alt Hacker NewsHow people woke up before alarm clocks
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“Most Indians [= indigenous Americans] did not know how old they were. They measured time in days, moons, and winters, but they had no weeks, hours, or minutes. On the eve of an important event, when they were afraid they might oversleep in the morning—for example, when a war party discovered an enemy camp and wanted to make sure to wake up and attack it at first light—Indians would drink a lot of water before going to bed.” — Ian Frazier, Great Plains (1989), p. 48.
I write historical fiction set in the medieval period and spent a ridiculous amount of time researching topics like this. The candle clock with a nail (comment 18 mentions it) is one of my favorites — you'd stick a nail at a specific height in the wax, and when it burned down to that point the nail would drop onto a metal plate and clang. Monks used these extensively because they had to wake for the canonical hours (Matins, Lauds, etc.) regardless of season.
Single greatest thing I did to fix my circadian rhythm was get a sunset/sunrise lighting alarm. I have some hue lights and a "Hatch" alarm clock that both do sunrise lighting and some light morning noise that gradually increases lighting early in the morning. Even when its dark outside, my body has accustomed to it so much that I didn't even notice day light savings at all. Best investment for myself and my daughter I've ever done.
I haven't used an alarm clock in my adult life. I don't remember using them when I was younger, but think that is just not remembering.
I'm not convinced everyone can just wake up, but I am increasingly convinced it is more possible than most people care to admit.
I have my phone set as backup and because I am guilty of the +5 minutes
I always wake up between 5-30 minutes before it goes off, if I have something important the next day tho, I don't sleep at all because my brain won't let me :)
People went to bed when the sun went down because candles cost money. The light bulb changed everything.
Somewhat related I find it very funny how some people who identify as conservatives absolutely abhor dailight saving times as something which is "unnatural".
Well, there's nothing more natural than waking up earlier and resting later in the summer, while doing the contrary in the winter. Dailight Savings looks to me like at least an attempt of humans to try to follow the natural rythm of sunrise and sunset as "God intended us to do". Why are you against DST? Are you some sort of communist bureaucrat that want to impose us this government clock instead of respecting God's nature laws?
When I started ADHD medication, I started to be able to wake up on time without an alarm. All I need is a nearby source of the current time and somehow I can just wake up when I plan to.
I do still use alarms sometimes when I don't expect I'll be able to check the time and continue to fully waking up, but mostly I haven't needed them nearly as much as I used to.
This story is strangely parallel to the software developer. Just as the knocker uppers stared at their own end... so do we. I wonder if they were in denial as well?
> "In many pre-industrial societies, daily life followed the rhythm of sunrise and sunset, which naturally shaped circadian rhythms."
Having an office job that allows for flexible hours, I start my working day at different times during the year. Setting the alarm to the latest hour that I can start to work it never wakes me up, but it is there just in case.
Overall, I feel that I am less stressed, sleep better and have more energy that if I force myself a schedule to wake up. What I have is a schedule to go to sleep, the rest I leave to nature.
> Mary Smith, a much-loved knocker upper in East London
Great picture.