 hours or even less.

My fianceé has an alarm clock that works nice actually because it will go off and gradually get louder and louder AND LOUDER!!!! heh 8)

[quote author=hismajesty link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=15#msg35355 date=1071434968]
[quote author=UserLoser. link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=15#msg35353 date=1071434845]
My alarm clock doesn't even work. i wake up and it's still set to buzz at 5:42, and never does
[/quote]

Same with mine, either that or I sleep through it.
[/quote]

I can't continue sleeping, either my mom or brother gets me up. And my brother tries to leave for school and drive away with out me :-[

[quote author=UserLoser. link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=30#msg35736 date=1071593303]
[quote author=hismajesty link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=15#msg35355 date=1071434968]
[quote author=UserLoser. link=board=35;threadid=4225;start=15#msg35353 date=1071434845]
My alarm clock doesn't even work. i wake up and it's still set to buzz at 5:42, and never does
[/quote]

Same with mine, either that or I sleep through it.
[/quote]

I can't continue sleeping, either my mom or brother gets me up. And my brother tries to leave for school and drive away with out me :-[
[/quote]

If I don't get up within about 10 minutes after I first wake up my mom will come back up and wake me up again. I've also noticed within the last couple days that when I don't set my alarm, it's easier for me to get out of bed after waking up. Maybe the fact that my alarm goes off and I hear that [yet don't wake up] then thirty minutes later my mom will wake me up if I'm not awake causes me to become more tired faster. I've heard that it does more damage going back to sleep for short periods as opposed to just waking up...

I find having a laptop's easier, since my screensaver turns off when I get up, and I usually have whatever I'm working on on the screen, and I can continue