Why can your body sleep through alarms even when using multiple alarms to help wake you up?

Question

I usually set up about 6 alarms or more to help me wake up in the morning because I’ve had numerous occasions of not waking up at the first alarm or second. I’ve noticed times where it’s never the same alarm that wakes me up, it usually changes so I know all the alarms are working (volume all the way up and has some kind of annoying sound/ringtone. I’ve also had to change the sounds to it when it’s reaching the later alarms because I somehow manage to start ignoring it.

In: Other

Answer 1

Here are a couple of other possibilities aside from priorities.

1) Sleep stage

There are two types of sleep: Rapid Eye Movement (REM; associated with more vivid dreaming) and non-REM(NREM; which prepares the body for sleep and helps with recuperative processes).

Non-REM sleep normally starts pretty quickly after you nod off and can be broken down into 3 or 4 stages – the third is sometimes split into 2 levels depending on the source, but 3 is [the consensus as of 2007](https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/stages-of-sleep). You become less susceptible to outside stimuli (such as noise) as you progress into deeper levels, with deepest sleep ([deeper than REM](https://www.cnet.com/health/how-sleep-cycles-work-rem-vs-deep-sleep/)) occurring at stage 3.

NREM and REM stages cycle throughout the night, so there’s a possibility that your alarm could coincide with a deep sleep stage and be ignored.

2) [Sleep-wake homeostasis](https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Understanding-Sleep)

“The homeostatic sleep drive reminds the body to sleep after a certain time and regulates sleep intensity.  This sleep drive gets stronger every hour you are awake and causes you to sleep longer and more deeply after a period of sleep deprivation.

Factors that influence your sleep-wake needs include medical conditions, medications, stress, sleep environment, and what you eat and drink.  Perhaps the greatest influence is the exposure to light.”

So depending on on your health and environment, you might also experience more deep sleep.