Situational awareness at level zero in the morning

[goldshellback]

Glad you're ok. Perhaps an earlier bed time?

This 'might be' good advice. After my first 5 or so years in the Navy I recognized that waking up, getting dressed, and going stright to work wasn't the best SOP for me. It took a little selfdiscpline but I started going to bed a little eariler and waking up about 2 hours BEFORE I needed to be anywhere. that hour and a half to two hours was my 'ease into the day' time. A quick shower, some coffee, the morning news on TV or the radio, read the morning paper (then later on surfing the web), and sometimes getting breakfast started for the children who would wake up after I left to get ready for school.

Now it's my 'habit' and my 'me time'. I'm the 'early riser' in my family now and that's how I like it..... and by the time the rest of my clan starts waking up or I haveta leave for work I'm awake, alert, and well into the start of my day.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Cupcake]

Glad you're ok. Perhaps an earlier bed time?

That would be the ticket. I don't think it's medical - I sleep fine once I get there. My problem is that I'm a single guy and have to be to work by 7. That would put me in bed ideally before all of my friends (and more importantly-all the ladies) are ready to pack it in for the day. My routine is to get too little sleep, then nap after work before my workout(s). As an athlete, sleep is of teremendous benefit for recovery and performance as well...I've mastered a lot of things, but calling it quits early isn't one of them.

Uncertain whether you "do" breakfast. For those who don't typically have one, it can help.

This would also help, but I generally choose the extra 10-20 minutes of sleep, zombie to work and have breakfast there. I kinda wish I drank coffee like a normal human, then I could at least have a cup for the go. Might not be effective quick enough though - since it's only a 10 minute drive.

[wraithls1]

I always have trouble getting to sleep at night. I have ADHD and have trouble getting my mind to shut down in the evening. I've always been a night owl, anyway. So, when it gets dark my head starts working overtime. It doesn't help that I went back to first shift, at the beginning of the year, after a 3 year stint working third. After a year I still can't seem to get off vampire time. I have recently started taking creatin in the mornings. I notice now that, I am dog tired when the alarm goes off (at 0530 ugh) but, as soon as I get get out of bed and walk accross the room, I am itching to go. I don't know if it is a result of the creatin or if it is something else (I have no idea what) that happened around the same time. Incedentaly, there have been studies recently that it show it helps with mental facilities, in addition to the physical ones that it is already known for. It may be something to try. YMMV

[RKM]

I'm the exact same way. I work a rotating schedule. Two weeks I'll work 6:30-3:30 and then two weeks I'll work 10-7. And then back and forth between the two. I go to bed about the same time no matter what schedule I work. I wake up at 6:00AM whe I have to be at work by 6:30. And I wake up at 8AM when I have to be at work by 10AM. I woke up at 8AM today and right now it's 8:15 and I'm just starting to feel awake. But mornings I work at 6:30, I'm not really conscious until like 7:30 when I've already been at work for an hour. I've tried coffee, energy drinks, but one thing I've noticed helps A LOT, are apples. I like coffee because I like the taste. Energy drinks seem to make me "happy" and put me in a better mood. They allow me to put up with more things through out the first half of the day (my job is really irritating sometimes.... whose isn't?). But if I eat an apple on the way to work, it helps me wake up very well.

I do think I have sleep apnea because I've woken up not breathing in the past, feeling like I was chocking or being suffocated. It seems like sleep apnea is a very common problem. I mean VERY common. Almost as if the majority of people suffer from it.

[Luckey1115]

I'll have to try that, the next time I have to drive into Detroit. "With one eye cracked half open", it might look better.

[GH]

The longer I live the more I realize that I'm blessed with waking up alert at about 0530 every day. I guess 27 years in the military made a habit for life. As suggested - go to bed earlier & get up earlier. Get an automatic coffee maker that will insure you have a cup of coffee as soon as you get up. Then a second before you leave or drink one on your way to work. At least for your fellow commuter's sake be alert for the drive in to work.

[Brady]

Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.
Benjamin Franklin

a coffee pot on a timer helps too.

