Morning alarms used to be people

“Knocker-uppers” would go door to door to wake up people. They would knock on doors and tap on windows before dawn. Who woke up the knocker-up though, no one knows.

Alarms came before alarm clocks. Factory whistles were used to wake up employees. Sometimes a candle clock would be used to melt for 8 hours. Enough for sleep and a lodged nail to fall from the wax and onto a metal pan.

But the best sleep doesn’t revolve around work. Ideally, we would follow our circadian rhythms and daylight hours. To wake up from the sun instead of sound. But work starts too early.

Waking up to the sun is nice, but alarms have to do for most early risers. The important thing is to sleep in the first place.