wake up to the first alarm

Do you know how many alarms I’ve slept through? How many times I’ve overslept? Too many to count. Eventually, I had to figure out how to stop hitting snooze and actually wake up to my first alarm.

At UC Santa Cruz, I took a stress and well-being class that completely changed how I think about sleep. I learned about sleep cycles — we go through about 2 to 3 each night, and each one lasts roughly 3 to 4 hours. When you interrupt a cycle, you wake up feeling groggy and unrested.

So if your alarm goes off at 6:00 AM and you hit snooze for 10 minutes, you’re not helping yourself — you’re starting another sleep cycle you won’t finish. That’s why you feel even more tired.

Don’t make the same mistake I did for years. Set your alarm, and when it rings, get up. Wake up to the first alarm.