If you are not a morning person, but you’re thinking about changing that part of yourself that can’t stand the thought of waking up at 6 a.m., then you’re at the right place. We’re here to teach you how you too can become the lucky few that enjoys their mornings. But keep in mind that even if you follow the tips provided below, it takes time for your body to adjust to your new early bird lifestyle. There are a couple of differences between early birds and night owls regarding daily routines and even in their psychological makeup. Many things need to be taken into account when trying to rewind your internal clock. With that being said, here are eight smart tricks that will change you into a morning person.
1. Make sleep a ritual.
Hitting the sack and waiting for Sandman to do his magic won’t make falling asleep on time easier. Instead, the National Sleep Foundation recommends that you lull yourself into sleep with a nighttime ritual. After you’ve eaten your dinner, drink some caffeine-free tea, take a warm bath, brush your teeth, and cozy up into your pajamas. Make sure that your bedroom is cold because drops in temperature also tend to induce sleepiness. Whatever you plan to do, make sure that your routines are relaxing and help you wind-down from daily excitement and stresses. The stress-relieving benefits from such rituals are also great if you ever wondered how to improve memory as stress can wreak havoc on mental functioning.
2. Give yourself some motivation.
You’ve probably heard many times before that waking up early has many benefits. From having more time to exercise, eat your breakfast, and get ready without the stress – morning people know what makes their mornings so enjoyable. To get motivated to start waking up earlier, plan ahead what your morning routine should look like. More time in the shower; practicing some yoga, or maybe even preparing a delicious breakfast you can’t wait to divulge – all these things can make it easier for you to get that motivation you need to pull you out of bed.
3. Establish a routine.
Of course, the only way to start getting up early on a regular basis is by actually getting out of bed as soon as the alarm clock rings. After forcing yourself out of bed for five mornings in a row, you’ll wake up with ease on the sixth morning. Just give your body to adjust and rewind its internal clock. And when speaking of internal clocks, your body truly does have one – the circadian rhythm. This rhythm is partially controlled by the environment, partially by internal signals, and partially by your daily habits. The body loves routine and any routine you try to establish, your body will want to follow. Just make sure to be consistent, and you’ll see that transforming into a morning person is easy.
4. Reconsider your lifestyle.
There seems to be profound personality, lifestyle, and biological differences between morning and evening persons according to a study published in the International Journal of Communication. Evening people were found to be more likely to be extroverted, sensation-seekers, and risk-takers. They were also found to have big social circles and spent their free times in nights-out. Well, if you like partying and socializing in the evening, then naturally, it will be harder for you to wake up early in the morning. Morning people are usually very organized with their daily routines and tend to spend their evenings alone and peacefully.
5. Avoid screens of all kind after 6 p.m.
The chances are high that what’s keeping you from falling asleep on time is your smartphone, tablet, laptop, TV, or any other light-emitting gadget. A type of light called blue light that is emitted from these devices is known to disrupt melatonin release significantly and delay sleep onset. Studies even show that severity of smartphone use during the day and before bedtime is strongly linked to poor sleep quality and associated symptoms of depression and anxiety. The reason for this being that our brains react to darkness by releasing melatonin, the hormone that makes us feel sleepy. So, consider reading a book in dim light before bedtime as an alternative.
6. Exercise before bedtime.
Doctors often recommend patients with insomnia try exercising as a way to get much-needed sleep. Even if you’re not an insomnia sufferer, exercising before bedtime will help you sleep better and wake up feeling refreshed. Often, many people don’t realize that the reason why they can’t seem to wake up early is that the quality of their sleep is poor. Waking up several times during the night, snoring, and tossing and turning are all signs your sleep is shallow, and you don’t reach that deep sleep state. A study published in Frontiers in Neurology found that exercising improved all aspects of sleep including onset latency, sleep quality, and duration.
7. Avoid napping.
To avoid staying awake till 2 in the morning, you have to give up your naps. Napping is one of those habits that can significantly disrupt night-time sleeping. However, there are cases where napping is good and even beneficial. Shift-workers need to nap to get an adequate amount of sleep. Babies and young children need to nap to grow, and teenagers also benefit from napping. But if you’re an adult with a 9-5 job, then avoid napping if you’d like to start waking up earlier.
8. Let the sunshine in.
Just as darkness makes your brain sleepy, sunlight and any other light do the opposite. Remove all shades from your windows and let natural light wake you up in the early morning hours. While melatonin secretion decreases naturally as your core body temperature sometimes rises in the morning, a bit of help from the sun could give your body that extra boost to get you going.
Conclusion
Waking up earlier depends largely on how you fall asleep. If you consider yourself an evening person, then there’s a strong chance that your personality, biology, or habits have shaped your daily rhythms. But with a bit of adjustment, anyone can learn to wake up or fall asleep whenever they find suitable. Just make sure to let your body adjust to the changes taking place, and you’ll become a morning person in no time.