Whether we want to believe it or not, we were all made to be morning people. We are genetically programmed to sleep during the night, when it's dark, and wake up when the light starts to come through.
However, we all know how much of a struggle waking up in the morning can sometimes be. Even early birds sometimes feel the need to press snooze and enjoy a few extra minutes of sleep after a more difficult night. However, they know that hitting the button can be harmful to their routine that they worked hard to create. Here are some things you can do to get yourself in that state of mind and stop thinking of the alarm clock going off in the morning like it's the worst thing.
Think About The Benefits Of Waking Up Earlier
As human beings, we sometimes need a little something to motivate us. Thinking about the positive impact of waking up in the morning seems like a decent reason to try it. Waking up early also means going to bed sooner, not cutting hours of sleep. This calls for better sleep cycles, which improves the overall quality of sleep.
It can also reduce stress. The extra couple of hours that you get in the morning can make a huge change. Makes sense—when haven’t you pushed the snooze button ten times in a row only to find yourself scrambling to fit a morning routine into 15 minutes? Other benefits the early birds get are better school performance; they are more proactive, more organized, and more content with their lives.
Go To Bed Earlier
One of the main reasons we cannot wake up in the morning is that we are tired and have not had enough sleep. Some people have the wrong idea that early birds sleep fewer hours. In fact, they get more hours of sleep than someone who goes to bed at 3 AM and has to be up at 7:30 AM in order to get to work. This starts from early birds ending their days earlier to make sure they get enough sleep for the day ahead.
Don't Make A Sudden Transition
This means that if you usually wake up at 9 in the morning, suddenly forcing your body to get up at 6 or 7 can be harmful. Instead, it’s advised that you make a smoother transition. When trying to wake up earlier, take 30 minutes away from the morning sleep, and add them to the night. This means that every 3 or 4 days, you go to bed 30 minutes earlier and wake up 30 minutes earlier. This way, the burden of this change will not feel as heavy.
Get Out Of Bed
When you decide to make the change and become a morning person, you need to know that getting out of bed straight away after waking up is the way to go. Lying in bed after the alarm went off and you pressed the snooze button can be dangerous. Nothing is stopping you now from getting those extra 30 minutes of sleep, which usually turns into an hour and more, and, ultimately, this leads to being late and snowballing your stress levels.
Instead, jump out of bed and don't go back until it's evening, and you need to sleep again. One easy way that can prevent you from the temptation of going back is making your bed. This will give you something to do right after waking up, but it will also keep your mind busy and focused on a task rather than on wanting to sleep more.
Rethink Your Morning Routine
If until now, you were struggling to fit all you have to do in the little time you had, now it's the time to make a change. When deciding to become a morning person, your body needs to adjust. For it to do that, it has to reset its biological clock.
One way to ensure a smoother process is to go out in the morning and enjoy some morning light. Spend a few minutes outside (or on your balcony), open your windows for fresh air, or look outside and sit in front of your windows for a little while. It’s a great time to enjoy your coffee, meditate, or plan the day.
We’re no strangers to morning routines here at Hydrant. The key to starting a routine is to make it something that you look forward to every day. When it comes to hydration in the morning, some of our team members have a special glass they leave out next to their Hydrant on the kitchen counter, so it’s the first thing they see after getting up in the morning. Some of our customers leave their Hydrant sticks out in a special jar next to their coffee maker, so while their coffee brews, they’re reminded to grab a glass of Hydrant first and get their hydration routine kickstarted for the day.
Make Some Changes in Your Pre-Sleep Routine
What we do before going to bed can profoundly impact our sleep quality and, eventually, the way we perceive waking up and how we experience it. Our bed routine or night routine should include some rather simple things that most of us do not do.
To put away our phones an hour before sleep is the first step. Most of us use our laptops or phones right until the very last minute or sometimes fall asleep using them. This can be harmful in more ways than we imagine. It decreases the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone, resulting in a troubled sleep and less rest during the night.
Decide Why You Want to Wake Up Earlier
This can sometimes be a decisive factor. Like in any other aspect of life, the reasons are always important. This is what motivates us and, ultimately, what keeps us going. If the reason you want to wake up earlier is to have more time for yourself, you should keep some things in mind. Take into consideration the idea of preparing ahead. This means that, in order to have more time in the morning, you can do some things the night before.
It is always best to pick an outfit the previous evening and prepare lunch for the next day. Laying out the main ingredients for breakfast can also help you make sure that you actually eat in the morning, which gives you more energy for the day. Doing these little things can make for a more enjoyable morning. It can give you more time to think and relax during the earlier hours.
Commit
If you currently feel like waking up early is close to impossible, don’t worry, it can be daunting at first, but it’s important to remain consistent in building your habit. Sometimes it’s helpful to locate a core “keystone habit” that allows you to anchor your routine around. From there, other habit building may come easily and spill over into other areas of your life. For waking up early, one trick to get started is to plan your mornings so that you wake up at the same time each day. This makes it easier day by day to adapt to the changes. You may find that you come to enjoy waking up early!
When trying this out, it’s important to keep the wake-up time consistent as well. Try not to force yourself to wake up early during the week and then oversleep during weekends. A chaotic sleep schedule will make it more difficult to embrace the changes in your life. For the change to last and make it easier to cope with, it’s important to maintain a consistent sleep pattern.
Rise to It
Even if the early bird gets the worm, the process of getting there shouldn't be agonizing. Enjoying the ride is also a big part of the final result. Waking up early can take time and practice. The change can happen as soon as we make the decision—it’s a daily commitment that we make to ourselves, and we decide how we want it to happen. Rise & shine!
