Was having a discussion about this with a neighbor.
Do you set an alarm to wake up on the regular?
I do 7 days a week. During the work week I certainly do - I need to be assured to get my morning routine in and done before leaving the house to get to work 7:30th.
I set it on days off to cause…well, I like the structure of knowing when I’ll get up! I also love morning time and want to maximize my hours, lol. On the weekend I do allow myself to not jump right out of bed. I’ll scroll a bit, read a little - maybe for 15 or 20 mins and then get up.
I think I’ll do the same when I retire. It’s not a negative to me to set an alarm and commit to when I’ll start my day. I can vary that time, but I like the alarm set.
I have not set an alarm to wake up since Covid began in 2020. I naturally wake up around 5:30 to 6:00 am which works well for my schedule of 3 days working at home and 2 days in the office. I wake up a bit later on the weekends.
When H and I travel we do set an alarm because of the time change where we are visiting.
I’ve been a SAHM for 28 years, ironically I’m always the first one up (which I enjoy), no alarm (but a senior dog who likes to go out and eat breakfast before 6 am). Except this summer, one college kid had clinicals starting at 6:45 am, so she took over dog duty (she also likes to start her day with a run), but I was up before the other 3 college kids who had internships. My husband is the last WFH hybrid, he comes down at 8:55.
Yeah see, that’s part of my point. For many (like me) that is not a deciding factor. I’d rather keep the time going to bed open than give up any morning time.
I can relate I think. I’m not retired and won’t be for awhile, but I have a hard time exercising if it’s not in the dark first thing. So even if it’s a minor holiday, or I have the day off; I’ll get up at the same time and workout as usual. Then I hop in the recliner and go back to bed. I love doing that. So I could see continuing that even in retirement, but I don’t know.
I have not set an alarm for years and years. Probably since my eldest was in kindergarten and needed to be outside waiting for the school bus before 7 am. I’d be up and ready to go for a 30 minute walk as soon as the bus came.
That schedule continued while this kid was in high school and needed to be at school at 7 am for marching band practice or early bird PE.
It’s got so my body doesn’t know how to sleep past 5:15 or so with no alarms.
Yes, most days. I am retired, but meet people to play pickleball fairly early, and I bring the net, so don’t want to be late. I am NOT a good sleeper, and I need the alarm to wake up most days.
When I was working and meeting my trainer 3 days a week at 6 am, I set my alarm for 5. Now that I’m not doing either of those things, I still wake up around 5 - without the alarm. I sleep better and feel more rested with a consistent sleep schedule.
Retired. I set an alarm every day. The dog sleeps downstairs gated off from the stairs so it’s my reminder to get up and take care of his needs. But I also almost always wake up before the alarm and turn it off so it doesn’t wake H, also retired.
Early morning is my favorite time, too, but from a lifetime of an alarm waking me at 5AM (or earlier), my internal clock won’t let me sleep beyond 6:30. I don’t want to be awake any earlier unless I have a plane to catch. If I should naturally sleep in a bit later on occasion, that’s great, too. I’m not missing anything.
My Apple Watch vibrates on my wrist to wake me up every morning during the work week. On weekends I always wake up around 7:00. I need to get up to feed the dog and take her out.
