Warren Hayden: rhythm and blues with an alarm clock

The main reason why waking up early is paired with success is that you get more work done in the morning.

This may be good news for you, but it’s the opposite for me.

You see, I’ve always been more of a night owl than a morning person and I see my alarm clock as enemy number one.

When it’s absolutely necessary for me to set my alarm clock and wake up before nature intended, I dread the time that my beautiful sleep will be rudely disturbed by that irritating beeping sound.

I hate the moment I have to force open my eyes from their slumber and summon up the energy to lift my arm to stop the annoying bleep hurting my ears.

Is it possible to get into the habit of waking up early without feeling like your eyelids are attached to heavy dumbbells for the rest of the day?

Well, yes it is. Waking up at exactly the same time every day will stabilise your circadian rhythm. I wish I could tell you what a circadian rhythm is, but I don’t have the foggiest idea.

Taking a wild guess, I’d say it is a scientific word for ‘body clock’.

Setting your alarm for the same time every day and making sure you put it on the other side of the room can help wake up your body.

The idea is simple: to turn off the alarm, you have to leave the comfort of your toasty warm duvet and this stops the temptation to press the snooze button and go straight back to sleep because you are already up.

If you stick to this for 30 days apparently you should become an early riser.

I’m not convinced and I believe I will always be a night owl who loves a lie-in.

Having said that, there are often occasions when I have no choice but to set my alarm and wake up at a time I only see when I’m going to the airport.

Strangely, I often wake up just moments before my alarm goes off and when this happens getting out of bed isn’t the biggest challenge.

The thing that I find most difficult is getting ready without making any noise and waking up the rest of the house.

My four-year-old daughter Alyssa wakes up when she hears the slightest noise, so I’ve had to learn a few tricks that make an early rise much quieter.

Notably, I don’t step on the bottom stair because it squeaks; I don’t open the bathroom cabinet in case something falls out and I don’t get angry at the spoon when I drop it on the tiled kitchen floor. It’s not the spoon’s fault.