Advice on getting up for School?

[abyssalautumns]

I'm a high school senior and have been missing so much school. I thought things would get better once I dropped out of some of the harder classes for the second semester, but I still just can't get up in the morning. Sometimes I'm just so exhausted and other times I simply just don't wake up until the afternoon. Whenever I miss school, I'm at home sleeping until literally like 4 pm, even if I go to bed at about 9:30 pm the night before. When I do get up in the morning, I take so long to get ready because it feels like I'm dragging myself to get ready & I'm so exhausted. I want to go to school on time every day, but it's such a big challenge when I'm so drained of energy. any tips or advice?

 

[foggyskies_]

I had the exact same issue when I was finishing up highschool. Chronic fatigue SUCKS ASS. Try shining your phone flashlight in your eyes? That's the only thing that ever helped me. It's a real uphill battle. Good luck!

By the way, you're over eighteen, right? Just making sure since minors aren't allowed on SaSu and most highschool seniors are seventeen. In the US, at least.

 

[abyssalautumns]

I had the exact same issue when I was finishing up highschool. Chronic fatigue SUCKS ASS. Try shining your phone flashlight in your eyes? That's the only thing that ever helped me. It's a real uphill battle. Good luck!

By the way, you're over eighteen, right? Just making sure since minors aren't allowed on SaSu and most highschool seniors are seventeen. In the US, at least.

Thanks and I'll definitely try that! I turned 18 in September :) (i was born right after the cut off date for my school district so im pretty older than most of the seniors lol)

i try to play music in the morning, or saying things like 'okay, now im going to get up, 1 2 3, okay up' to myself in my head. just constant self reassurance :)

thank you so much! what kind of music do you play? more calming music or more upbeat to get you hyped for school?

 

[abyssalautumns]

its usually upbeat music, the same music id work out to. or just stuff that makes you dance. its sm easier doing ur morning things while theres music playing. or i make myself laugh by playing kidz bop or meme songs lol

LOL i'll definitely try the meme songs, making a playlist rn

 

[abyssalautumns]

i just listened to like 30 seconds their cover of "that's what I like" and um... its interesting to say the least!!

 

[abyssalautumns]

lollll, now imagine waking up wanting to die and thats the first thing u hear

sure confuses my nervous system

HAHA it'll for sure motivate me to get up and turn it off. I'll try it tomorrow morning and let you know how it goes!!

 

[r.vival]

the only reason i get up for school and actually go is because my dad forces me to. i lost a lot of years because i had to repeat grades like 3 times now. i just want to make my dad happy. he invested a lot in me and a lot has been lost. i don't want that for him anymore.

 

[foggyskies_]

HAHA it'll for sure motivate me to get up and turn it off. I'll try it tomorrow morning and let you know how it goes!!

My brother set his morning alarm to Ram Ranch (the motivation was to turn the song off before the song gears up), you could try that too LOL. but it backfires pretty fast if you sleep through it...

 

[Jack_Nimble]

A sunrise alarm clock can definitely help.

I'm so sorry stupid adults do this to teens. It is known that teenagers circadian rythem naturally shifts to staying awake later and sleeping in later. By making school so early it's screwing with you.

It's not your fault. Sleeping in does NOT mean you're lazy.

Okay here's my old man statement (37 3/4 years young here).The older ya get the more you'll realize just how ignorant teachers actually are.

 

[abyssalautumns]

My brother set his morning alarm to Ram Ranch (the motivation was to turn the song off before the song gears up), you could try that too LOL. but it backfires pretty fast if you sleep through it...

LOL I'll for sure try that on Monday, seems like a great idea

A sunrise alarm clock can definitely help.

I'm so sorry stupid adults do this to teens. It is known that teenagers circadian rythem naturally shifts to staying awake later and sleeping in later. By making school so early it's screwing with you.

It's not your fault. Sleeping in does NOT mean you're lazy.

Okay here's my old man statement (37 3/4 years young here).The older ya get the more you'll realize just how ignorant teachers actually are.

Thanks so much for understanding, I'm really happy to know that at least another person gets that I'm trying my best. I've actually never heard of a sunrise alarm clock until I looked it up just now, but it seems really promising! I'll see if I can find one on Amazon or something. Any recommendations?

the only reason i get up for school and actually go is because my dad forces me to. i lost a lot of years because i had to repeat grades like 3 times now. i just want to make my dad happy. he invested a lot in me and a lot has been lost. i don't want that for him anymore.

I'm so sorry to hear that. School really sucks, especially all this busy work that these teachers assign us. It's like I memorize all of this information for a test and I end up just forgetting it all after. We'll get through this together. I believe in you and I'm sure your dad does too. You got this!

 

[Jack_Nimble]

Thanks so much for understanding, I'm really happy to know that at least another person gets that I'm trying my best. I've actually never heard of a sunrise alarm clock until I looked it up just now, but it seems really promising! I'll see if I can find one on Amazon or something. Any recommendations?

You are most welcome. I have a lumie and I love it. My only regret is I didn't realize my model only displays time in military time. My best suggestion is read the features and decide what features matter to you. Many sunrise alarm clocks require a smartphone to set and change settings. My lumie does not require this. That is what mattered to me. I have many sounds to choose to wake up to or fm radio. I can even choose to wake up to a choo choo train ahahaha. But I choose the gentle birds chipping. I LOVE it!

I also have a lamp on an outlet timer set to turn on just after my sunrise alarm clock hits full brightness and chipping birds. This lamp is out of my reach so I can't turn it off from my bed. One could also set a traditional alarm clock that is loud and annoying that is not reachable from their bed. For the days when the sunrise alarm may not wake you.

