Before alarm clocks were invented, how did people wake up so early in the morning?

Answer 1

Back before alarm clocks existed, it was common to wake up when wild birds begin to chirp in the early morning. Apparently, birds can detect the twilight that occurs about 30 minutes before sunrise. Why this makes them chirp is unknown.

In England, there were people employed as "knocker ups". It was their job to use noisemakers and wake up people at certain times to go to work.

Answer 2

In the very beginning people would rise with the sun and sleep when it went down. Although that still happens today with some....

Then there were street heralds, that is not thier proper name but it gets the idea across. I believe around the Greek and Roman era, although they may have come earlier. These were people that would travel down streets and shout to wake those in the houses. Oftentimes they were chamberpot collectors, or did some other sundry task.

After those were giant church bells that often rang the hour. This was around the medieval times, approx 1200 AD, once again they may have been around earlier. Usually they would ring at five or six in the morning for the servants to rise and begin the morning's work. They usually stopped ringing around nine to ten at night.

I believe that is all of them although you might want to Google it with the word "timeline" in your search. I'm not sure if there were anything else after the church bells. With the dawning of the industrial revolution I believe there was a short time before the alarm clock, or a rudimentary form of it, was invented.

Answer 3

Alarm clocks of one sort or another go back quite a long way. The first mechanical clock, with chimes but no dial, was to wake monks up for their night-time church services.

Most people got up when the sun woke them. They were not as fussy about exact timekeeping as we are; as long as you're up in time to milk the cows, exact timekeeping isn't important to a farmer - and most of us did work in farming until the 18thC/early19thC. The laid-back attitude to time in the pre-industrial age is shown by the fact that many early clocks didn't have minute hands. You were punctual if you showed for an appointment within an hour of the agreed time.

The need to keep exact time developed only gradually, with industrialisation. Once the need arose, because of the great capital cost of modern machinery and the need to start shifts promptly so as not to waste any of this investment, factories woke and warned their workers with a bell or hooter. This continued in some areas until after the 2WW. There were also knockers-up, who (for a price) stayed awake and banged on doors & windows to wake the workers in time to get up & have breakfast before they had to go to work.

Answer 4

Partly by going to bed earlier than we do now. But also it wasn't absolutely critical to wake up and 6:45 AM. Until the industrial revolution most people still earned a living as a farmer or a tradesman. And since you were "self employed" you didn't have to be at work at a specific hour, you just had to get everything done.

Answer 5

Before time became such a big deal with the institution of set hours, invention of clocks, etc. there wasn't such a big emphasis on precise timing. People typically rose and slept with the sun. Those who didn't were usually servants/guards/etc. who relied on the previous shift to wake them. Also, people had better internal clocks since they didn't have the physical item to depend on.

Answer 6

No problem. I wake up at 5.30 every morning without an alarm clock

Answer 7

first of all, people didn't stay up as late before modern lighting (first gas, later electric); burning candles or oil lamps tended to be costly activities, if done very much.

People lived much closer to the sun's cycles, and through habit and live, developed inner clocks (people on constant daily cycles still have this). In rural/small towns, rooster aided this.

Answer 8

Both of you are wrong. People woke up by internal alrm clock. Its apart of your bio patterns, my mom wakes up every morning at the same time. This is because shes so used it. Bio patterns. I guess a rooster would help. =)
Check this article out...
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_300.html

Answer 9

They woke up when the sun set. (this is without roosters)

Answer 10

roosters