I don't use an alarm clock to wake up. I have more energy and lost weight since I stopped using it.

• Ditching my alarm boosted energy, focus, and even helped me lose 20 pounds. • Sleep scientists say light — not alarms — is the best way to train your body clock. • I wake at 9 a.m. daily without buzzing — just sunlight streaming through my skylight.

Life without an alarm clock might seem indulgent, but I would like to challenge that notion.

I have rarely used an alarm clock in the last eight years, and I'd argue that it takes time and energy, and even discipline and dedication, to throw away your alarm clock and train your brain to wake up when you need it to.

I recognize that not everyone has the flexibility to live this way, but sleep scientists I've spoken to tend to not only approve of my alarm-clock-free lifestyle, but some of them also practice some version of it themselves.