DR. WALLACE: I'm a chronic snoozer who is always running late to class and work because I can never seem to wake up on time. This situation is a constant challenge for me, and something I've battled with for several years now.

Mornings are difficult for me. It seems to take me at least an hour to fully wake up enough to not feel like a zombie. However, once I get moving, I'm off and running and can be pretty productive once my head is on straight enough for me to function normally.

How can I break my habit of hitting the snooze button dozens and dozens of times? I'd actually like to stay on top of my daily to-do list earlier in the day and not run late everywhere I go before lunchtime. — Sleepy head, via email

SLEEPY HEAD: I have two quick ideas for you. First, go to bed earlier! Find out how much sleep you need to function well, then work on the discipline you need to be in bed early enough to allow yourself enough sleep to feel refreshed.

Second, place some running or walking shoes next to your alarm clock. Place the clock across the room so that you have to walk over to it in order to turn it off. Then use all of the willpower you can muster to put those shoes on and head out of the house for a brisk 15-minute walk or light run. Immediately hop in a cool shower afterward, and hopefully, your zombie will be completely dispatched by that point. You can then attack your to-do list earlier in the day, should result in vastly increased productivity.

Fight the urge to hit snooze even once! Press on to get moving on the first day you try this. Even if you feel a bit tired during the day, this will actually be a good thing! It will mean you'll be tired a bit earlier that first evening, and hopefully, you can turn in and go to sleep a little earlier that night. Then repeat the exact same routine on day two. Once you can string together a few weeks successfully, you'll have established a new habit that will suddenly become much easier to endure. And, as a bonus, you'll pick up some extra fitness along the way.

I WAS SHOCKED TO SEE SO MANY PILLS!

DR. WALLACE: I'm a freshman in college and just experienced my first spring break. My friends and I went down to Florida and had a great time hanging out and having fun in the sun! Yes, we drank a bit, but nobody in our group (we had eight friends go together in total) got really drunk or out of line in any way. We all had fun and even remembered to use our sunscreen!

However, I did see something that shocked me, so that's why I'm writing to you. Many of the other people we met on and around the beaches we visited were doing drugs! And by drugs, I mean all kinds of pills were being passed around. It seemed as if some of the kids and young adults who were taking them didn't even know what they were. I was shocked and stunned that so many young people would take such chances.

Do this many people use drugs this often, or is it simply a spring break ritual for some revelers to act as foolish as humanly possible? — We stayed clear, via email

WE STAYED CLEAR: Sadly, once alcohol and sunshine seem to permeate some spring breakers, their inhibitions and common sense seemingly go right out the window.

Taking any pill of any kind these days without knowing what it is nor the source from which it came is literally like playing Russian roulette with a loaded gun. Many drugs, especially pills, are laced these days with deadly substances such as fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is often 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine.

Your group was wise to steer clear of any and all pills that may have been passed around and made readily available. As we sadly know from news reports, fentanyl has been a killer of many individuals, from students and regular citizens addicted to painkillers right on up to professional athletes and entertainers.

Protecting one's body should always be paramount and at the front of every individual's mind. Never, ever consume a pill from an unknown source. And even when prescribed painkillers for a valid reason from a medical professional, take great care not to overmedicate by taking doses beyond the recommended amounts and time frames prescribed.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. E-mail him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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