Everyone knows just how hard it can be to get up some mornings (like this one...) and for the night owls out there, it can be that much harder.
Newsweek has a helpful guide today on nine ways even the sleepiest night owl can become a morning person.
According to Dr. Nancy Collop, director of the Johns Hopkins Hospital Sleep Disorders Center in Baltimore, it all comes down to routine, routine, routine. She recommends trying "to get up at the same time each day--even on weekends and days off. Disruptions in your schedule could throw off the body's sleep pattern for weeks."
Second on the list? Sunshine.
Sleep in a room with eastern exposure, and with the blinds up, so the morning sun shines in...Or, if your room lacks early sun, invest in a "light box" that greets you with full-spectrum light mimicking the sun. Light boxes typically shine 2,000 to 10,000 lux, depending on how far away you sit. Collop recommends an hour of 2,500 lux each morning, but even a half hour will help. Although some people can reduce the time they sit before the light box as the body adjusts; many relapse quickly into their old sleep habits when they stop using the light box altogether.
And that's not all - you should make sure that you're not doing any late night grocery shopping either!
At night it may be helpful to avoid spending too much time in stores with bright lighting in the evening. One 2003 study of Japanese junior-high-school students concluded that those who went to convenience stores after sunset stayed up longer and slept less.
For the remaining 6 tips, read the rest.