Why do people set their alarm clock "time" forward when it's just as easy to set the alarm back?

[kantonburg]

Is it just the perception of seeing the time that early in the morning or what?

 

[20_MuleTeam_Borax]

does that question interest you?

 

[ltk007]

Probably, you know what the real time is, but you choose to think that is actually later to motivate you.

 

[kranky]

I think it's because some people don't want to get up as early as they must. On the other hand, some people set the alarm early and hit the snooze button multiple times.

 

[SUOrangeman]

Please ignore katonburg's philosophizing. A few weeks ago he was participating in a riot at school. His brain hasn't fully recovered from the chronic he inhaled that night.

I think there are pictures of the incident on the 'net. Lemme go look.

-SUO

 

[kantonburg]

Please ignore SUO he's just crazy

I wasn't present for that.

 

[Chooie]

I am one of those people Kranky mentions... my alarm is set at LEAST 45 minutes before it needs to be, to get 5 good whacks at the snooze button. Funny how I went through alarm clock after alarm clock during high school, but I've had this one for over 2 years now, and I haven't changed my sleeping habits one bit :Q

 

[Lord Evermore]

I set my clock forward by random amounts, changing it every few weeks.

My problem is that getting up in the morning is one of the most difficult things I have to do. By setting the clock at varying differences from real time, I force myself to wake up enough to remember what the difference is, which is how I figure out whether I've got time to sleep a little later. If I set the clock to real time, I wake up and think it's probably not what time it really is and then I'm late.

I also set my alarm a good amount ahead of when I should start getting up. This gives me that "I don't REALLY have to get up so I can hit the snooze bar" feeling.

So, if I have to get up no later than 7AM, I set the alarm to 6:45, which is actually 6:30 because I've set the time ahead. So when I hit the snooze bar a few times, I end up getting up at what is actually several minutes before 7AM, which means I'm reasonably on time for work and maybe even have time to eat breakfast.

The reason I randomly change the amount of difference between real time and clock time is twofold: one reason is that I start to remember what the difference is when I wake up, and therefore don't have to wake up as much to figure it out and start to sleep too late again; the other reason is that when I'm fighting to turn off the alarm at 6AM, I usually start hitting buttons randomly and sometimes I change the time on it, and then I leave it there because it gives me that extra challenge.

Honestly, getting me awake in the morning is extremely difficult, even when I'm trying to wake up for something I've been DYING to go do and which I planned myself, let alone for something like work or an event I don't want to be at. My subconscious sets up elaborate waking dreams for me which make me think that the alarm which is buzzing is actually something else, something involved in whatever I'm dreaming about, which I need to turn off. So I do, and then continue dreaming until it goes off a few more times and the buzzing breaks through the dreaming to my conscious mind, at which point I start cursing my subconscious for being so efficient. Sometimes I've woken up thinking "What the hell was I dreaming about?" I can't even remember now any of the things my brain has come up with to cover the fact of the alarm going off.

 

[dennilfloss]

In my case, because the little knob to move the alarm setting is far easier to turn than the one for the hour and minute hands (I use 2 old fashioned wind-up alarm clocks which sound loud enough to nearly give me a heart attack when I get up...but at least that burns into my memory synapses those nice dreams of my favourite red head).

For Emily, Whenever I May Find Her (Simon And Garfunkel)

 

[Stallion]

I for one think the snooze button is over rated. I would just rather set the clock for the time I need to get up and that's it. If you hit the snooze you are loosing sleep as you have to wake up to hit the button, drift off again, wake up, hit button....why not just get up at the desired time and not loose sleep hitting the button all morning.

but then again what do I know, I don't start work till 11:30pm so I don't wake up with an alarm clock.

 

[Fathom4]

I'm with Chooie as far as I set my alarm clock ahead 45 minutes. But not because I want to hit the snooze, it's more along the lines of it not being quite as depressing seeing 5:30am as oppossed to seeing 4:45am displayed.

Purely a Psychological thing. I know, it's stupid but it works for me.

 

[Stosh]

Lord Evermore, YOU ARE A TOTAL LUNATIC!!!!! LOL

To me that seems so insane. I need to set myself on a specific schedule. I used to work nights and never used an alarm clock, and that really screws with body's internal clock. I used to wake up sometimes not knowing whether it's morning or night...

I have problems with my back and I usually sleep on the couch... I don't use an alarm clock...I just set the TV to turn on at 4:30am (The news comes on, at 4:40 the weather comes on, and then I know it's time to get up) I do this everyday.

I always leave the house between 5:40 and 5:45am... The only time I alter this schedule is on weekends or holidays..

Quite often, I'll wake up a couple of minutes before the TV turns on...That's telling me that my body knows that its time to get up...

If you get used to a specific schedule, your body's clock will adjust...but by changing it all the time...your internal clock will never know when to get up. Thats why in the past, I've always refused to work rotating shifts... nights was bad enough.

 

[warlord]

I get out of bed right away when my alarm goes off. My morning routine is so set, I know exactly how many minutes to change my alarm if I need to do things like make a lunch (4 min), shave (3min)... what motivates me is that sound, it grates against my back just thinking about it.