If you follow my blog, you know that I have not always been the kind of person who is able to wake up early and be productive. For the longest time, I would wake up feeling tired no matter how much sleep I got.
I learned that there is such a thing as too much sleep. I also learned that I was not being consistent with my evening routines and what time I went to bed. The result was that I would almost always wake up feeling tired.
Before I go into giving you tips on how I get myself out of bed in the morning, I want to stress the importance of having a reason for doing so. For example, we all have our morning routines before we head to work but waking up earlier than your usual get ready for work time can be challenging. So find your why before committing to a new routine. The why is what will keep you motivated to stick to your routine when your brain tries to reject it, or when the motivation to wake up early starts to fade after several days.
What to do when you wake up feeling tired?
To make this work, you have to develop a good routine. The first part of this is figuring out how much sleep you need. Remember, we are supposed to be able to function after 8 hours of sleep per night. Some people may need more while others may need less.
Use this app to figure out your ideal sleep time.
What are some reasons to wake up earlier in the mornings? For me, I like to workout before going to work. This helps me to feel energized throughout the day, and it gives me a feeling of accomplishment because no matter how my day goes, I have completed my workout.
Some other reasons are, the house is quiet which gives you alone time
It can help you to mentally prepare for your day
Allows you time to eat a real breakfast
If you are a parent, it allows you extra time to prep lunches before the kiddos wake up
Having that alone/quiet time can be a great way to start your day. It enables you to feel less rushed in the mornings, allowing you to ease into the day. I don’t know about you, but I do not like it when my days start off feeling rushed.
Let’s do this!
Drink water when you wake up
Before going to bed, fill a container with water to drink when you first wake up. You have been asleep for hopefully 8 hours, and by this point your body and your brain are dehydrated. Since the water has been in a container overnight, it will not be ice cold (unless you sleep in a really freezing room), but it will be cold enough to wake you up.
Doing this as your first step when you awake will slowly start to wake up your brain making it easier to get out of bed and get your day started. Whether you are working out, using the time to complete household chores, or preparing your morning breakfast.
Find an alarm that works for you
The worst thing that you can do is use a loud and jarring alarm. If this is your thing and it works for you, great. Personally, I like to ease into waking up each day instead of being scared out of my bed.
I like the sleep cycle app because it tracks your sleep patterns and has an alarm that gently wakes you up in the morning.
Another app to try is the Alarmy app. This app is for those that need a bit of extra help to get up early in the mornings. To make the alarm stop you must complete certain tasks like shaking your phone or solving a math problem. Solving a math problem would definitely get my brain going in the morning.
If you prefer to use an actual alarm scroll to the bottom and check out the natural light and sounds clock.
Planning
Before you go to bed plan for the next day. I find it exhausting to wake up and have to figure out my clothes for work. Think about doing this when you already wake up feeling tired. Planning enables you to breeze through your morning routine and ease into the day.
When you plan ahead, you allow more time in the morning to accomplish the necessary tasks before going to work. If you take your lunch to work, pack it the night before. If you go to the gym in the evenings after work, pack your gym bag and leave it by the front door.
Something that happens when we wake up feeling tired and cram our mornings with a laundry list of to-dos’ is that we make ourselves even more exhausted.
Having a blueprint for your mornings enables you to have a more peaceful time instead of frantic days of running around.
Do not think about it, just do it
The first time your alarm goes off early, your brain will tell you that you should not get up.
It goes a little something like this “my alarm is technically 30 minutes early, which means I can sleep another 30 minutes.”
Or
“10 more minutes and I’ll get up.”
What happens when you take the 30 minutes to sleep in or the extra 10 minutes? The more time you take, the longer you end up sleeping, and in some cases, oversleeping.
Understand that the extra 10 or 30 minutes is not going to make you feel any better. In some cases, it may make you feel worse because procrastinating and being late creates guilt.
When the alarm goes off, stop the alarm, have a drink of water (see above) and head straight to the bathroom to wash your face and start your day.
Doing this will create a good habit, and the more you follow a routine, the sooner your body gets used to it.
On the subject of planning and routines
When waking up early, the last thing your brain wants to do is think. Putting as much of your morning on auto-pilot as you can will combat this feeling.
The way your morning starts should set the tone for the rest of your day. Create a list of the things you need or want to do in the morning. If you want to wake up early to workout, plan the workouts that you are going to do.
If you are going to make breakfast in the morning, think about what you want to cook the night before and put the ingredients in a place that is easy to access.
Getting into a routine will seem difficult at first, but I’ve got you covered with this post I created about habits that can help to make your mornings better.
Pat yourself on the back
Waking up early is hard. When you make it through your first-week reward yourself. Whether it is a big breakfast or a cheat meal, find something that makes you feel good and celebrate your small win. Even though we are adults, the reward system still works on our brains.
Everything listed above is a combination of the things I do to get myself out of bed and not wake up feeling tired.
The key is to prepare and make your mornings as easy as possible. It will take time to get used to this routine, but once you do, you will be glad you did.
Tell me about some of the things you like to do in the mornings before starting your workday. What gets you out of bed early in the mornings?
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