It's Alarming: What Wakes You Up Each Morning?
2020-02-18
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1How do you wake up in the morning?
2If you set an alarm on your phone or clock that sounds like this:
3beep beep beep
4That hard, unpleasant sound may be making it harder to shake off the sleepy feeling in the morning known as grogginess.
5So, is there a better way to wake up? A recent study says yes. The answer is music.
6Researchers say alarms that have a melody - like the beginning of this song - can help people feel fresher in the morning.
7The study, carried out by researchers in Australia, involved 50 people.
8The study subjects answered questions about the alarm sound they like to wake up to,
9how they feel about that sound and how they feel when they wake up.
10The findings appeared this month in the publication PloS One.
11The researchers found that people who wake up to musical alarms reported feeling more awake and alert.
12Stuart McFarlane was a lead writer of the study.
13He told VOA, "We are very surprised by these findings as one might expect a harsh beeping sound to be more successful," at waking up a person.
14Sleep inertia is another term for grogginess.
15It means a person has a heavy feeling when waking up, and has trouble getting moving again after sleeping.
16McFarlane said people need to better understand sleep inertia's harmful effects on human performance later in the day.
17The grogginess we may feel in the morning usually lasts for up to 30 minutes.
18But he said it has been reported to last from two to four hours.
19Not everyone will experience the full effect.
20But for those who do, "care should be taken" when performing duties that require a top performance within this period, he said.
21This includes "dangerous tasks like driving or riding our bikes" shortly after waking up.
22The same is true for people who work in dangerous situations shortly after they wake.
23They include firefighters and pilots.
24Sleep inertia has been linked to major accidents including airplane and shipping crashes.
25So, what makes musical alarms better for waking up?
26The researchers think the music may be more successful in reducing sleep inertia because it has several tones, compared to the single tone of a "beeping" alarm.
27McFarlane said that the changes over time between the music tones may help increase a person's attention when waking from sleep.
28But, he added, "it is early days though and more work is needed" to fully know the answer.
29And is there a kind of music that is best to wake up to? There may be, McFarlane said.
30"We could suggest alarm sounds that are tune full and easy to hum or sing along with. The current sounds I have been using include 'Close to me' by the Cure and 'Borderline' by Madonna."
31No matter how you wake up, experts say, the amount of sleep you get also matters - a lot.
32Dr. Stuart F. Quan is the clinical director of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Rhythm Disorders at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
33He offered some suggestions for how people can get better sleep and feel fresh each morning.
34Establish regular hours. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. Researchers recommend getting at least seven hours of sleep a night.
35Create a sleep-friendly room. It should be completely dark while sleeping. Place your bed away from windows. Try to make sure it is quiet and cool.
36Exercise. Most studies show that usual exercise -- three or four times a week -- helps improve sleep.
37Try not to use electronics in bed. Turn off your cell phone before bed, or put it on the "do not disturb" setting.
38Avoid large meals before bedtime.
39Limit nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol before bed.
40Be more active during the day. This can help you fall asleep more quickly and easily.
41I'm Anne Ball.
42And I'm Bryan Lynn.
1How do you wake up in the morning? 2If you set an alarm on your phone or clock that sounds like this: 3beep beep beep 4That hard, unpleasant sound may be making it harder to shake off the sleepy feeling in the morning known as grogginess. 5So, is there a better way to wake up? A recent study says yes. The answer is music. Researchers say alarms that have a melody - like the beginning of this song - can help people feel fresher in the morning. 6The study, carried out by researchers in Australia, involved 50 people. The study subjects answered questions about the alarm sound they like to wake up to, how they feel about that sound and how they feel when they wake up. The findings appeared this month in the publication PloS One. 7The researchers found that people who wake up to musical alarms reported feeling more awake and alert. 8Stuart McFarlane was a lead writer of the study. He told VOA, "We are very surprised by these findings as one might expect a harsh beeping sound to be more successful," at waking up a person. 9Sleep inertia is another term for grogginess. It means a person has a heavy feeling when waking up, and has trouble getting moving again after sleeping. 10McFarlane said people need to better understand sleep inertia's harmful effects on human performance later in the day. The grogginess we may feel in the morning usually lasts for up to 30 minutes. But he said it has been reported to last from two to four hours. 11Not everyone will experience the full effect. But for those who do, "care should be taken" when performing duties that require a top performance within this period, he said. This includes "dangerous tasks like driving or riding our bikes" shortly after waking up. 12The same is true for people who work in dangerous situations shortly after they wake. They include firefighters and pilots. 13Sleep inertia has been linked to major accidents including airplane and shipping crashes. 14Why is music better? 15So, what makes musical alarms better for waking up? 16The researchers think the music may be more successful in reducing sleep inertia because it has several tones, compared to the single tone of a "beeping" alarm. McFarlane said that the changes over time between the music tones may help increase a person's attention when waking from sleep. 17But, he added, "it is early days though and more work is needed" to fully know the answer. 18And is there a kind of music that is best to wake up to? There may be, McFarlane said. 19"We could suggest alarm sounds that are tune full and easy to hum or sing along with. The current sounds I have been using include 'Close to me' by the Cure and 'Borderline' by Madonna." 20No matter how you wake up, experts say, the amount of sleep you get also matters - a lot. 21Dr. Stuart F. Quan is the clinical director of the Division of Sleep and Circadian Rhythm Disorders at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. He offered some suggestions for how people can get better sleep and feel fresh each morning. 22Establish regular hours. Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. Researchers recommend getting at least seven hours of sleep a night. 23Create a sleep-friendly room. It should be completely dark while sleeping. Place your bed away from windows. Try to make sure it is quiet and cool. 24Exercise. Most studies show that usual exercise -- three or four times a week -- helps improve sleep. 25Try not to use electronics in bed. Turn off your cell phone before bed, or put it on the "do not disturb" setting. 26Avoid large meals before bedtime. 27Limit nicotine, caffeine, and alcohol before bed. 28Be more active during the day. This can help you fall asleep more quickly and easily. 29I'm Anne Ball. 30And I'm Bryan Lynn. 31Anne Ball wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 32How do you wake up in the morning? If you use an alarm, what does it sound like? What do you think of this story? Write to us in the comments section below. 33_________________________________________________ 34Words in This Story 35alarm - n. a device that makes a loud sound as a warning or signal 36shake off - v. an act of getting rid of something unpleasant or unwanted 37grogginess - adj. not able to think or move normally because of being tired, sick 38alert - adj. able to think clearly and to notice things 39harsh - adj. unpleasant and difficult to accept or experience 40tone - n. the quality of a sound produced by a musical instrument or singing voice 41hum - v. to make a low continuous sound