How To: Become a Morning Person!
Who loves mornings? Most people say they hate mornings, or they aren't a morning person, and I used to say the same thing. When I was in grade school I had a bad habit of waking up by my alarm, and falling asleep after without even knowing it. I would dream about getting ready and just as I was pulling out of the driveway with my dad driving on the way to school in my dream, he would come busting in my room begging me to get out of bed because now I would be late! It happened on a weekly basis, so it obviously took me a long time to get into an adult routine of getting out of bed in mornings.
I know the most common piece of advice anyone gives to someone wanting to get out of bed easier is to not press snooze, but honestly, who actually just presses stop on the alarm and gets right out of bed?! Well, my boyfriend does and it's so easy for him, but I HAVE to have my 10 minutes of snoozing so I can mentally prepare myself to get up and start my day... or do I?
I started experimenting about a year ago when I started my full time job, and I learned a lot about what to do nightly and in the mornings to make getting out of bed easier, so I wanted to share some with you!
Go to bed at a decent time. This is most important, because you need at least 7 hours of sleep nightly in order to really have a good nights sleep. I always say if I have at least 6.5 or 7 hours, I have no reason to hit snooze the next morning.
Set your alarm for a time when you need to get out of bed. This prevents you from hitting the snooze button, because you really don't have extra time to roll over in bed and savor the cozy bedsheets any longer. This was my hardest habit to break, because I would set my alarm for 5:30AM when I needed to be in the gym by 6:15AM, and that would allow me 15 minutes of snoozing before I needed to get out of bed. So, when my alarm went off at 5:30, I hit snooze knowing that I had a few extra minutes of sleep, and once I fell back asleep and my alarm went off again after 8 minutes, it was SO MUCH HARDER to get up again. I usually skipped the gym those days and laid in bed falling in and out of sleep for the next hour until I was late getting up and then rushing around all morning.
Don't press snooze. Just get up when you're alarm goes off and don't let yourself get too cozy once your eyes open, because it's so unhealthy to fall back asleep again and will make it so much harder to wake up in a few minutes. When I fall back asleep after my alarm goes off, I don't stop pressing snooze and end up sleepy the entire day because my brain kept going to sleep and waking up over and over again, which is so difficult on your body.
Have something to look forward to when you get out of bed. I used to be able to get up, brush my teeth, put my gym clothes on and head straight to the gym to smash out a workout. I miss that person, because that's not me anymore unfortunately. I need to have a pot of coffee brewing during the time my alarm goes off so I can wake up and smell it, or know that I will make hot lemon water first thing. I need to get out of bed and have something hot to sip on to wake my body up before working out, so nowadays I like to start my mornings off on a calm, slow note. Since I look forward to the stillness of the mornings, it's easier for me to get out of bed than it used to be!
Wake up at the same time every day. Yes, including the weekends! I know how great it is to sleep in on the weekend mornings when you don't have to be at work in the mornings, but trust me, it's so much better to stick to a schedule when you're trying to get into the habit of becoming a morning person! For me, my alarm goes off at 6AM every weekday, and 6:45AM every weekend morning. So, I still allow myself an extra 45 minutes to be asleep, but really that's because I go to sleep later on the weekends so I'm just moving my sleeping hours later than usual. Since it's only a 45 minute difference, I don't find it difficult to go to bed at a regular time on Sunday nights and Monday mornings aren't so Monday-ish anymore.
Pay attention to diet after lunchtime. Personally, lunchtime is the biggest meal of my day. I usually enjoy a smoothie for breakfast, filled with proteins, healthy fats, spinach and fruits, so I stay full for hours. By 12-3PM, I'm a bottomless pit and I will eat anything that I lay my eyes on. I'm okay with this, and it's just what my body wants, so lunchtime is where I indulge for the day. I'll have extra fruit, a piece of loving earth chocolate (raw, organic chocolate bars), and usually enough carbohydrates to fill a horse. However, for dinner, I usually eat small portions of greens and lean proteins and snack on various other healthy foods. Because of my eating habits, I don't stuff myself full right before bed, and I avoid any kind of sugars 3-4 hours before bed time. This way, my body has no reason to be restless when it's time for bed.
These tips helped me so much when I was trying to motivate myself to be a morning person and I hope they can help you too :)
xoxo, jess
