Waking up ASD style

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After reading an article on the Cortisol Awakening Response (CAR) I wrote a blog post about the impact of a lowered cortisol response upon waking up when compared to NTs. The short of it is that cortisol (a steroid produced by the adrenal gland) kicks in when we wake up to help us face the day. For those of us on the Spectrum this response is lessened.

Sadly I have not come across any sure fire treatment other than cortisol replacement therapy which is reserved for when the adrenal has almost completely shut down. Some suggestions are waking up earlier, waking up during daylight, occasionally depriving yourself of sleep or ingesting caffeine-- the catch-all solution for sleep issues from time immemorial.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone had more insight into CAR or cortisol replacement.

Best method i have found is espresso, and lots of it. Its been getting me out of bed for 17 years so far.

Though on the research end u may also want to look into the reseach on sleep cycles. In short there is a roughly once every 45 min or so window where it is easier to wake up. If u could set ur alarm to fall in ur window as it were it should be a bit easier to wake up.

Get a family member to scald you with a pot of boiling water in the morning, that'll be sure to release some stress hormones. As an added bonus it should release a large amount of endorphins too

This makes me think of one of my whims a little differently than before. I don't use an "alarm" clock to wake me up (I hate all forms of it, and I don't like when somebody wakes me up either). Instead, I glance at the digital clock from time to time in the morning (I don't totally wake up at those times), and I try to synchronize my sleeping "windows" so that I will be awake around the proposed time. This is a much much less stressful way of waking up than anything else I know.

I woke up at 10:41 this morning. Before I woke up, I had a dream in which I was waking up at 10:41 again and again and again. In the dream, I woke up at 10:41 at least 10 times. When I actually woke up, it was 10:41. WTF!

I am still learning, but I just want to make sure I understand. So for people in Spectrum, the response to waking up and feeling "more awake" isn't quite as high as it is for most people? I went and looked up some of this after I read your post. Does that describe sort of "feeling sleepy and groggy" for a long duration even after you wake up?

Waking up has never been a problem for me, although my method is a bit complex. I use my cell phone for an alarm clock, i set three alarms at 518 524 and 530am(as of yet). I want to be an early riser so every so often i set my alarms back by a couple minutes each. my latest alarm is set by an android app that makes me solve a simple math problem to silence the alarm, that gets my brain into gear and gets the day rolling.

If i have an upcoming event that requires me to be up earlier, i progressively set the alarms earlier in the days leading up to the event. For example, coming wednesday im taking a day trip to Boston, this requires me to be at the Greyhound station by 5am, and me to be awake between 4 and 415. tomorrow, i will adjust back by 30 minutes, another 30 on tuesday and by wednesday, my alarms will go off at 348 354 and 400. -I might just keep that timing from here on.

Overcomplicated? -definitely. Effective? absolutely, and thats what counts.

that's pretty crazy ><

I find the feline alarm clock system works most effectively.

The ASD part that makes me stay in bed is because I like to get up at the same time everyday. I'm trying to get up earlier but it's just not happening.

Wow. I'm amazed that you can manage that! I couldn't just wake up like that on my own. But I share your hatred of being woken up by humans or machines. I hate hate hate the stereotypical alarm clock sound. I don't mean I just don't like it very much because I'm not a morning person, I mean if I hear that sound on TV or something in the middle of the day it makes me cringe. Being woken up at all tends to give me a headache, but without an alarm clock or something I'd just sleep to two or three so I suck it up and deal.

Lol I hear you on the stereotypical alarm clock. I find this sound....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SitTtOfopOM

That sound legitimately makes me upset, mad, and ruins my mood. I HATE waking up to that. I don't know why it just puts me in a bad mood.

I also can't wake up right off the bat. I end up hitting snooze about 3 times. I just set my alarm back 30 minutes early assuming I'm going to hit snooze several times so I'm up and somewhat semi-awake by then. Lol... maybe that makes me weird? I dunno.

finally there is a REASON why I am so hard to wake up

I had it real bad in college, to the point that I failed a few morning classes because I could not get out of bed. If I did, I fell asleep in the cafiteria.

Now I just work on the night shift (which is why all my posts are at night) cuz I work from home on my computer...while giving my 2 cents worth on WP. that way I can sleep in the daytime.
I really am a creature of the night.

I definetly have this problem. I deal with it by injesting a cup of coffee upon waking up.

Is this also why high stress situations upon waking up are really hard to cope with....because we dont have enough corisol upon waking to deal with it??

most of the time it goes like this
mom: Jojo I need you! I burnt my hand on the stove!
Me: Dooo whaaaa.....ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

You need Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock from the app store

I began with using an alarm clock or a watch set to alarm the usual way, but I always strongly felt the urge to look at it from time to time to prevent it setting off. I remember I used to put it under my blanket to damp its sound. Later I realized I can do it without setting the alarm. Not easy, the price I pay is that I often find myself not sleeping as deep as I could without thinking of the time I should wake up. Nevertheless, it worths that. Actually, the most effective period of sleeping is over well before I start glancing at the clock about two hours before the time I'm supposed to wake up.