What is the meaning of "Prior to waking up"?

"Prior to waking up"＝在睡醒之前．．．

例子們：
１．I smash my alarm clock prior to waking up everyday.
２．Prior to waking up, the patient received her last shot.

There is no such things as PRIOR TO WAKING UP. You can say prior to getting off the bed. Prior to waking up, you have not woke up, so there is nothing you can do. I stretched my body prior to getting off the bed. I turn on the radio prior to getting off the bed. But it is IMPOSSIBLE to do anything prior to waking up. Anyone disagree?

在醒來之前
Prior to 類似before

= Before waking up.

prior to是formal/公文的寫法，對於waking up這類表達一般生活的情景或狀態不會用這種詞彙作句。

中文也不會說：
「在還未睡醒以前，」
來說：
「睡醒前，」/「起床前，」