<p>I had a trick in college where I would set my alarm to a time when I would have to add an hour and subtract 10 minutes. (I’m too old now to remember the formula). I would not only wake up to the alarm, but I would instantly have to do a mathematical calculation that would get my brain rolling and I wouldn’t go back to sleep.</p>
<p>I know, I was a geek before there were geeks.</p>
<p>Never was late for work or class, though.</p>
<p>Drove my roommate and her friends nuts, though.</p>
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<p>That’s a big problem for S, who also has the sonic bomb. Instead of hitting the snooze alarm, he turns it off entirely and goes back to sleep. His bed is lofted, so putting the clock on the other side of the room isn’t a good idea (that first step is a doozy!). Then again, it was on the other side of the room when he was in high school, and he still turned it off and went back to bed.</p>
<p>I’ve heard good things about the sleep cycle. Dudedad, I have a Memorex alarm clock that I bought a couple of years ago… It’s super duper loud and the display is very big - the numbers are probably 2 or 3 inches tall. I think I got it at a Target. Dunno if they still have it or not. It’s perfect for me because I’m blind as a bat without my glasses and I can make out the big numbers from my bed without having to scramble around for my eyes.</p>
<p>I’m weird as can be when it comes to sleeping through things. I slept through a fire alarm once at college… Talk about loud… But if my phone goes off, like if someone text’s me, I’ll wake right up… Last night my BF woke me up at 6 AM via text, lol. also, strangely enough, If someone walks into my bedroom, i some how feel their presence and wake up instantly. Used to drive my mother crazy when I was younger. She’d walk in my room to get my laundry and the moment she touched my door I’d wake up, haha. It took 3 alarm clocks to find one that was suitable to wake me. I actually use the alarm on my cell phone (its the same as my text noise) and then I set my alarm clock as a back up. My boyfriends alarm clock, I sleep through every time.</p>
<p>My friend has a clocky and loves it.</p>
<p>Fully agree about the Sonic Bomb. S2 never used the sound on it; the vibration always woke him up. It has a siren alarm that was not really great in a dorm.</p>
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<p>I sprained both my ankles that way the first week of school, badly enough that I am still having problems getting around. I stepped onto the ladder and somehow thought I could just step down and it would be okay, I wasn’t awake enough to realize what I was doing. Now I sleep on my couch on weekdays to be safe.</p>
<p>There are watches apparently with a similar sleep cycle monitoring technology like that iphone app, but they aren’t cheap.</p>
<p>Son came back from Thanksgiving break to a sticky note on his door: You left your alarm on. I’m sure the roommates appreciated that.</p>
<p>Yup on the sonic boom. BOught it (as a gift from younger s) as graduation gift from HS for older s in 2004. He used it all through college. It also has an attachment (dont use if you have a roommate) that makes the ligts flash on and off. Bought it from a website for the hearing impaired.</p>
<p>Inexpensive (buy at Target/Walmart) clocks by Timex with the extra loud alarm can be heard by parents down the hall- did it work? No- but any time there was a Saturday early morning cross country meet son got up. Also went to college and had zero problems. Motivation. My sister had a college friend (eons ago) who put alarm clocks on the dresser and in other places but would go back to sleep.</p>