I tried using weird apps like this. But I find that my dumb lizard morning brain just gets confused at why the loud device won’t stop screaming at me. I briefly tried apps that made you solve a simple puzzle to dismiss the alarm, but my half asleep self didn’t understand what was going on and would just hold down the power button to turn off the phone and still be late.

After years and years of trying different methods, what works for me is having two alarms.

The first alarm is physically very close to you. It rings first. This alarm is easy for you to notice and wake up to, but also easy to shut off if you’re half asleep. That’s fine because it’s only the first attack.

The second alarm is across the room from you. It rings second, some time after the first one has gone off. This is your failsafe alarm in the event you accidentally snooze too much or turn the first alarm off. Because it’s far away from you, it wakes you up a bit to walk across the room so you’re more aware of what you’re doing. Also because it’s far away from you, if you try to use it as the first alarm instead of the second, you might not hear it and not wake up to it. This is why it is the second alarm and not the first or only alarm. You’ve already woken up once with the first alarm, so you’re more likely to still be able to hear this one and wake up.

I had chronic and significant issues with shutting off my alarm when half asleep all throughout my teenage years and early twenties to the point where it threatened and even sometimes affected my grades. This is the method that finally worked for me and I have rarely had an issue since.