Student athlete sleeps through her constant morning alarms from 4:30 AM to 8:30 AM, wakes her roommate and misses practice every day: 'I have to scream her name until she finally gets up and turns it off'

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Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Jan 26, 2025 4:00 PM EST

American college students are put in the unusual predicament of staying in the same room as their roommates. In most cases of the word, roommate doesn't mean that you're sleeping in the same room, but unless you have a unique circumstance, you're likely going to be sleeping next to a complete stranger for your first 1-2 years of University. 

For me, this was a non-issue. I was out of the room every day, all day, from 9 AM to 10 PM. I was going to classes, libraries, dining halls, extracurricular clubs, and even my friend's dorms before I went back to twiddle my thumbs in my own room. The only time I was ever with my freshman-year roommate was when we slept. That is a uniquely vulnerable position to be in. She could've drawn an explicit image on my face or put my hand in a bowl of warm water! 

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  • Luckily for me, my girl Vanessa never did anything to harm me. Unfortunately for the young woman in this story, her roommate is difficult to live with. She sets alarms for 4 hours every morning and never turns them off when she decides to sleep in, which is every day. 

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    via Andrej Lišakov (Unsplash+)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    My roommate doesn’t wake up to her 20+ alarms every morning

    My roommate is supposed to have her sport workouts every single morning at 5:15 AM. No worries, I can live with a few alarms starting 4:30 AM. The problem is that she skips practice every single morning (she hasn't gone to a single practice), so her alarms run from 4:30 AM to 8:30
    via u/urmo696969
  • 03
    AM every few mins because she just snoozes them and goes back to sleep. Her alarms literally go on for 10 mins and I have to scream her name until she finally gets up and turns it off. Every. Single. Day. I'm currently typing this at 6:50 AM on a Saturday bc her alarms have been going off for the past 3 hours
    via u/urmo696969
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    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    Any recommendations for something that'll help her wake up that I can buy her as a late Christmas gift?
    via u/urmo696969
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    Cheezburger Image 10459271936
    via Jess Bailey

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

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    Edit: okay everyone telling me to talk to her.. OBVIOUSLY I've already talked to her about the issue, and every day she tells me she'll go to practice the next day
    via u/urmo696969
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    Watermelon Machete43 Frankly, if she didn't attend practice all fall, there is a good chance she won't even be on the team this semester. Problem solved! In the event that she's some miracle of athletics and her coach oursnup with that garbage, then you are going to have to sit down and talk with her about coming up with a reasonable solution. If you're in the dorm, you can escalate to the RA to mediate or even request a room change. If it's your own apartment...l hope she decides to cooperate.
    via u/WatermelonMachete43
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    urmo696969 OP Honestly there's a lot of bu ying/racism on the team so she's going to quit soon anyway but like let me sleep at least!!! And in the fall she didn't have early practices, so she went to them. Also she's on the executive board of the sport. But at least if you're not gonna go, turn the alarms off! But I completely understand that maybe she may have an undiagnosed medical issue making it hard for her to wake up
    via u/urmo696969
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    Whizzers A Listen, as someone who also struggles with a roommate who is an early morning athlete who loves snoozing alarms, it's still an a h le move regardless of any health issues. It's a lack of personal accountability knowing that she won't wake up and constantly jeopardizes you. Whatever is causing it, she shouldn't ruin your sleep as well and she should actively be looking for ways to fix it.
    via u/Whizzers_A
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    __quinnie_ Well if she never goes to practice why does she even bother setting alarms? Does she even WANT to go to practice? Just tell her to stop putting alarms if she knows she's not going to wake up. It doesn't matter if you buy her an alarm clock that screams at her she will
    via u/__quinnie_
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    still obviously not wake up because in the end she doesn't want to. Like I said, tell her to stop putting alarms if she knows she doesn't want to wake up, and if she doesn't listen just threaten to take it to the RA or something.
    via u/__quinnie_
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    Valuable_Ad7329 Better yet, there's alarms that shake the h_l out of the bed. You stick it under the mattress and it's straight h_l.
    via u/Valuable_Ad7329
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    NotOnTheDot_ This happens with a lot of people really. I've had numerous roommates like this who set up alarms and just did not wake up to them. This person at least pushes snooze, I've had 2 separate roommates where their alarms purposely was essentially to wake up someone else so that they could wake themselves up via shouting
    via u/NotOnTheDot__
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    Hailstorm_R For everyone saying it might be a medical issue, I completely agree but it isn't OP's job to take care of their roommate's health. I'd bring it up with your roommate and if you feel comfortable then offer to help them research or find them a doctor, but definitely talk to your RA if you have one
    via u/Hailstorm_R
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    parmesann 100% true. I have a sleep disorder and my biggest thing was making sure that if I slept through alarms, it at least wouldn't bother my roommate. silent alarms on my smart watch worked for me
    via u/parmesann
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    PanyBunny late Christmas presents? What are you talking about? It looks like she doesn't give a sh about your discomfort and she definitely doesn't deserve a present for it. If talking doesn't help, then give an ultimatum - either you change your habits or I'm going to CA/RA and we'll solve this together. Be in a strong position
    via u/PanyBunny
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    Masteryasha They're not actually thinking about being nice. They're looking for "late christmas presents", otherwise known as things they can hide in the apartment or her room that would force her to either get up or turn off her alarm, such as a noisemaker. It also sounds like that request was a joke, as OP doesn't sound like they're actually interested in making her life harder at the moment, based on other responses.
    via u/Masteryasha
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    crygirlcry You should set your own alarm at the same time and just let it ring until she gets up
    via u/crygirlcry
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    Wonderful-Reserve-54 If her roommate never woke up to her own alarm, then how would she wake up to OP's alarm?
    via u/Wonderful-Reserve-54
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    MisterFister69420 She does wake up to them, she just doesn't actually get up. Op said that she keeps snoozing her alarms over and over.
    via u/MisterFister69420
  • 22
    fhockey4life As a former college athlete, if she's missing practice daily it might be something bigger than not wanting to get up, it could be a symptoms of depre s on or a sleep disorder. If you miss that many practices you can lose your scholarship or will at least screamed at.
    via u/fhockey4life
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    From an alarm standpoint - ask her to change the sound to something less annoying and maybe try loop earplugs. My roommate who snoozed her alarm a lot had a song from a musical as her alarm and it was a lit easier to sleep thru than the generic alarm noise
    via u/fhockey4life
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    businessgoos3 yes this!! my sleep specialist said I likely have narcolepsy; one of my most disruptive symptoms was not waking up for my alarms. I've found a sunrise alarm clock (the ones that light up gradually until the time you want to get up, and then they do the sound) plus a smart watch that vibrates is my best bet. a sunrise clock
    via u/businessgoos3
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    is probably not great for having roommates but something like a smart watch or a vibrating alarm clock that goes under her mattress could be super helpful. I like that with the watches I can set as many alarms as it'll allow and nobody notices unless they're listening for it, but it vibrates hard enough that the alarms are at like 5 minute intervals will get me fully awake eventually.
    via u/businessgoos3
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    jols0543 if you're in college in a dorm you need to speak to the RA
    via u/jols0543

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bad roommate students roommate alarm clock bad roommates sleeping in psycho roommate athletes alarm clocks roommates sleeping college college student
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