I only use an alarm clock if I have an early morning flight and I want to be 100 percent sure that I'll wake up on time. I haven't used one in years, since a family friend (who is also a medical doctor) told me that all I have to do is just before bed tell myself what time I want to wake up.
It sounded ridiculous to me, being a teenager at the time and not wanting to be late for class. So, I waited until the weekend to test it out. Incredibly, the mental alarm clock worked and it has yet to fail (sounds like the prayer to St. Jude).
Still, if for some reason you don't have access to an alarm clock and must wake up at a specific time, I know someone who can help. St. Vitus, the patron saint against oversleeping, is your man!
He was born in Sicily c.290 and is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers of the Roman Catholic Church. His father was a pagan senator who had St. Vitus thrown in prison when he converted to Christianity at age 12, with the help of St. Modestus and St. Crescentia.
St. Vitus was martyred c.303 in Luciana, Italy under Diocletian by being boiled in oil. A rooster was thrown in the pot with him as a sacrifice. Since the animal was an early riser that is the reason St. Vitus is called the patron saint against oversleeping.
On his feast day (June 15), during the Middle Ages, worshippers danced around his statue. It evolved into the term "St. Vitus Dance" given to chorea, a neurological disorder. He is also a patron saint of dance and entertainment.
