How To Become a Morning Person (Yes, Even You!)
Are you a night owl or early bird? Your predisposition to one or the other is often called a chronotype. It’s estimated the majority of us are early birds, but to others, waking up early with a smile sounds like a far-fetched dream.
Whether you’re struggling to make it to an early class, want to fit in morning workouts, or simply want to add more hours to your day, it’s possible to adjust your body’s clock so you can get up early and grab that worm.
We promise we’re not trying to change you. But science has shown that it’s possible to be more productive and feel happier. One way to do that is by waking up earlier.
The early bird has been studied for years, and experts have found many benefits to becoming an early-riser.
Here’s a long list of evidence-based benefits:
- Increased persistence, self-directedness, and cooperativeness.
- More likely to set high goals.
- More likely to plan.
- Better sense of well-being.
- Less likely to have substance abuse issues or depression.
- Improved sleep overall.
Alright, you’re sold. Now how can you wake up at the crack of dawn after years of sleeping in? We’re here with five tips that can get you started on the path to early mornings.
Start Slow
If you’re used to staying up to watch late-night TV, it’s probably laughable to fall asleep at 10 PM. We wouldn’t recommend even trying. Instead, go to sleep a little bit earlier each day.
Be sure you’re still maintaining a 7-9 hour sleep, but move back to your bedtime a little earlier (and therefore your wake time as needed).
Create a Morning Routine Your Love
It’ll be much easier for you to crawl out of bed if you know a tasty beverage is waiting for you. Discover things you love in the morning and do them.
Some ways to make the morning more enjoyable:
- Set aside time to have breakfast with your roommate
- Invest in a fancy coffee maker
- Buy breakfast foods you love and can sit down to eat.
- Create a morning playlist
- Start a morning skincare routine.
Not only that, but consider the options you have to do from adding hours to your day. While you weren’t able to fit in a workout before work before, now you can!
Don’t Do it Alone
How did that breakfast routine sound? If you have a roommate or family living with you, you’re going to find more success partnering with them to change your sleep tendencies.
Partnership and accountability are tremendous help to reach goals, but in this case can bring additional benefits. If you’re waking up early with someone else, you can kick start the day with quality time, laughs, and other positives. Additionally, you can get even more done with the extra hands (one on breakfast duty, one flipping to find the weather channel).
Change Your Alarm
How do you wake up in the morning? If you’re scared awake by an alarm, that might be why you’re not as keen on mornings as nights.
Don’t overlook this piece of the puzzle when analyzing your sleep schedule and routines. An alarm can help and hinder your ability to sleep well and enjoy the day ahead.
Here are a few alarm tips:
- Change from a sound alarm to a dawn simulating alarm.
- Use an actual alarm instead of your phone.
- Move your alarm away from you so you can’t easily sleep.
Think About the Benefits
We can see it now… You’re laying there, alarm going off, eyes squeezed shut, wondering why you would attempt to wake up before you need to.
Go back to the basics, remember your motivation, and think about what has changed and improved since implementing your new wake-time.
Your goal to be a morning person is doable, we promise. Sleep is crucial, but with some tweaks to your schedule, you can have a quality sleep and a productive morning routine. Try these tips, coupled with some more sleep tips, to have the best year (of sleep and morning fun) ever!