Can you really wake up just by telling yourself a time before bed? The science behind your brain’s ‘internal alarm clock’

Have you ever gone to bed thinking, “I have to wake up at 6 tomorrow” and then opened your eyes at 5:57, just minutes before the alarm? It can feel almost uncanny. No ringtone, no sunlight, no one calling your name, just a sudden sense that it is time to get up. It is as if your body has its own quiet alarm clock, ticking away while you sleep. But this strange ability is not entirely in your imagination. Scientists call it self-awakening, and research suggests that the sleeping brain may be capable of keeping track of a planned wake-up time, at least to some extent. Scroll down to read more…