Defensive Carry banner

Situational awareness at level zero in the morning

3K views 30 replies 27 participants last post by  goldshellback 
#1 ·
I can't help it. I'm an absolute Zombie. I wake up (if you can call it that), drive to Detroit with one eye cracked half open, stagger into my office and then spend a while getting caffeinated. It really hit home last week when I got out of my car before I even noticed two locals leaning against the building. (I'm unarmed, of course, since I'm going to work). I'm in one piece because they didn't choose to attack me, not because I was smart or prepared.

I'm not sure why I'm posting this...it's not like I don't know how to fix it. Maybe because I've been uber-busy for the last couple years and I've missed this place. And my hippie friends wouldn't understand what the problem is if I told them.

Whatever..maybe someone will learn from my complacency.
 
#30 ·
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.
 
#16 ·
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.
 
#5 ·
Coffee? HA! I laugh at you're coffee sir! Try this next time you wake up all sleepy like, 1 16 ounce can red bull (I go sugar/cal free but thats a personal thing.), 1 5 hour extra strength. Shotgun both for "full" effect.
Sip another RB while driving to work.
 
#6 ·
I wake up (if you can call it that), drive to Detroit with one eye cracked half open, stagger into my office and then spend a while getting caffeinated.
Uncertain whether you "do" breakfast. For those who don't typically have one, it can help.

It really hit home last week when I got out of my car before I even noticed two locals leaning against the building. I'm in one piece because they didn't choose to attack me, not because I was smart or prepared.
One of the great lessons, there. We can affect things to some degree, but sometimes it simply doesn't matter. The timing's just right (or wrong), the stars are aligned, there are two or three of them egging each other on, or whatever.
 
#7 ·
I think you are well on your way by recognizing your deficiency. It's not any different than training how to fight with your firearm. You recognize your shortcoming and you work on it. While things like more sleep and having some caffeine earlier in the morning may incrementally rectify the problem, ultimately I think it comes down to you making a conscious effort to be more aware. Stay safe!
 
#8 ·
I feel your pain, as I am the quintessential "Night Person" and no matter how much sleep or lack of it I've had, I am always much more alert at night.

Try jogging in place for a few minutes each morning to get the blood flowing. Don't think about it, just do it! Then do coffee.
 
#11 ·
Ever considered I.V. drip? (Coffee, that is.) :tongue:

Ditto, on the suggestion for running in place, or 5mins of push-ups and sit-ups, or a brisk walk around the block. Anything's better than staggering from bed to office without restarting the "engine."
 
#15 ·
If you have medical insurance - get a sleep study done. You may have sleep apnea and/or restless legs syndrome.

If you don't have insurance - get up an hour before you need to leave for work. Take a shower, eat breakfast, drink 2 cups of coffee, sit a while....

I did option B until I learned about option A.

Good luck in any case. Sounds like a medical problem based on my experience....apparently it isn't healthy to wake up feeling exhausted every day.

Austin
 
#18 ·
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
 
#19 ·
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.
 
#21 ·
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.
 
#24 ·
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
 
#26 ·
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.
 
#27 ·
I've leaned against many buildings with no intent to harm anyone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ws76133
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top