Second Cup: Aim to wake before your alarm

How to know you're well-rested

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is to aim to wake up before your alarm.
When you consistently wake up a little bit before your

(00:24):
alarm goes off, that's a good sign that you are
well rested. And well rested is what we should all
aim to be. Since I write and talk about time management,
I track my time. I have been tracking my time
on weekly spreadsheets for over eight years now. One thing

(00:45):
I discovered early on is that over the long haul,
my body aims for seven point four hours of sleep
per day. Now, I don't sleep that amount every night,
and I don't even hit fifty one point eight hours
every week, but over a period of six to eight
weeks or so, that tends to be my average. So

(01:08):
I consider seven point four hours to be my sleep
set point. This has turned out to be pretty useful
to know. Now that my youngest child is three and
a half years old, I am generally not being woken
up by kids in the middle of the night anymore.
I can be fairly sure that I will not be

(01:28):
interrupted until my alarm goes off, usually at six thirty am.
On weekdays. That means that if I am in my
bed with the lights out at eleven pm or so,
I will be well rested when I wake up with
my six thirty alarm. And if I have done this
consistently for many days in a row, and if I

(01:50):
have generally fallen asleep quickly, I am likely to wake
up at six twenty four am. Yep, that is seven
one point four hours. I always enjoy when that happens
because it's like a little gold star that I am
giving my body the amount of sleep it needs. When

(02:11):
I structure my life so that I start waking up
before my alarm, I feel better. I have more energy.
Plus it's kind of fun to just lie there enjoying
the covers in that slightly groggy feeling for a few minutes.
You likely have a difference set point than seven point

(02:32):
four hours, but whatever it is, I think it's good
to figure this out. Then figure out what time you
usually need to wake up at the morning. Count back
by your sleep number. So if you need eight hours
of sleep and you need to wake up at six,
then you should be in your bed by ten pm. Indeed,

(02:56):
you should probably be winding down by nine forty five
or seven. But if you do that day after day,
you'll likely start waking up on your own somewhere in
the five fifties, as your body has gotten the sleep
it needs and is ready to face the morning. This
is a good sign. It is evidence that you are

(03:19):
being disciplined about sleep. You are taking care of your
future self by getting into bed on time the night before.
Good for you. Now, I'm not saying that this is
a fool proof method, and you will always wake up
before your alarm. If you are getting enough sleep, you
might still want to set an alarm even if you

(03:41):
do wake up a few minutes before. Sometimes we are
more tired than we are on other nights, if the
day has been more active, or if you're getting sick
or maybe recovering from something, or if a recent night
has been more interrupted. I find that even if I
am pretty well rested, I tend to sleep a little

(04:01):
longer on rainy mornings. It's like my body goes into
hibernation mode or something. But the goal should be to
wake up on your own a little bit before your
alarm as many days as possible. It is not impossible.
With some consistency about bedtime, It should be doable, and

(04:23):
if you do it, you will find yourself feeling more
energetic than you might have thought you could be. In
the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's
to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd

(04:47):
love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,
Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b the
number four then breakfast pod. You can also shoot me
an email at Before Breakfast Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com.

(05:08):
That before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Thanks so much. Should I look forward to staying in touch.
Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts
from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

(05:29):
you listen to your favorite shows.