#1
I made sure to be the good student that I wasn't normally. I studied early so that I wouldn't have to cram, I went to bed early, set my alarm, laid out my clothes... The whole nine yards.
Something happened to my alarm as it didn't go off. I looked at my clock and had about two minutes until the final. There was no way I could get from my dorm to the class on time but that didn't stop me from trying. I tore out of bed and just ran.
I showed up at the door in my flannel pyjamas, hair a mess, no shoes, crying, and breathing heavily from running. I was like 5 minutes late. I just looked at the professor and before I could choke out the words between sobs he just looked at me and said “take a seat and calm down, finish the test when you’re ready”. I have no idea what I got on the final but I did well in the class and now have a fear of not waking up to my alarm for important events.
#2
Then my brain started to warm up and I realized that I am in a country 6,000 miles from my university. And that I graduated 5 years ago... and the professor no longer works there. (I googled it, just to be sure).
Sleeping through your alarm may be due to a disrupted sleep routine, a health condition, or excessive sleepiness.
According to Dr. Guy Meadows, co-founder and clinical lead at Sleep School, research suggests that deep sleepers have more sleep spindles, a form of brain activity during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep.
These sleep spindles “act as a noise-canceling device,” says Meadows.
“A study on brain rhythms and stable sleep found that individuals who generate more sleep spindles during a quiet night of sleep were able to tolerate more noise on a subsequent, less quiet night of sleep.”
“Therefore, people who are able to produce more sleep spindles may be hard to wake because they can effectively cancel out the noise that is attempting to disturb their sleep,” Meadows adds.
But other factors can cause a deep, deep slumber, too.
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The quality and amount of sleep you’re getting every night may be to blame for your oversleeping problems, particularly if you have an inconsistent routine.
“Whether it’s one night or over the course of several nights, by not getting a full 8 hours of sleep, you create a sleep debt that needs to be repaid,” Meadows explains.
Sleeping at the wrong time for your natural chronotype (sleep schedule) can also cause problems.
“Those who are naturally ‘night owls’ tend to stay up later at night, and, therefore, sleep later in the morning,” he says.
“When their alarm goes off in the morning, especially during the earlier hours of the morning, they are in a deeper phase of sleep than those who go to bed earlier in the evening.”
And that can be a recipe for disaster if you have an early appointment!
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People were not happy with me.
For some people, certain medical conditions can make it harder to wake up in the morning.
For example, cardiac rhythm sleep disorders stop you from developing a regular sleeping pattern, which can mean that you go into a deeper sleep that is harder to wake from.
Night terrors, sleep walking, and sleep apnea can also cause issues, along with some medications you might be taking, such as beta-blockers and sleeping pills.
Mental health also plays a part. In fact, one of the common symptoms of depression is oversleeping. That’s because people who suffer from the condition can often be too anxious or lethargic to get a good night’s sleep. And when they do finally nod off, they may have just a few hours until morning and easily sleep through their alarm.
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I arrived 15 minutes late, hairs still wet and with mismatched socks.
I was struggling to attach a tie too.
The judge was not impressed, rejected my dispute and gave me a sermon about punctuality.
That oversleeping cost me 600 bucks and some dignity.
#12
I got there sweaty and disheveled with around 45 mins left. I somehow finished it and passed. If I had completely missed it, I would've had to stay on an extra semester just to get enough credits to graduate.
The first step to avoiding such mistakes is building a better routine. And it’s all about consistency.
“By going to bed and getting up at the same time each day, it becomes easier to wake up in the mornings and start your day,” says Meadows.
It not only helps you fall asleep more easily, but it also means the quality of your sleep should improve.
Of course, to ensure you’re getting enough sleep, this may mean going to bed earlier than you usually would—most people need between 7 and 9 hours.
If you’re finding it hard to get in bed an hour or so earlier, try moving your bedtime up in more manageable increments, such as ten minutes per night.
But if you have a medical condition that makes sleeping or waking more difficult, you should probably visit a doctor for advice and treatment options.
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#17
The final day arrived and I had been out the night before (because of course I was - 18 yo on finals week). I woke up to a clock that said *8:25*. Class ended at 8:30.
Now I was a decent sprinter but it was about 3/4 mile to the classroom so I knew there was no hope. I got up and throw on last nights clothes and sprint downstairs to consider my options; going along the road through campus and avoiding the central quad may save time. So I turned and went all out onto the road with a hope and a prayer and _there was the professor with all the portfolios under his arm, waiting for the bus_.
“HEY can you take this!?”
“Uhh... sure.”
Bless your soul, interim professor whose name I forget.
#18
I had just moved out of my parents house and I am not a morning person. So out of fear of oversleeping, I set two alarm clocks, both out of reach requiring me to really get out of bed.
In the days leading up to that Saturday, I prepared as much as possible. Cleaned the whole house, made breakfast that Friday evening so I would require as little time as possible on that Saturday morning and triple checked my alarms were set. Colleague asked Friday if I could provide a ride for him as his car had broken down. He lived nearby so I told him no sweat, I'll come pick you up at 5:00 am.
Don't know how it happened but I woke up at 10:00am that Saturday morning, alarms still going off and a few missed calls from aforementioned colleague.
Not a good start after a merger. I dreaded the phone call to my manager, lol. In the end, it all worked out fine but I was really pissed at brain, haha.
#19
When the church office called, wondering why I wasn't there early as usual, I scrambled to get moving - making it to the church *just* as the hearse was pulling up to the front door to bring in the coffin.
#20
The fire department goes door to door with a master key and checks every room. They found me asleep. Middle of December. Middle of the night. They me line up outside with everyone else wrapped in a skimpy blanket and flip flops (they wouldn't let me dress) until the building (of 900 people) was cleared. Probably a half hour but it felt like a week.
I also got fined 50 bucks for ignoring a fire alarm.