[gingerlime]

Interesting post, but I'm not sure if some of this advice can work for me. I've tried earplugs, but to be honest, it makes me paranoid that I won't hear the fire alarm or burglar coming in, which makes me much less relaxed. This isolated feeling is also weird for me. Covering my eyes just feels uncomfortable and also isolating. It's probably just me.

Also, I'm not entirely sure where I heard/read it, but I thought it's actually good to wake up with (natural) light, which brings you into a more natural cycle or something. I think I also heard it could help with jet lag, releasing melatonin or something of that sort.

[maroun]

When you first see sunlight in the mornings it helps regulate your circadian rhythm and it tells your body "The sun is out this is when I should wake up". Which is why if you're traveling you want to make sure you wake up at the right time locally and open the windows right away, it'll help reduce the # of days in which you're jetlagged.

However if you're sleeping at home you want your body to sleep for as long as it needs to, uninterrupted. That means no sunlight, no noise and no alarms. If you get into a consistent schedule you're body will wake up at around the same time everyday. However if you have sleep debt that you need to make up, you also want to give your body the chance to sleep a little extra.

[thisisnotatest]

I think you vastly overestimate the effectiveness of earplugs. You might not hear a cat's scampering on the floor, but you are not going to miss anything like someone speaking at a normal volume in the room, much less a fire alarm. As one data point, I have never missed my smartphone alarm clock in five years of sleeping with earplugs.