Some people are morning people and some people just aren’t, right?
Maybe not.
Just as success in business and in life is often said to be built upon habits, so is becoming a morning person.
Now, while at first, it may seem impossible to you when that alarm goes off at, say, 5:30 in the morning, with the right nightly routine and morning rituals, you’ll soon find yourself becoming a morning person and loving it.
So why become a morning person?
Often, when we get home from work, we go into shut down mode. We have plans to be productive but then we start winding down. When you become a morning person, it is like suddenly and magically you have found extra hours in the day. You can be more productive, get more done, or simply allow yourself to enjoy some extra you-time.
Certainly, becoming a morning person is worthwhile for several reasons. Below are some tips to help you to master the morning like a hero.
1. Go to Bed on Time
Getting to bed on time makes it a lot easier to wake up on time. This may mean that you will start to have to go to bed a little bit earlier than normal. You may have to work on a gradient, gradually going to be 15 minutes earlier, then 15 minutes earlier, to gradually wake up 15 minutes earlier, then 15 minutes earlier, until you are at your ideal time frame.
Trying to significantly shortcut the number of hours you sleep may work for the first couple of days, but you will see that it will soon backfire. If you want to develop a healthy wake up routine toward becoming a morning person, make sure you are getting the recommended hours of sleep and listen to your body over time.
2. Make it Hard to Hit the Snooze Button
If you are a Snooze button junkie, you’ve got to find a way to make it difficult for yourself to automatically revert to the Snooze. Maybe the best and easiest way to do this is to relocate your alarm clock so that you actually have to jump out of bed to shut it off.
In this way, you can coax yourself to get out of bed. That’s always the hardest part, isn’t it?
Once you’re up, you’re up. Moving your alarm clock across the bedroom is the best way to get you out of bed. We’re telling you, this is a game changer.
3. See the Light
Now that you’re out of bed, you need to take swift action to start the wake up process. Waking up is the one half of the battle, staying awake is the other.
As we learned in our post about blue light [LINK], exposing yourself to bright light can help to regulate your circadian rhythm. To help yourself start to wake up, you need to tell your body it is time to wake up. Light exposure is one of the best ways to do this.
Even if it is still dark outside (ugh), you can get a dose of light simply by going into your bathroom or closet and turning on the lights. You will feel your pupils dilate and likely feel a surge of wakefulness as a result. It can be the first kick start of your body toward being awake.
4. Brush your teeth
Almost nothing makes you feel fresher in the morning than clearing away the morning breath. Additionally, the act of brushing your teeth gets your body moving a bit and is a signal to you that you are getting ready to start your day.
5. Hydrate
While you have been sleeping, you have not taken in any fluids. So drink a full glass of water when you wake up. This will “get the juices flowing” and will help to provide you your first burst of energy while rehydrating you.
6. Get Moving
Even if it is just a simple walk around the block or some morning Sun Salutations, moving your body will further increase your energy level and help you to wake up even more.
As you may have noticed, each successive step is designed to gradually work you into being more and more awake.
7. Add Accountability
For whatever reason, we hold our commitments to others as far more sacred than our commitments to ourselves.
Knowing someone else is counting on you to get out of bed will motivate you to keep that commitment. You can set up a required phone call or text to a friend by a certain time each morning to let them know that you are up and at ‘em!
One Bonus Tip:
Pre-program your coffee maker. Waking up to a nice, hot cup of joe, knowing it’s downstairs waiting for you, is a great motivator to helping you climb out of bed in the morning, and a great reward for actually doing it!
The benefits of being a morning person make developing the habit completely worth it. Just think of what you could do with another couple of hours each day. Talk about a good morning!