How 10 daily alarms help Steelers' Justin Gilbert beat oversleeping

[stillers4me]

Justin Gilbert pulls out his iPhone for emphasis.

"And I'm not even exaggerating," the Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback said. "I can show you."
Gilbert's "clock" app shows 10 wake-up calls, the first at 5:45 a.m. Gilbert allows himself a snooze -- don't we all? -- but the next alarm hits at 6 a.m., followed by 6:07. The other seven are solely to satisfy his paranoia about sleeping too long. He never hears them, he says. "Once 6 hits, bam-bam-bam -- I've got to get up," said Gilbert, who readies for 8:20 special teams meetings Wednesday through Friday.


For most players, these details are mundane. But for Gilbert, they help him manage an issue that held him back as a first-round pick by the Cleveland Browns in 2014.


Gilbert struggled with missing meetings while with the Browns, and when he disclosed to Cleveland reporters in January that his troubles stemmed from being a "hard sleeper," the comment basically marked the end of a clumsy chapter of his career. He never played another down for the Browns, who last month traded him to Pittsburgh for a conditional sixth-round pick...........

read more @ http://www.espn.com/blog/pittsburgh-...t-oversleeping

[teegre]

That is a GREAT sign.

btw: during my thesis-writing year (back before iPhones), I set three different alarm clocks... placed in various locations in my bedroom. That way, I had to get up, figure out which one was going off in order to turn it off. It was the process (standing, figuring out the location of the sound) which woke me up; otherwise, I'd have overslept.

[Steeldude]

It sounds to me like he is lazy or not really interested. If I was a player in the NFL I would never miss a practice or meeting. Why? Because it's the most awesome job ever. The job I have now I hit the snooze 5 times and then rush to work. Haha

Teegre, I would do that also if it was really important that I needed to be somewhere. I would place my alarm across the room. Don't they have an alarm app now that makes you punch in a series of numbers to stop the alarm?

[vasteeler]

I used to have a clock that was on wheels and when the alarm went off it would take off across the room and I would have to get up. I threw it away after about two weeks.

[Craic]

It sounds to me like he is lazy or not really interested. If I was a player in the NFL I would never miss a practice or meeting. Why? Because it's the most awesome job ever. The job I have now I hit the snooze 5 times and then rush to work. Haha

Teegre, I would do that also if it was really important that I needed to be somewhere. I would place my alarm across the room. Don't they have an alarm app now that makes you punch in a series of numbers to stop the alarm?

Not necessarily. I once slept through a Sunday morning service. Don't know how, but I barely made it to preach back in the day (missed another one completely, but thankfully, that was only in class). I've had other problems with that as well. It got so bad I'd wake up, cross the room, turn off my alarm, and then go back to bed, all without knowing I'm doing it. I've even had full conversations on the phone with people, then hung up and have no idea I spoke with them on the phone. Turns out, it was two medical issues combining: a C-pap machine later and ADD meds, and that doesn't happen anymore, nor does a dozen other little things that caused havoc in my daily life. The funny thing is, had you seen me, you probably would have said I wasn't really interested (fair assessment from the outside). But, from my perspective, it couldn't have been further from the truth. So, I'll withhold judgment for now—not because I think he has ADD or Sleep Apnea, but because there are a dozen little issues that could cause oversleeping even if he was dedicated.

I do chuckle at his way of fixing the situation, though, and I can relate. Had an eight oclock class I kept sleeping in on, until I was 1 tardy away from failing it. I ended up buying a new alarm clock with two alarms and setting both of them, then having a family member call me as well, and on top of all that, having a buddy in the dorm come make sure I was up every morning. I made it through class, barely. But I made it. So, good for him for figuring out a similar way.

[Hawkman]

I can and can't relate. I wake up five minutes before my alarm goes off, but I have a wife and a son who have no concept of time. There is no clock in our house that is set to the right time,(always ahead). Has nothing to do with love of job or school (Dude gloom), it's almost genetic, or.......nope got no explanation, the only times I have been late in my 55 years are the two times my car died.

[pczach]

I can and can't relate. I wake up five minutes before my alarm goes off, but I have a wife and a son who have no concept of time. There is no clock in our house that is set to the right time,(always ahead). Has nothing to do with love of job or school (Dude gloom), it's almost genetic, or.......nope got no explanation, the only times I have been late in my 55 years are the two times my car died.

I'm like you. I always turn off the alarm before it goes off.

I struggle with getting sleep, and I am up often during the night.

As for Gilbert, there are people that have that problem. Taking that first step by developing a system that helps the problem is a sign of growing maturity. Anybody can oversleep and I truly believe it can happen to anyone. It should never be something that becomes common because responsible people do something about it to insure it doesn't happen again.

If you lose power during the night, all bets are off! I have a Sony Dream Machine that automatically resets the clock in the event of a power outage, but a charged phone will always work unless the phone fails or the entire cellular system collapses.

[salamander]

Hey, whatever works for him and keeps him from missing meetings.

I personally have the opposite problem... my internal clock hates me and I'm always awake way before I need to be. It used to really suck when I used to work the late shift at work and not get home until 1am but was still awake by 6am.

[Bluecoat96]

I know multiple people like Gilbert. There are times when I think, just get your ass up!! However, I remember that I am the opposite of those people. I am the quintessential "morning person." I always wake up early, and after about 5 minutes, I'm bright-eyed and alert. With my wife, it's like waking the dead. I hear her alarm go off MANY times in the morning. Getting her up from a nap is truly a herculean effort at times. I have an old co-worker that sets about the same amount of alarms that Gilbert does. Some people are just like that, dream job or not.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[Rara]

It's a proven fact, that if you don't wake up on your first alarm and keep hitting snooze..that you'd wake up more tired. With Gilbert being an adult and getting a fresh start..you'd think he'd try harder (I do give him credit for changing his habits...but setting 10 alarms is redundant). By the way, has he even gotten on the field yet except for special teams? I must be missing him while I watch the games. I really want him cracking the starting line up and not having him be a waste like Boykins was last season.