If ya want to do the lamp on a timer thing also just get an outlet timer and plug a lamp into it.

 

[author]

I'm a high school senior and have been missing so much school. I thought things would get better once I dropped out of some of the harder classes for the second semester, but I still just can't get up in the morning. Sometimes I'm just so exhausted and other times I simply just don't wake up until the afternoon. Whenever I miss school, I'm at home sleeping until literally like 4 pm, even if I go to bed at about 9:30 pm the night before. When I do get up in the morning, I take so long to get ready because it feels like I'm dragging myself to get ready & I'm so exhausted. I want to go to school on time every day, but it's such a big challenge when I'm so drained of energy. any tips or advice?

Are you sensitive to light waking you up? I have a curtain that has little holes cut into it like stars, and of course it lets the light in nicely - sometimes shines into my eyes. It also looks nice lol. If you have windows it could be an option to get curtains like mine, or just keep them more open so the light comes in and naturally wakes you up.

I'm sure you've also tried alarms - but you could try one that's loud and put your phone somewhere you can't reach it from bed, that way you have to get up to turn it off. Though being shocked awake by a loud noise isn't very fun in my experience.

I will say though, as someone who deals with chronic fatigue, your level of exhaustion sounds a bit unhealthy. I was also very, very exhausted in highschool like that (still am, in my 20s, though I'm able to do my own schedule now so it's not as bad). Getting medical help or a diagnosis for this sort of thing is hard, but seeing a doctor wouldn't hurt just to make sure it's not a medical issue. If you have a good one, they'll help you. If not, well, my method was to find a doctor who would (though that might not be an option for you until you're 18).

Take it one step at a time and don't force yourself to get it perfect right away. Maybe aim for a couple days of being on-time a week, and keep upping the number as your sleep gets better. Trying to instantly get it right is gonna wear you out quick.

Here's to hoping we can both get the right amount of sleep.

 

[Jack_Nimble]

I'm so sorry to hear that. School really sucks, especially all this busy work that these teachers assign us. It's like I memorize all of this information for a test and I end up just forgetting it all after. We'll get through this together. I believe in you and I'm sure your dad does too. You got this!

That's right. All ya gotta do is get through it. And yes, most of the knowledge is only for the sake of their testing. Education in their system isn't nearly as important as they try to tell you it is.

Many people have done very well in life without ever going to college. I do just fine, better than most teachers do even though I've only done one year of high school . Most employers don't actually care about an HSD. Though many do. Fortunately I have an HSD by testing out through a private school in a state that I've never been to at a school that wasn't even accredited at the time with standards well below that if a GED. It's hilarious. When filling out job apps that ask for the address of the school I graduated I simply write Florida. Never in my career has anyone ever asked to see it. People become VP's and CEOs with only a HSD. Experi nice is what matters, not education. That said feel free to take your time choosing a career but try to choose by 25. Start at the bottom and work up proving your capability and worth. I became an adult at the start of the Great Recession. I choose my welding career cause I looked at job ads daily in the newspaper and that was the most commonly advertised one.

Sorry for the old man speech. I'm done now. If ya have any questions for a realistic adult feel free to ask.

I was the king of sleeping in and showing up late to high school til they finally kicked me out for drugs haha.

I wish you the best.

Are you sensitive to light waking you up? I have a curtain that has little holes cut into it like stars, and of course it lets the light in nicely - sometimes shines into my eyes. It also looks nice lol. If you have windows it could be an option to get curtains like mine, or just keep them more open so the light comes in and naturally wakes you up.

I'm sure you've also tried alarms - but you could try one that's loud and put your phone somewhere you can't reach it from bed, that way you have to get up to turn it off. Though being shocked awake by a loud noise isn't very fun in my experience.

I will say though, as someone who deals with chronic fatigue, your level of exhaustion sounds a bit unhealthy. I was also very, very exhausted in highschool like that (still am, in my 20s, though I'm able to do my own schedule now so it's not as bad). Getting medical help or a diagnosis for this sort of thing is hard, but seeing a doctor wouldn't hurt just to make sure it's not a medical issue. If you have a good one, they'll help you. If not, well, my method was to find a doctor who would (though that might not be an option for you until you're 18).

Take it one step at a time and don't force yourself to get it perfect right away. Maybe aim for a couple days of being on-time a week, and keep upping the number as your sleep gets better. Trying to instantly get it right is gonna wear you out quick.

Here's to hoping we can both get the right amount of sleep.

Oooo that star curtain sounds super nets :D

 

[vercabow]

school last year for me used to be really rough too. would wake up at 6.45am, come home at 7pm on average and be socially outcasted throughout the whole day. plus it was the first time in my life i was genuinely struggling in keeping up with schoolwork.

personally i've found that the hardest part about going to school is actually getting out of bed. once i started getting ready everything would just fall into place, and it'll run like clockwork.

so with that in mind, i would physically force myself to get out of bed the moment i woke up. as in straight up just hop off the moment i wake up no matter how much my eyes wanted to shut. it's sucks to do each morning but it's the only way that works for me.

of course, i understand if this doesn't work for you. i don't necessarily recommend the advice im about to give but perhaps you can try it if your schedule permits. when i still had a dismissal time that was earlier (roughly 4pm on average), id sleep at 7-8pm and then wake up at ~4-5am naturally. if you're the type of person who doesn't need to rely on alarms this would be perfect for you, as it eliminates the fatigue that you'd get being "forcibly" woken up by alarms. normally i'd just study in the downtime between waking up and getting ready later at 7am (i was a completely maniac who would study 10-12 hours a day lol).

the second method requires some tinkering of your sleep schedule but it may work for you. hope this helps :)