Waking up.

I don't find transitions easy, either waking up or falling asleep. I long ago gave up putting any pressure on myself to get up in a hurry, obviously except in an emergency. I don't generally need to get up for any particular purpose, I avoid appointments too early in the day. And if i did have to get up for something I would set an alarm for a good 2 hours before I had to leave, one to spend in bed slowly waking up and the other to do the physical things needed to get up and out. That is partly because of my arthritis, but also my brain needs it.

When I wake up these days there is usually a cat staring at me wanting to be fed, which does motivate me to move. My other motivator is my bladder. But then I go back to bed and my husband brings me a coffee. Then my bladder again makes me get out of bed and go eat breakfast. Even then I do sometimes struggle to make myself move!

Even when i was younger and had a bit more energy it felt like my brain didn't fully come online until about noon.

My dentist told me not to clean my teeth until at least an hour after what she called an acid attack.

My adhd friend said peanut butter helps increase dopamine. So on that this week. Never ends haha

Exactly this

I find the best way to beat the inertia is to start with something small.  Blink your eyes deliberately.  Wiggle a finger and then a foot.  Sit up.  Eventually your body gets some momentum going in a new direction. 

I envy your sense of routine

I’ve tried hypericum, ginseng, kava kava, ginkgo, transraversatol, passiflora and a whole raft of others. Not really helped to be fair but I lose focus and forget to use.

i must say, green tea and maca powder in a smoothie works really well.

I did try kratom powder and that stuff works really well but...... it’s a terrible thing. Really addictive (I didn’t realise) and if you don’t take it, it makes you ill. Turned me into abit of a zombie ‍♂️ 

I’m wondering if Autistic Inertia strikes again, I wake up normally quite early this time of the year, my wife normally gets up first and brings up a cup of tea, I can lay there thinking about moving, but just can’t make that first movement, it’s like there is a barrier preventing me from doing so. The tea will often go cold,  I’m then thinking about trying to get up but that first step often feels impossible. 

Symptoms of autistic inertia

Symptoms of autistic inertia include difficulties “getting started”, getting one’s body in motion and adjusting movements to rapidly changing surroundings. Some people also have difficulty performing a task before they have full understanding of what needs to be done and why.

Cool.  I'm glad you can understand me.  Fruit juice is also very high sugar/acidity I'm afraid.  That is one mistake that I definitely made myself, ie saying "fruit juice before bed must be OK....so long as I brush my teeth afterwards.  I did that for years until the dentist explained to .e that "softening/melting" the surface of your teeth with a fruit juice or coke...and then vigorously rubbing away at their surface with a stiff brush and abrasive paste was a BAD idea!  He was right.  I've suffered.

Sorry to prolong the narrative - honestly not trying to bug you here.

Sadly, the basic chemistry of phosphoric acid and tooth enamel isn't good, AND if you are drinking that no sugar stuff you are playing silly buggers with your pancreas's feedback mechanism. 

If you can eventually find a more tooth friendly alternative that will give you what you need, If you can stand the stuff (or get a taste for it) an unsweetened tea gives you a nice burst of caffeine and some other things that set me up nice for the day, and allows me to look forwards to scoffing some more substantial sweet stuff for breakfast in due course...

I also suspect that because "tea makes you p" it keeps your kidneys busy which may have a bonus in terms of one's general metabolisms ability to shift toxins. Mine seemed to be above average when I experimented with drink and drugs in my yoof....

 I've had horrible problems with my dental health only alleviated in my latter years by the application of vitamin D.

OH GOD, I wish that had been made available to me when I was young!

It should be marketted as "One spray a day keeps the dentist away" (I take it as an oral spray, much nicer than a tablet) but then an entire profitable and prestigious industry would shrink markedly...

Edit I am "preaching", but I'm still doing it for your benefit, not my own! 

Thanks I do appreciate you saying that and know your not preaching. I do need to try and drink other stuff but I do find that difficult but I think my gums suffer so it's something I need to look in to. I used to have it at night as well but now I've changed to apple juice. Thanks though.

FYI.. I'm good mates with the tooth fairy and she reliably tells me that having coke for breakfast is a teeth-rottingly bad life decision in the short to medium term.

See if you can transition onto coffee maybe - or frapachino - your teeth will thank you when you reach your middle age.

[Disambiguation - Tina, please do know that this light advice is sent with only my best wishes and I in no way mean to imply any criticism of you and your coke drinking.  I'm not averse to the odd energy drink now and again myself.....but never for breakfast when my teeth are softest!]

I experience this too .... but I drive mostly!?!

Iain said:

and I had no recollection of how I got there.

Touch wood...my autopilot driving brain seems to be safe and reliable.  It can be a little unsettling when I "wake-up" half way through a journey and it takes a moment to consciously know where the hell I am.

I seem to be able to reach a special depth of thought when I'm driving alone on roads that I know we'll.  It's nice.

I have a coke in the morning and that gives me the buzz and energy to get going in the morning. Without it I'd probably never get out of bed.

I run entirely on autopilot on normal days - the alarm can go off and I do everything by routine, having done all the prep the night before (packing a bag if I'm going to work or making a list of things to do in case I have to do them early in the day).

Jumping straight into the shower helps then a coffee for breakfast steadily spins up the internal motor so after 40 mins or so I can be reasonably normal.

For a few years I had a 2.5 hour commute each way to my office in London and often I would only really wake up when the train rolled into Charing Cross station and I had no recollection of how I got there.

Oh don't worry, I experimented with that approach for the protracted multi-year period that I like to call my Mega-burnout.  I sprinkled in a liberal dosing of self loathing and wanting to be "disappeared" for good measure.

Bleak times brother!..... getting up circa 5-6am seems to serve me (and those around me) much better!

You could do like the normies, and never manage fully waking up at all...

Coffee, a little more coffee, then a lake of coffee.

It works for me.....no point in trying to speak with me until my 3rd mug has been consumed.  I need 1 litre to start functioning.  I'm currently averaging 3-5 litres per day at the moment.  I sleep like a baby.

Like you Indigo, I'm pretty sure it's a dopamine issue.  

Respect given, (For having the gumption to try things yourself to see if they work)

Can I ask you to follow up with a list of what you tried and what it did, if anything? 

I've got this as well. Takes ages for my brain to start working and I literally can't function but it's a problem because it makes me late for everything.