[Will Hunt]

Is there any SCIENCE to support/refute this?
http://sleepyti.me/

If credible, I'm wondering how flexible it is with waking up either side of the end of a cycle. If I don't get to sleep in the prescribed 14 mins does that mean that waking up three mins early/late will scupper the plan? Similarly how much variance is there between how long each persons sleep cycle lasts. Are some people's longer than others? I find it a real battle to wake up in the morning so would be really interested if this could be supported by firm evidence.

[slackline]

Sounds like crap to me for we are "governed" by circadian rhythms that are entrained daily.

Trawling my memory banks as I can't be arsed reading the Wikipedia article but I wrote my dissertation at undergrad on the genetics of circadian rhythms but briefly....

The body's natural periodicity is around 25 hrs (evidenced by putting people in caves for long periods of time and allowing them to control their own waking patterns, over a month they lost a day).  This is reset every morning when you get up and are exposed to sunlight and your body cycle is entrained afresh each day.

Lots of research out there, much done on D. melangoster models which were found to express genes that are photosensitive in areas other than their eyes, such as their legs (this led to some airlines placing lights underneath seats in the hope to alleviate the symptoms of jet lag on long-haul flights).

Best bet if you want to wake up in the morning is to throw the curtains open and let the lovely sunlight in, better still get up and go for a short 15-20 minute walk to expose yourself to sunlight and get the body clock reset and ready to go (my personal opinion, not scientific, as I've no evidence to support it and don't suffer from lethargy in the morning, I'm the exact opposite).

[nik at work]

The best way to ensure you get up in the morning is to have children...

[webbo]

Or a cat who wants  his breakfast at 5.00 am.

[slackline]

Or a cat who wants  his breakfast at 5.00 am.

 

[SA Chris]

The best way to ensure you get up in the morning is to have children...

A good alarm clock is probably cheaper in the long run, but less fun.

[slackline]

Take your temperature to monitor your circadian rhythm and go to sleep when your core body temperature is due to drop

[Big Dave]

The best way to ensure you get up in the morning is to have children...

   5.50am this morning

[SA Chris]

We had a 5:30 yesterday. What we get for letting him have a 2hr nap on Sunday afternoon I guess.

[grumpycrumpy]

The best way to ensure you get up in the morning is not bother going to bed in the first place ......

[Drew]

I think it's bollocks. I've used a sleep monitor on my phone, which shows how much you move around, and the cycles are pretty random. They might average out at 90 minutes. But sometimes they're as long as 3 hours. It depends on a whole array of factors, like how much booze you've had, when you last ate etc etc.

The sleep monitor was quite useful as it woke you when you in the middle of a fidgety stage (REM?). Usually meant I woke up better.

[slackline]

I think it's bollocks. I've used a sleep monitor on my phone, which shows how much you move around, and the cycles are pretty random. They might average out at 90 minutes. But sometimes they're as long as 3 hours. It depends on a whole array of factors, like how much booze you've had, when you last ate etc etc.

Sounds as though you're referring to the steps of a period of sleep whilst the original is sleep/awake?

The sleep monitor was quite useful as it woke you when you in the middle of a fidgety stage (REM?). Usually meant I woke up better.

REM is a perfectly normal part of the sleep pattern and usually precedes entering a light sleep phase.

[magpie]

I tried one of the sleep app things but I didn't like it, what does help me with waking up easier is my sunshine alarm.  It doesn't do much in the summer when it's light but in winter it's been brilliant, it slowly brightens the room to act like sunrise so you are gradually waking up before the alarm goes off and you don't get woken with a fright, I've definitely found it a help.

[Will Hunt]

Tuned into a 25 hour day? That's a bit silly then isn't it?
From personal experience the sunshine thing is probably what I have noticed working best. I will will try out this cycle calculator for a few nights anyway and see how it works.

[slackline]

Tuned into a 25 hour day? That's a bit silly then isn't it?

Why is it silly?  The evolutionary process doesn't produce perfection, it produces something that works, which in this instance has been a periodicity of 25 hrs that gets reset each day when it needs to.

[mrjonathanr]

We had a 5:30 yesterday. What we get for letting him have a 2hr nap on Sunday afternoon I guess.

That's cats for you. Selfish little blighters.

Why is it silly?  The evolutionary process doesn't produce perfection, it produces something that works, which in this instance has been a periodicity of 25 hrs that gets reset each day when it needs to.

Absolutely. The earth can't even rotate in whole days. + a quarter? What's that about? Physics is rubbish IMO.