Background Early morning behaviors between waking up and beginning daily work can develop into productive habits. However, sleep inertia limits the level of human ability immediately after waking, lowering a person’s motivation and available time for productive morning behavior. Objective This study explores a design for morning behavior change using a wake-up task, a simple assignment the user needs to finish before alarm dismissal. Specifically, we set two research objectives: (1) exploring key factors that relate to morning behavior performance, including the use of wake-up tasks in an alarm app and (2) understanding the general practice of affecting morning behavior change by implementing wake-up tasks. Methods We designed and implemented an apparatus that provides wake-up task alarms and facilities for squat exercises. We recruited 36 participants to perform squat exercises in the early morning using the wake-up tasks for 2 weeks. First, we conducted a generalized estimating equation (GEE) analysis for the first research objective. Next, we conducted a thematic analysis of the postsurvey answers to identify key themes about morning behavior change with the wake-up tasks for the second objective. Results The use of wake-up tasks was significantly associated with both the completion of the target behavior (math task: P=.005; picture task: P<.001) and the elapsed time (picture task: P=.08); the time to alarm dismissal was significantly related to the elapsed time to completion (P<.001). Moreover, the theory of planned behavior (TPB) variables, common factors for behavior change, were significant, but their magnitudes and directions differed slightly from the other domains. Furthermore, the survey results reveal how the participants used the wake-up tasks and why they were effective for morning behavior performance. Conclusions The results reveal the effectiveness of wake-up tasks in accomplishing the target morning behavior and address key factors for morning behavior change, such as (1) waking up on time, (2) escaping from sleep inertia, and (3) quickly starting the desired target behavior.

BACKGROUND Early morning behaviors between waking up and beginning daily work can develop into productive habits. However, sleep inertia limits the level of human ability immediately after waking, lowering a person’s motivation and available time for productive morning behavior. OBJECTIVE This study aims to explore a design for morning behavior change by utilizing a wake-up task, a simple assignment that the user needs to finish before alarm dismissal. Specifically, we set two research objectives: (1) Explore key factors that relate to morning behavior performance, including the use of wake-up tasks in an alarm app. (2) Understand the general practice of effecting morning behavior change by implementing wake-up tasks. METHODS We designed and implemented an apparatus that provides wake-up task alarms and facilities for squat exercise. A between-group study was designed to ask users to try to do squat exercises in the early morning using the wake-up tasks for two weeks. We recruited 36 participants, and they were randomly assigned to three different alarm dismissal methods, two wake-up tasks (taking a picture and solving math problems) and a conventional one (touching a button). The target behavior for this study was performing 15 squats in ten minutes after the target time set for the morning alarm. We conducted generalized estimating equations (GEE) analysis for the first research objective. We considered eight independent variables: (i) the use of wake-up tasks, (ii) alarm usage (ringing time and dismissal time), (iii) theory of planned behavior (TPB; intention, attitude, subjective norm, and control), and (iv) elapsed days. Dependent variables for morning behavior performance were (i) success rate and (ii) time between the alarm ringing and starting the first squat in a successful trial. The second objective aimed to understand the practice of morning behavior with wake-up tasks by analyzing the app usage logs and survey responses. We conducted a thematic analysis of the answers to the post-survey to find key themes about morning behavior change with the wake-up tasks. RESULTS The GEE analysis revealed key factors for morning behavior change. The use of wake-up tasks was significantly related to both the completion of the target behavior (math task: p=.006, picture task: p<.000) and the elapsed time (picture task: p=064). Also, the behavior completion was significantly related to the time to dismissal (p < .001) and TPB variables (intention: p=.062 and norm: .003). Similarly, we found significant relationships between the elapsed time to complete and the time to dismiss (p < .001) and TPB variables (intention: p=.062 and subjective norm: .003). Furthermore, the qualitative study results show detailed alarm usage and characteristics for wake-up task types. CONCLUSIONS The results reveal the wake-up tasks’ effectiveness in accomplishing the target behavior and address design implications for morning behavior change based on the wake-up tasks.