[teegre]

Teegre, I would do that also if it was really important that I needed to be somewhere. I would place my alarm across the room. Don't they have an alarm app now that makes you punch in a series of numbers to stop the alarm?

There are indeed apps... where you have to solve/figure out a question, or logic puzzle, or a math problem. It forces your brain to "wake" up (not just your body).

As va mentioned, there were/are similar types of alarm clocks: ones on wheels, ones where you had to solve a combination lock to turn them off, ones where you had to match a random sequence of colors (like the game Simon).

I've found that the best alarm for getting up early... is having young children.

[Bluecoat96]

There are indeed apps... where you have to solve/figure out a question, or logic puzzle, or a math problem. It forces your brain to "wake" up (not just your body).

As va mentioned, there were/are similar types of alarm clocks: ones on wheels, ones where you had to solve a combination lock to turn them off, ones where you had to match a random sequence of colors (like the game Simon).

I've found that the best alarm for getting up early... is having young children.

Amen to the young children for alarms. My wife and I enjoyed a nice 6:30 alarm from our 4 and 5 year old. Always fun on a Sunday morning. Lol

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[Steel Peon]

I used to have a clock that was on wheels and when the alarm went off it would take off across the room and I would have to get up. I threw it away after about two weeks.

That's pretty funny stuff there. Myself having 5 alarms set, I can also sympathize with heavy sleepers like Gilbert, and have slept right through my alarm countless times in the past. I've even had a few dorm/room mates banging on my door telling me to shut my damn alarm off.

[Born2Steel]

There is an "app", for lack of a better word at the moment, that turns your room lights on gradually. Supposed to wake you more naturally than BOOM! WAKE UP! Not sure how successful it is.

[teegre]

Amen to the young children for alarms. My wife and I enjoyed a nice 6:30 alarm from our 4 and 5 year old. Always fun on a Sunday morning. Lol

The worst stretch of non-sleeping (even worse than my thesis year), was when my son was first born and he was colicky... and my daughter was also going through a nightmare phase.

I swear that they were coordinating/tag-teaming us:

SON: I'll cry nonstop until midnight; then you wake up screaming at 12:30.
DAUGHTER: Can I get into their bed?
SON: Yes, as long as you kick daddy in the face.
DAUGHTER: Duh.
SON: You go back to sleep at 1:30, and I'll start my nightly 3 hour scream fest...
DAUGHTER: And, I'll awaken at 4:30am.
SON: Hands in... BREAK!!!

[Bluecoat96]

The worst stretch of non-sleeping (even worse than my thesis year), was when my son was first born and he was colicky... and my daughter was also going through a nightmare phase.

I swear that they were coordinating/tag-teaming us:

SON: I'll cry nonstop until midnight; then you wake up screaming at 12:30.
DAUGHTER: Can I get into their bed?
SON: Yes, as long as you kick daddy in the face.
DAUGHTER: Duh.
SON: You go back to sleep at 1:30, and I'll start my nightly 3 hour scream fest...
DAUGHTER: And, I'll awaken at 4:30am.
SON: Hands in... BREAK!!!

It's like I'm talking to myself. You just described many of my nights with my son and daughter. Throw a third kid into the mix. Everything just goes batshit crazy at that point.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[teegre]

It's like I'm talking to myself. You just described many of my nights with my son and daughter. Throw a third kid into the mix. Everything just goes batshit crazy at that point.

To paraphrase Jim Gaffigan:
"People want to know what it's like to have three kids. Imagine you are drowning... and someone throws you a kid."

[Bluecoat96]

To paraphrase Jim Gaffigan:
"People want to know what it's like to have three kids. Imagine you are drowning... and someone throws you a kid."

I know we have completely derailed this thread, but oh well. Gaffigan is absolutely right....plus the third kiddo was NOT planned.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[Born2Steel]

Wait a sec.....you planned kids?

[Bluecoat96]

Wait a sec.....you planned kids?

2 out of 3 were planned. 😂

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

[teegre]

I know we have completely derailed this thread, but oh well.

Derailed?... nah.

I call it enhancement.

[Craic]

I know we have completely derailed this thread, but oh well. Gaffigan is absolutely right....plus the third kiddo was NOT planned.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Yeah, well, nobody expects the inkidsition.

[DesertSteel]

Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode about the Marathon runner that overslept

[86WARD]

Reminds me of the Seinfeld episode about the Marathon runner that overslept

Lol...jean paul jean paul?

Maybe Gilbert should pay little kids in the village to come hang on his door.

[teegre]

Time to divert this thread... once again...


This topic also reminds me of my favorite Louis CK bit: "My 3-year-old is a 3-year-old."

Louis CK talks about how his 3-year-old had woken him up all night, and the next morning, he overcompensates by drinking way too much coffee... and their breakfast conversation devolves into an argument about PIG Newtons.

"I'm not even remembering; I'm reading the f*cking box!!!"

[Shoes]

That is a GREAT sign.

btw: during my thesis-writing year (back before iPhones), I set three different alarm clocks... placed in various locations in my bedroom. That way, I had to get up, figure out which one was going off in order to turn it off. It was the process (standing, figuring out the location of the sound) which woke me up; otherwise, I'd have overslept.

It is indeed, he's probably motivated by looking at the Browns record also. I think he will work out well in Pittsburgh.