"Move south?"

This would also address your morning light concerns.

Appreciate the idea, but I'm already at one of the lowest latitudes in the continental US.

Then shouldn't twilight be starting around 5:30am-6:15am? It seems this would contradict your claim that waking up at 5-6 requires you to spend a few hours in darkness every morning, right?

Not for most of the year if we move up an hour. Especially not during the winter when this would apply.

Your comment was written in the present tense so I assumed it was currently happening. It would still be less than a few hours though (maybe 1.5).