<p>My son never heard his alarm. Tried three different ones to no avail. The only person getting woken up was me! Then he switched it to his cell phone and it’s just his normal ring. For some reason, perhaps its pavlovian, he wakes up instantly to “answer” his phone. The only thing he HAS to remember is not leave the phone on mute. He was able to hit snooze as well. We got him an iphone for Christmas and he has it so it works even better – there’s some nightlight application or something.</p>
<p>Part of me thinks that once your body gets used to waking up via alarm, your body becomes trained to do it and your sleep cycle, absent anything causing you to sleep like too much alcohol, will adjust and you’ll start waking up before the alarm actually goes off.</p>
<p>I have seen the alarm that starts with low light which gets progressively brighter, simulating dawn light. It’s supposed to be good for your brain, as your sleep cycles get in sync and you are not roused out of a deep sleep.</p>
<p>My son, too, would sleep through everything…and late into the morning. He would wake to friends calling on his cellphone, though. I agree Pavlov and the fear of missing some important “friend” must filter through the brain. I worried what on earth was going to happen when he left for college. I had visions of him skipping early morning classes - or all morning classes and flunking out. That first Christmas he came home I tentatively asked him how he was managing to get himself up in the morning without me or his father or his brothers shrieking and yelling at at him and he said, “I use the alarm on my cell phone…everything is chill” Duh…more mispent “mom” energy.</p>
<p>We parents had to wake up son in HS- we heard the obnoxious alarm down the hall even if he didn’t. I also worried about college- he had no problems, has made it through 2 1/2 years doing well (perhaps never having a class before 9 something am instead of 7:30 am helped). I know a friend of my sister’s had to hide various alarm clocks in college to get up eons ago. Good luck.</p>
<p>I had a boyfriend in my early twenties who could not wake up. He ended up with a four prong approach. He had a coffee maker in his bedroom that would turn on and start making coffee ten minutes before he had to get up. His bedroom lights were set to a timer, so five minutes before he had to get up the lights would turn on. Then he had one alarm clock by the bed and one EXTREMELY loud alarm clock in the bathroom.</p>
<p>Let me tell you, it was like living through a sensory assault. Four days out of five it would successfully wake him up.</p>
<p>I’m looking for a bed that will transport D to a vertical position, then fold up and lock for the rest of the day. Though she tells me she has never slept through a class at college, and she had 8 AM classes many days…</p>
<p>Google hearing loss vibrating alarm, or assistive devices and you should have a selection to choose from.</p>
<p>As an audiologist, I know that hearing impaired residents in group homes have vibrators to wake them up should there be a fire alarm. Not to make you worry, but I’d want to make sure he wakes up for that especially.</p>
<p>The clock is on his dresser on the other side of the room, so he has to get up to turn it off. Strobe lights flash when the alarm goes off, and it can be set to vibrate, beep, or both. Now if I could just stop him from climbing back into bed after he turns the alarm off…</p>
<p>D sleeps through the vibrations (it worked for about 2 weeks). She can fall asleep with her ceiling light on, and sleep soundly all night with it on, so I ruled out the gradual light one, too. I’m hoping that not having to leave home at 6:45 a.m. will help… I set my alarm and call her cell phone to wake her up. It works maybe half the time. Putting the cat on top of her head usually does it, though, but I’m not sure we can smuggle kitty into the dorm next fall!</p>