[steffen]

This 'might be' good advice. After my first 5 or so years in the Navy I recognized that waking up, getting dressed, and going stright to work wasn't the best SOP for me. It took a little selfdiscpline but I started going to bed a little eariler and waking up about 2 hours BEFORE I needed to be anywhere. that hour and a half to two hours was my 'ease into the day' time. A quick shower, some coffee, the morning news on TV or the radio, read the morning paper (then later on surfing the web), and sometimes getting breakfast started for the children who would wake up after I left to get ready for school.

Now it's my 'habit' and my 'me time'. I'm the 'early riser' in my family now and that's how I like it..... and by the time the rest of my clan starts waking up or I haveta leave for work I'm awake, alert, and well into the start of my day.

I used to do this, but in order to get enough time to actually get anything done I would have to wake up at 0400. I choose to sleep an extra hour, get up at 0500 which gives me enough time to shower, shave, and get dressed before the wife is out of bed. This gives me about 30 minutes of "me time" to make coffee for myself and breakfast for my lovely wife, which she usually eats in the car on our way to work since she wakes up too late to eat before we leave.

[GunsAndViolince]

Wow, lots of good ideas in this thread. I'm the same way (morning zombie), even after getting treatment for sleep apnea, which can be hard to diagnose and might not appear to be interrupting your sleep.

Anyway, I like the idea of trying to exercise briefly. I find that sort of thing really wakes me up. You might try it.

I don't mean to go "Kobayashi Maru" on you, but I think the comment about getting to bed earlier is a really good idea. If you don't like the result, pull a "Kirk" and change the conditions of the test.

This also reminds me of an experience I had not long ago which, like you, let me know that I needed to change things: I had just taken my 7 y/o to school and was getting the baby out of the back seat of the car when I noticed someone approaching. I let this person get within about 10 yards before I noticed him. He was, fortunately, just a meter-reader and was wearing the characteristic fluorescent chartreuse vest. It was little comfort to me to think that I hadn't noticed him because he was around the corner of the house. If he had been a BG, that would have been no excuse. So, now I scan better, even on my own property and take the baby out of the carseat in the garage.

Good luck and thanks for posting about this,

Gav

[Rock and Glock]

maybe someone will learn from my complacency.

A lesson learned...........

[Curzyk]

Honestly, I disagree with all of the recommendations for more caffeine. While it may help in the short term, if you're a regular user then it will actually be detrimental as it puts your system off balance. Instead, consider:

1. Limit your caffeine intake to rare occasions like a long drive where you may start to get drowsy. When you drink something caffeinated, it will work because you won't have a tolerance.

2. Get up at a consistent time every day. This helps prepare your body for when it's time to get up. I used to be super drowsy in the morning, always hitting snooze and such. One day, I over-slept, blamed it on my alarm clock and applied some percussive maintenance which only ended up breaking the snooze button. Without snooze, it was either get up or oversleep.. I learned very quickly and it's stayed with me for almost two decades.

3. I find it much harder to get to bed at a consistent time, but this (especially combined with #2) would help a lot.

4. Consider getting a dog! I adopted a couple of years ago and my dogs have amazing internal clocks. They know when it is time to get up and are usually getting up within 5-10 minutes of my alarm clock.

I'm sure there are plenty more ways, but those are my recommendations.

[OldVet]

I've leaned against many buildings with no intent to harm anyone.

[Old Sarge]

Cupcake, I will pray for you. Anyone that has to work in Detroit, are in my prayers.

[Edward7]

Its 2012, sleep comes from a can in liquid form. The future is now!

[.45acpguy]

I seem to always wake up pretty alert, which is why once I wake up, I'm up. Unfortunately, there's no going back to sleep for me.. even if I have no obligations for the day.

While I was in Vietnam, I woke up instantly but in a very bad mood. If someone had to wake me for watch, they did not look forward to it.

Decades later, I do not resemble that instant awareness upon waking at all, today. I tend to awaken in a fog (not due to meds) and it takes me a while to get under way, so to speak. I anticipate that, if my wife alerted me to a big problem that I would be instantly "on" but that would be an exceptional event.

My wife does wake up fully alert; I hope that I never get challenged with a bad event unless she can rouse me first.

That is my key concern about getting caught unawares.