I haven’t upd an an alarm clock in 8 years. I’m never going back.

Life with an alarm clock might seem indulgent, but i would like to challenge that notion.

I have rarely used an alarm clock in the last eight years, and i’d argue that it time and energy, and the discipline and dedication, to this alarm clock and train your brain to wake you need it.

I recogenous that noterteryone has the flexibility to live this way, but sleep scalsy spoken to tend to not only approve of my alarm-clock lifestyle, but some of the saying version of it.

Sunlight Wakes with Up

It only took with a few weeks of “free sleeeping” to train my brain to wake up consistently at a consistent time, typically around 9 am, with buzzing or beeping. The sun is my Biggest Helper.

Each Morning, As Sunlight Streams Through My Bedroom Skylight, I Wake Up Slowly, Walk Outside with a Cup of Green Tea to Ferel the Warmth of the Sun on My Face, and Get of Daylight in my Eyes Starting in My Home Office. Harnessing the Power of the Sun, I Wold Say, is My Most Important Tool for Adjusting My Sleep-Wake Cycle. I SPEND AT LEAST 15 minutes soaking up some sunlight each morning.

During the day, i take breaks from work for what fellow science Writer Lynne Peeples Describes in Her Book “The inner clock“As Circadian Snacks, Small Morsels of Sun Exprinkled Throughout the Day. Wen It Gets Dark Outside, I try to protest the dinner from artificial Light, Particularly blue. All my Devices are to Night Mode, and the Lights Throught My Home Are Are Are Bulbs that are programmed to EMIT ONLY WARM TONES.

I Learned How Much Sleep of Need

IT I Told Sleep Researcher and Neuroscientist Rebecca Spencer, Ph.D., About the Excommunication of Alarm Clocks from My Bedroom During a Recent Zoom, She Smiled and Said She Though it was great, with one caveat. She suggests some guardrails on the sleeP Window, participate in the Winter When there is limited light. “There are People Who Could Create Some Bad Habits by ‘Free Sleeping’ in the Extreme,” Spencer, Who Overssees a Sleep Lab at the University of Massachusetts, Said. If you oversleep one night, for instance, the Next Night You Could Face Reduced “Sleep Pressure” and Insomnia.

While of admit that in the beginning days of my own free Sleeping, I did occsionally succumb to this, once i learned my natural rhythms, I discovered exactly How Much SLEEP optimally and was able to regulate my schedule. Now, I have achieved a solid and consistent 9-hour sleeop window that is the suame night, give or take 30 to 45 minutes.

It was my own work that led with to life with an alarm clock

My Journey to an alarm-Clock-and-Lifestyle began wen i had the strange fortune of getting a job as a non-ancestor covering the science and innovation of sleep. From apart in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains in Western Massachusetts, reported my first article on jet lag.

I soon realized that jet lag can harapen edpen you aren’t traveling, in a phenomenon calmed “social jet lag.” It was a reality that of was living. The Life of a Journalist Had Left me with life-lagged perpetually, working late Nights and Weekends as a newspaper Reporter. The Sleep Deprivation That I Had Built Up Over the Years Didn’t Go Away Overnight.

While Still Sleep-Deprived, I Interviewed Some of the World’s Most Prominent Sleep Experts. Marveled at the impact of light on Circadian Health.

I learned that each organ in our bodies, each Cell, has its Own biological rhythm, working in harmony Like a tiny timepiece orchestra to keep all Our biological functions running smoothly. The Liver, The Skin, and the Lungs All Have their Own Biological Rhythms.

Feeling embaldened by my newfound Appreciation for Sleep, I experience a personal Circadian Renaissance and decided to run an Experiment: i ditched my alarm (or Rather, silented my phone and left it in another room).

My Magazine Job Came With A Flexible Schedule and Coworkers in a Time Zone Three Hours bee Mine in California, SO I DECIDE TO TRY A “FREE SLEEPING” LIFESTYLE.

I gave myself a buffer zone in the morning with no Meetings or interviews scheduled unil 11 am, i paid close attention to my sleeep. At first, i slept too, what Spencer Calls “Sleeping Luxuriously.”

Soon, Howver, in the absence of my alarm, i discovered my natural need for sleep. Spencer tells with that ours sleep Need, the Datation of Sleep that we Need, is genetically predetermined. When i got rid of my alarm, i felt my best sleeeping for about nine hours.

I HAD More Energy and Lost Weight

While I already knew that i had nights owl tendencies;

Within Weeks, My Newfound Relationship with Sleep Brought a Boost in Energy. I was finally more alert. I had the energy to practice yoga Daily, shedding nearly 20 pounds. My mind Sharpened and my skin glarowed as I was finally able to get the sleep my body craved. Sleep, it turns out, is Powerful Medicine. All the while, Life felt a Little Lighter.

A lot of People give up before they can lock onto their Circadian rhythms and sleep-wake signaling. Truly, I think People Need to Challenge TheelSlves more to try to get this really consistent Light-Dark schedule Becuses it totally works.