Training to wakeup alert

[hellion]

I hope this isn't a repost, I tried to search but couldn't find anything.

I have two problems really;

First, I'm a heavy sleeper, I can sleep through just about anything but my cell phone ringing, and even that sometimes. For example, one night an old roommate of mine lost her keys. She beat on the door for several minutes, called my phone repeatedly, and ended up figuring out the kitchen window was left open ( ) she climbed through there, knocked several glasses off the counter and broke them, then proceeded to knock on my bedroom door to tell me. I woke up to none of this, the only reason I found out about any of it, was that when I did wake up I saw I missed 6 calls from her, and I found the broken glasses, and asked.

And second, when I do wake up, via alarm or cell phone I'm not alert, and nearly dead. I've been known to turn alarms off and not remember it, snooze it for an hour, or just lay in bed half asleep for a while. This problem isn't as frequent as the first, as I seem to have no problem waking up right away at 3:00 in the morning for duck season

So my question is to you guys, is there any sort of training, drills, or pratices one could do to increase their alertness when I wake up? And to make myself sleep a little bit lighter?

Thanks!

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[retsupt99]

Get a good dog...

Problem solved...a good friend and a 'first alert'...

OMO

ret

[Bando]

get more sleep or see a doctor.

[ccw9mm]

Dog. House/apartment designed to take good advantage of a perimeter/zonal alarm. An exceedingly good door/window combination for your bedroom, so that it can be your "safe" room for the duration you're dead to the world ... so that you won't end up being dead to the world, in case of entry.

[P95Carry]

This is a problem - and one I share to a degree. I will wake usually when something is ''different'' but then or in morning the problem is the degree of lucidity!

Very hard to ''throw a switch'' and be suddenly ready for action - eyes tend to be bleary often and it's like metabolism has to have time to work its way up thru the gears! I can see no training that would make an obvious difference altho I do attempt to speed up the process best I can - but not with too much success. Takes time for #1 turbo-coffee to kick in too!

"Training to wake up alert " ........ you gotta remember, them lert's sleep heavy - just like us!

[goawayfarm]

Sorry guys ,but I think it's hereditary. ......So BLAME YOUR PARENTS!...kidding!

I'm the opposite, I'm a light sleeper & always wake up a minute or two before the alarm goes off in the morning.

You can't go wrong with dogs, I have two Labrador Retrievers, that stir easily & put on a great show of furiousity when disturbed. The UPS & mail men run back to their trucks, when the dogs start to bark at them thru the door.

They should be the best thing to buy you time for you get your wits about you. They will also slow a potential BG down by giving them pause, as to the thought of getting a bite out of their backside.

[hellion]

Thanks for the responses guys. I have a black lab, he's great. And I did talk to a doctor about it once, when taking a physical his reply was "The other day some guy was in here complaining that he wants to sleep heavily, and now your in here complaining that you want to sleep lightly, it's natural and you should be thankful, some people can't even sleep 8 hours straight" :shrug:

[Tangle]

When I was in college, I got put in a 'dorm' consisting of three large, open rooms, two bedrooms, and a study room. Since this arrangement housed 12 immature guys, rest was pretty iffy.

If you did go to sleep, you'd likely be awaken by somebody scuffling or being poked in the ribs, and else where, just on general principle.

After about 6 weeks of that, I, and probably some others, got to be light sleepers, capable of going from asleep to wide awake, full alert in a split second. A simple action (make that repeated action) of inflicting pain, or surprise, while you're asleep. Got any kids? I promise you, they'd be more than delighted to 'train' you.

[packinnova]

I hope this isn't a repost, I tried to search but couldn't find anything.

I have two problems really;

First, I'm a heavy sleeper, I can sleep through just about anything but my cell phone ringing, and even that sometimes. For example, one night an old roommate of mine lost her keys. She beat on the door for several minutes, called my phone repeatedly, and ended up figuring out the kitchen window was left open ( ) she climbed through there, knocked several glasses off the counter and broke them, then proceeded to knock on my bedroom door to tell me. I woke up to none of this, the only reason I found out about any of it, was that when I did wake up I saw I missed 6 calls from her, and I found the broken glasses, and asked.

And second, when I do wake up, via alarm or cell phone I'm not alert, and nearly dead. I've been known to turn alarms off and not remember it, snooze it for an hour, or just lay in bed half asleep for a while. This problem isn't as frequent as the first, as I seem to have no problem waking up right away at 3:00 in the morning for duck season

So my question is to you guys, is there any sort of training, drills, or pratices one could do to increase their alertness when I wake up? And to make myself sleep a little bit lighter?

Thanks!

You're talking about two different things here. The light/heavy sleeping and increased alertness are two very different animals. For the heavy sleeping you probably need to see a doctor and it may end up requiring a change in habits, eating, time, etc... The increase of alertness is a state of mind. You have to start forcing yourself into that state. I used to be the same way. I would roll over in the morning and hit the snooze and completely forget an hour later or when I did wake up I was groggy/half-dead. You have to force yourself when you wake up to become alert. It can be done. Start simple...stop hitting the snoozer when you wake up (yes, even on the weekends). Sleeping in(as much as we all may like it) on the weekends starts a bad trend/habit. Stick to a routine and grow it or shrink it as necessary.

[glembe]

I am a heavy sleeper so I have made it as hard as I can for bad guys to get into my house or take my property. This gives me more time to wake up, become oriented, and take action. Motion detectors, motion activated flood lights, dead bolt solid core door on my master bedroom, reinforced locks on exterior doors, two dogs, and four attack cats are just a small part of a layered home defense plan.

To directly answer your question, the only way I know how to sleep lighter is to get more rest, stick to an awake/sleep schedule, and exercise more aerobically to increase your stamina. As for drills, have a plan, then set an alarm to go off the in the middle of the night, make sure it is out of reach so you have to get out of bed to turn it off and try it out your plan.

Some ideas on slowing down the bad guys here- http://homeinvasion.ca/

[bd_richards]

I am a heavy sleeper as well, so it kind of scares me that I will not hear an intruder. Not to mention my apartment is about 50 feet from some regulalrly traveled railroad tracks. I beleive Glembe pretty much said it though, exercise and make yourself stick to a sleep schedule. Some people might argue that if they try to make themsleves go to sleep when they aren't tired they won't sleep, this is where the exercise comes into play. Not to mention you will feel better, even if you think you feel fine now. It works for me anyway. Coffee is a saviour though!

[Gary Brommeland]

Glembe pretty well nailed it - put a solid core wood or steel door on your bedroom, along with a GOOD deadbolt lock. (I prefer Schlage Commercial Grade locks).
This will give you the most valuable commodity in any confrontation - TIME. Time to wake up, time to clear the cobwebs. Time to access the situation. Time to grab the Shotgun. Time to call 911. (in that order)

[havegunjoe]

You may want to do something to prevent an intruder from getting into your bedroom while you sleep. Lock the bedroom door, have some type of alarm if it is opened. Maybe there is a phone you can buy with an extra loud ring. My dogs warn me if someone is even close to my home. Other than that I am afraid you are what you are and not much is going to change that.

[zxd9]

Get a job with after hours support. You'll learn to get alert quickly as someone on the other end at 2am starts asking you why this doesn't work and how they did this and that and now what do they do. They more calls you get the better you'll be prepared.