Phone Alarms Are About More Than Just Waking Up

Photo Credit/ Jazmin Cole

Edita Bardhi

Opinion Editor

Waking up in the morning can be difficult, especially for us college students.

We often rely on that annoying ringtone on our cellphones. For us Andriod users such as me, the ringtone may be one of the following: Argon, BeepBeep, Beep-Beep-Beep, Buzzer, Carbon, Helium, Krypton, Neon, Osmium, Oxygen, Piezo Alarm, Platinum or the Rooster Alarm.

Otherwise, the ringtone may be a customized sound, a preferred song or music altogether. 

Without these ringtones, we students often doubt ourselves toward whether we will wake up in the morning, especially for an early class.

Eight in the morning can seem early and sometimes even ‘too’ early.

So, the question lies here: should we set one morning alarm or multiple?

I believe the answer to this question varies from one person to another.

People have their own sleep schedules and their ways of sleeping.

The same applies to their arouse.

For instance, I am an early riser by default.

Over the years, I have struggled to sleep in or take naps during the day.

Yet, that has never influenced me to stop setting an alarm.

Yes, alarm. Singular.

I only set one morning alarm because that is all I need to wake up.

However, I have noticed friends who set multiple morning alarms.

Their alarms are approximately thirty minutes apart from each other which allows them additional time to sleep.

What I found interesting is how a particular friend sets multiple alarms, but every alarm is a different ringtone.

It is a smart idea for those who struggle with waking up.

With my friend, his first alarm is a strong ringtone and every ringtone thereafter is lighter than the previous one.

I never asked him; however, I would assume the reasoning behind this is catnapping.

In other words, he probably catnaps, or snoozes, after the first alarm and just needs a reminder to get up.

Going back to me, I may not set multiple morning alarms; however, I do try to set alarms for different activities, or responsibilities.

For instance, I have an alarm for waking up, an alarm for exercising and an alarm for bedtime.

Sounds childish, right? To another person, it may, especially the bedtime alarm.

I mean, I am a grown adult and I do not have a ‘bedtime.’

Although having a set alarm for bedtime has trained my brain to prepare for sleep rather than stay up late.

Like my friend, I set that alarm for a reason.

I am fully aware of how my body operates and I try to take corrective action.

Setting alarms for perhaps not morning but rather throughout the day is what benefits me.

And that is what matters – it works for me.

So, there is not a default way to wake up, similar to how there is not a default way to learn, teach or do anything else in life.

Thus, alarms can be used for reasons other than waking up.

Email Edita at:

ebardhi@live.esu.edu