What kind of alarm clock do you use to wake yourselves up with? I have the common, obnoxious beeping/screamnig variety which jolts you awake rudely each AM. This often hinders me from remembering dreams, I think. Waking up gradually is much better. So two questions:
1.) What kind of Alarm clock do you use (call me curious)
2.) Anyone know of a good kind of alarm clock that wakes you slowly?
Last night I had a dream that a very beautiful girl I know wanted me really bad, and I almost didn’t remember the dream… that could’ve been a disaster! Do you see how desperately in need of help I am?!
If I could find them or make them, there are alarm clocks that are based on lighting, so intead of waking you up with “screaming”, you have a more natural awakening. All they do is start to turn on about 30 minutes before you want to wake up and slowly get brighter over those next 30 minutes or so. Your body is tricked into thinking that it is time to get up, and you wake up. It is a lot easier to stay in bed and not move with nothing “screaming” at you, and it is also hard to go back to sleep because you feel like it is later in the day.
Yes, not moving is exactly the issue. With a screaming alarm I feel (especially since I have a roommate) like I have to leap out of bed immediately and turn it off, so as not to annoy my friend. It’s not very conducive to dream recollection at all (at least for me) to have to jump out of bed so suddenly and deactivate the alarm. I was thinking:
I have a minidisc recorder, and I recorded the sound of the beach at lake michigan… maybe I could create some loops to play on the computer or something of the sort which could slowly crescendo, and allow me to lay in bed and sort out the events of the night without the panic of screams or the annoying distraction of radio commercials/DJs (and the occasional song they play once every hour on the radio in the morning) That might be an idea… anyone else done anything like that?
Wait, you said 'lightning," not “thunder”-- do you mean that these alarm clocks wake you up with light instead of sound? What kind of clock do you use right now?
You’ve got it light, not sound. That is “lighting” not “lightning” Right now I have a screaming clock, but I can leave it on for a moment. I am still having major problems with dream recall, though.
i use a normal clock radio turned down realy low (almost off)
when it turns on it makes a click. that is usualy enough to wake me, but i am a light sleeper.
you might want to try a MILD type thing “i will wake at 2:00 am” ?
Yeah tcomm definately make sure you start using CD’s as an alarm. Instead of all the morning radio crap you get to wake up to whatever song you wish (and what better way to start the day than that )
I have my stereo set to come on nice and softly, barely audible with something dreamy like Sigur Ros or Bjork or Radiohead etc, so I drift into the waking world nice and peacefully. Also, I sometimes find that the song is incorporated into my dream for a short while before I wake up which is a cool added bonus
Something I need to train myself to do (but haven’t gotten around to it yet) that I reckon will work is to tell myself as I’m going to sleep that when I hear “song X” then I’ll know I’m dreaming and my alarm has turned on. That way if I’m dreaming then I hear “song X” in the dream then I’ll know to straight away dreamspin to avoid waking up then enjoy some lucidity…
kmcdonald - I tried searching for a lighting/lightning device like you described, but could not find one. I’m not so sure it may work though, because my room is lit up by the sun from skylights pretty good in the morning, usually, and that doesn’t wake me up. Maybe I’m just too used to it though.
NIX - I think the MILD thing would be good for that chaining technique or one of the extensions of it, but I’m not so sure about waking up with that. Then again, one of my best friends in high school never used his alarm clock. Somehow he always just WOKE UP when it was time to. Weird.
tcomm - does the radio inhibit your ability for dream recall? I know it sure hinders me.
oratpart - yeah, that’s happened to me before too with music becoming part of your dream! That’s very cool. One time the song “constant craving” by KD Lang was on the radio, and I dreamt this gorgeous woman was sitting on my lap, singing it to me, but then I woke up. Wow, I’ve never listened to THAT song the same way again! Problem is selecting the right music which comes on slowly and doesn’t wake me too fast
I’ve experinced a weird thing with a home-made alarm clock. It consisted of a bass unit from a loudspeaker, connected under my bed. When i should wake up, it played a very low frequency tone, that made the whole bed vibrate.
If i was dreaming at that time, i always dreamt there was an earthquake
Does anyone know if different frequencies of sounds can be heard better in a dream?
ulrik_tr - that’s hilarious about the earthquake. Did you design this alarm clock yourself then? As for the frequency question, I doubt that there is any difference from your hearing in waking life. Why would there be; the brain would have to fail to process some sound signals from the ear, and I don’t see why it would do that. Still you may be on to something, and if nothing else, a thoughtful idea.
tcomm - this morning I woke up to the Foo Fighters, my favorite band, and I still could only remember one small instant of what I dreamt last night. I think I need to find or create something specific and calm to wake me up…
jbescup: No, i wasn’t very old at that time. My dad is a sound technician, and we made it for fun I didn’t use it more than a couple of months, because i found it pretty relaxing actually, and then the idea of an alarm clock is kinda gone
light, not sound. That is “lighting” not “lightning” 
Right now I have a screaming clock, but I can leave it on for a moment. I am still having major problems with dream recall, though.
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