Heavy Sleeper

[30-06 lover]

Is there anything I can do about being a heavey sleeper? I never really noticed how heavy I sleep until I got marrried a few months ago. First, my wife snores so loud, you would think that the heavens just collided. If I go to bed before her, I never notice. She goes to work before I do in the morning, so her alarm goes off, she takes a shower, and gets ready and still I don't wake up. This has me worried because if my wife can make an exteme amount of noice and I never wake up or physically respond, I don't think I would wake up if someone was trying to kick in the door! Is there a fix for this or do I just have to reinforce all posisble entrace points?

 

[xl_The_Jackal_lx]

This is the first time I've ever heard anyone not happy that they are a heavy sleeper.

 

[ludwig1138]

I don't think I would wake up if someone was trying to kick in the door! Is there a fix for this or do I just have to reinforce all posisble entrace points?

I sleep heavy too, but my alarm will get me up if something happens.

By alarm I mean a dog. A dog, any size or brand of dog, is your first line of alert, and your true friend. Go to the animal shelter and get a mutt dog.

 

[skidmark]

heavy sleeper and self-protection

Not only a heavy sleeper, but use a CPAP. Keeps me alive but the sound masks normal noise.

Front & back entry doors, as well as all ground-floor windows, are armed with el-cheapo magnetic reed alarms powered by button batteries. Wally World had them for something like 6 for $10. Pretty sure you can find same or better prices. They are an annoying 150 decibles of high pitch noise.

Back-up is an el-cheapo motion sensor alarm (9 volt battery - 150 decibles) mounted about halfway up the stairs to the 2nd floor. Covers the stairs, front door, and about 1/3rd of the front room.

About a week ago the apt. maintenance guys came by to fix a roof leak problem. Landlord & I are on real good terms - if I complain he tells them to fix it NOW. Being a nightowl, I'm asleep with the CPAP running. Two alarms go off and I am suddenly awake, with a really loud high-pitched ringing in my ears that just will not shut off.

I'm also in my boxers, laying at the head of the stairs, drawn down on the 2 maintenance guys who are holding their hands over their ears while being bathed in 150 decibles of noise from just above and behind their heads (front door) and in their face (stair alarm).

The noise confused them. They did not notice the gun till later. The sight of a fat old fart in his boxers standing at the top of the stairs yelling at them scared them.

Now that I think about it, I would have been scared if I had seen me in my boxers standing at the top of the stairs. ::applies brain bleach - to no avail::

How difficult will it be to get her to set an alarm on the way out?

stay safe.

skidmark

 

[krimmie]

I'm a heavy sleeper, married someone that's not!

 

[dralarms]

I'm also a very heavy sleeper and trust me that if you hear a noise that is "out of place" you would normally wake up. I used to sleep good and then got one of those "therapeutic" mattresses, I can tell you that I never knew what sleep was. but that's a side note, I don't snore as bad or move around as much.
But let something out of the normal range happen and I'm wide awake with my Para 14.45LDA in hand with safety off. When I have had house guests I always tell them to announce their presence and if the alarm was to go off unless it says "fire" (voice driver) then to stay put in their room and wait for me to give them an all clear.

 

[Z71]

Get a dog like Ludwig1138 says. Cheapest home security system available, plus make good friends.

 

[brighamr]

have to agree with ludwig

I too sleep heavily. When I worked graveyard, my wife would come home from work, make dinner, have friends over, use the chain saw on the wood pile, etc and I was dead to the world. (yes that was an exageration, but in reality she would have to shake me off the bed for me to get up).

Anyway, got two dogs. A husky\wolf and an american eskimo. the eskimo is on "amber alert" 24\7. As soon as a door opens, she will bark louder than rush limbaugh. The wolf will back her up with a growl that shakes the earth.

An added use for my dogs is SD. If a door opens, the hair on the wolfs back will raise up, and he will bare his teeth. i can't tell you how many salesmen have left the property without me so much as saying hi. We haven't had any home intruders yet, but i feel sorry for anyone who tries to take on my dogs.


And just so everyone knows, yes my wolf dog will play with children. He also plays with our goat, and the neighbors horses. he's a very gentle animal that takes home defense very seriously.

 

[CrawdaddyJim]

Get two dogs. Mutts are good. Cur dogs are best. As in a old yeller type. Mine sleep one at the front door and the other moves around the house throughout the day. They go on alert when something is within 30 yards of the house. And will bark if it is coming closer. They will go to the side of the house it is approaching.

We have a lot of wildlife around. Bear, deer, bobcat, alligator, possum, coon, panther, etc..

 

[30-06 lover]

Thanks for the replies. I am in an apartment right now and dog ownership is not allowed. Great idea once I get a house though. I am also not allowed to install anything I am not willing to take out, so a professial alarm is not an option, but I will be getting some of those cheap door alerting alarms as those sound like my best option right now. Again thanks for the info and advice.

