allie

I’m sipping tea and munching on finger sandwiches with Martin Luther King Jr. and a human-sized rabbit when all of a sudden, I am jolted awake to one of the most annoying, irritating, infuriating sounds to ever reach my ears. There’s a slight click as the minute on the clock changes, and a fireworks burst of white noise that jerks me out of slumber just in time to hear the abrasive, bleeting tones of the alarm. There are not many sounds that elicit a reaction as strong as an alarm clock does. Just hearing an alarm clock on a television show causes most people to cringe, instinctually closing their eyes and turning their bodies away from the universally-hated sound. There are many reasons the beep of an alarm clock is so hated. Forgotten dreams, disorientation, and the instant creation of a bad mood are all reasons waking up to an alarm clock is by far one of the worst feelings in the world.

I often have detailed, meaningful dreams that provide invaluable insight into problems I’m having in my life; unfortunately, being brutally yanked awake to an alarm clock inevitably makes me forget them. Dreams are a way for the subconscious to work out problems and feelings about events happening in everyday life, and when dreams are forgotten, that insight is lost. Dreams are also highly entertaining, whether hilarious, like watching your grandparents tap dance their way across your roof, or scary, like the ever-popular driving to school naked, and I’m always disappointed when I forget what I dream.

After waking to an alarm and forgetting my dreams, and often the fact that I was dreaming at all, I am confused and disoriented. The beep of an alarm clock is an insidious sound, sneaking into my slumber and confusing me before I even wake. When I finally surface sluggishly from the ocean of unconsciousness, I have no idea where I am.  That few seconds of confusion and frantic attempts to determine where I am and what the hell is going on leaves me befuddled and foggy all morning, wandering like a zombie, glassy-eyed and disengaged.

When I wake disoriented and confused to a blaring alarm clock, I start my day in a horrible mood. Being obligated to leave a warm, cozy bed to go to work or school doesn’t put me in the best mood to begin with, and being unceremoniously jerked out of sleep by an alarm clock just adds insult to injury. Having to use an alarm clock also often means one isn’t getting enough sleep, which certainly doesn’t contribute to a pleasant demeanor and can-do attitude. Waking to an alarm puts me in an awful mood, like a cat that’s been dropped into a pool.

I despise waking to an alarm clock because I forget my dreams, become disoriented, and start the day in a foul mood. Waking up on time isn’t worth all the trouble that comes with using an alarm clock, so I have thrown the alarm clock out. Instead, I go to bed in time to get plenty of sleep, and rely on my internal alarm. I find that when I firmly tell myself what time to get up before I fall asleep causes me to wake up five to ten minutes earlier than I intended, allowing me to wake naturally and ease into the day. My internal alarm hasn’t failed me yet.