Men’s health expert warns against copying early alarms without adjusting bedtime
A men’s health expert is warning men against copying an early alarm without adjusting bedtime. Anneliese Cadena, a board-certified nurse practitioner and clinical consultant at Feel30, says moving the alarm forward without bringing bedtime forward can reduce the rest needed to function well during the day. She notes that getting up at 3 a.m. might look like a head start in a social media morning routine, but the key question remains what time a person will actually be asleep. “If you normally wake up at 7 a.m., suddenly setting your alarm for 3 a.m. while keeping the same bedtime cuts four hours from your opportunity to sleep. That can leave you feeling worse during the day, even if you manage to get out of bed.”
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute states that insufficient sleep can affect concentration, decision-making and reaction times, leaving people taking longer to finish tasks and making more mistakes.
For someone who needs eight hours of sleep, a 3 a.m. alarm means being asleep by 7 p.m. the previous evening, which also requires time beforehand to wind down and fall asleep. Cadena encourages starting with a smaller change and adjusting the evening routine gradually. Cleveland Clinic recommends moving bedtime earlier by 15 or 20 minutes for a few days, then making another small adjustment, with guidance to get seven to nine hours of sleep each night. Someone who usually wakes at 7 a.m. could start by working toward 6:45 a.m., alongside an earlier bedtime. Further changes should leave enough time for sleep, and moving the alarm forward by a full hour every day can quickly eat into rest if bedtime does not keep pace.
Cadena adds: “Choose a wake-up time that fits your responsibilities and still gives you enough sleep. Getting up at 6 a.m. and feeling rested may serve you much better than forcing a 3 a.m. start that leaves you struggling through the afternoon.”
Changing the alarm may also mean reconsidering an afternoon coffee or a late evening spent scrolling. The NHLBI recommends keeping a consistent sleep schedule and using the hour before bed for quiet time, while avoiding bright artificial light. It also notes that caffeine’s effects can last up to eight hours, which matters when bedtime moves earlier. Morning daylight can help support an earlier sleep schedule. Spending time outside once it is light is one practical step, although people differ in when they naturally feel sleepy and alert.
Testosterone is one area researchers have investigated, although the findings do not justify claiming that a 3 a.m. alarm causes low testosterone. A small University of Chicago study published in 2011, involving 10 healthy young men, found daytime testosterone levels were approximately 10% to 15% lower after about a week of sleep restricted to five hours a night, compared with a longer sleep condition. However, two randomized studies published together in 2019 did not find an adverse effect on testosterone under the sleep-restriction conditions they tested. The studies used different schedules and measurements, and neither paper tested the social media trend itself. The evidence supports taking sleep seriously without assuming that tiredness automatically signals a hormone problem.
Separately, Feel30’s analysis of 312 testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) search terms recorded a combined estimated U.S. search volume of 3.37 million between September 2025 and August 2026. Wyoming had the highest estimated search rate relative to population, followed by Alaska and Montana. Rates use total state populations. Figures estimate searches, not individual searchers, patients or diagnoses. Wyoming’s rate was almost three times California’s 1,045.7 searches per 100,000 residents. California recorded the largest total estimated volume, at 411,520, but ranked 41st once population was taken into account. The rankings show geographic differences in search activity. They do not identify the states with the lowest testosterone, and the analysis did not measure sleep habits or establish any connection with early waking.
Persistent tiredness deserves a medical assessment, especially alongside loud snoring, gasping during sleep or breathing that stops and starts. These can be signs of sleep apnea. Tiredness alone cannot diagnose low testosterone. The Endocrine Society recommends diagnosis only when compatible symptoms and signs are accompanied by consistently low testosterone levels, confirmed through repeat morning fasting blood tests. Treatment decisions require an appropriate clinical assessment.