 

[Floppy_D]

The alarms sound like good ideas for now. I used to be a heavy sleeper, but since we had kids, my ears are tuned for anything. I wish I could go back to heavy sleeping.

 

[Grizfire]

Can you think of anything that will wake you up?

Just wire an alarm system to every door and window, when they are opened have the system dump a bucket of water on your face.

Or you could have some sort of pneumatic face slapping machine.

 

[Slugless]

Dog. It can be little or big but big dogs w/ long muzzles are best (IMO), hounds are great. Mutts are generally the best dogs but I have a better idea what I'm getting w/ a breed.

A dog is a serious responsibility.

If you get a puppy, do the seeing eye dog puppy test! Very important! Think about rescuing a dog.

If you work and aren't home a lot, get two. Dogs are pack animals and need company. I would feel cruel if I had only one dog and left it alone for 10 hours a day for years on end.

 

[Caimlas]

Have a kid. You'll never sleep deeply again.

But seriously - short of "getting something" you could try a couple things I've found to help.

1) Go to bed before you're exhausted; not only won't you sleep as deeply (with the resulting 2+ hour 'hangover' in the morning - at least in my experience) but you'll be able to wake up more easily.
2) Drink enough water throughout the day so that you're not dehydrated at night.

 

[RoadkingLarry]

Couple of years ago I was working the overnight shift. Our local Rural Electric COOP came and took two large oak trees out of my front yard cut them into firewood and ran a chipper truck in my driveway (30 yards from my bed). I knew it was going to happen but I never knew they were on the place. They even went into the back yard with the dogs and the dogs didn't throw a fit and wake me up... oh well.

 

[Super Trucker]

Get an alarm, they don't wake you up to go to the bathroom. I am the type that likes to not have to follow my "friends" with a shovel.

 

[igpoobah]

Dog is your eyes and ears when you are asleep.

 

[Halo is for Kids]

I am in an apartment right now and dog ownership is not allowed.

I beef up the security at a new apartment whenever I move in.

In order of installation:
-New exterior deadbolt locks, whether allowed by management or not.
-Deadbolt for the bedroom door.
-Reinforcement plates for the door jamb. Like this: http://www.asafehome.net/ I have a smaller version I got at Home Depot.
-3-5 inch screws in the jamb and door.
-Keyed alarm for the entry doors. Like this: http://www.dimango.com/sa-door-exit-alarms-hs4313.htm
-Door bar for the entry doors. Like this: http://www.improvementscatalog.com/home/improvements/66086-doorknob-security-bar.html
-Window alarms. I've never lived on the first floor but I see these as necessary.

I figure anyone coming through all of that crap is going to wake me.

 

[marlin1888]

Get a teenager and give them a telephone and a Energy Drink ... they will stay up all night (almost as good as my dog).

Couldn't help it ... I'm a partent with a teenager.

 

[joshk-k]

With regards to the earlier mention of a CPAP machine (and sorry to take it off gun topic):

If you have sleeping problems (which may be characterized by snoring, restless tossing and turning, not feeling rested even after a "full night's sleep", etc.) and are able to, get yourself checked for Sleep Apnea. Sleep apnea is basically restriction of the air passages in your throat when you're asleep, and it can be very serious. You may stop breathing multiple times a night, for as long as a minute or so, and you can die from heart attacks or strokes related to that loss of oxygen. Folks with extra weight on them are especially prone.

Being tested, and getting something like a CPAP machine could save your life.

Best health!

Josh

 

[GunTech]

Not only can a CPAP save you life, it can change it. It's amazing what a real night's sleep can do the first time you use a CPAP.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I think it would be easier to devise methods of securing your home so that an intruder would have to make noise (e.g., bashing in a door, breaking a window, setting off an alarm) to get in, than to learn to "sleep with one eye open," as it were. As mentioned, a dog can also be a good "early warning system," barking before someone has a chance to get in. Even the little "yappy" ones that bark every time a mouse farts outside will have a different sound to them if a break-in is imminent. Don't get one unless you are willing to make a serious commitment, however.

If you are a heavy sleeper, you might also be a sleepwalker. If so, you don't want to make your gun too easy to access, or you might find yourself handling the gun in your sleep. Put it somewhere that you need to perform a series of operations to access it and make it ready, ensuring that you are fully awake when you do so. Here would be one exception to my usual rule of always keeping a firearm chamber loaded. It takes a conscious effort to jack the slide and chamber a round.

 

[mercop]

I hear everything and have kids so I wear ear plugs. If I am alone in the house and sleeping I just lock the bedroom door and jam a Wedgit under the door.