Does wake-up earlier seem to be not easy for you, especially in cold winter or terrible weather? Mastering some sleep hacks can not only make you wake up much earlier but also keep you energetic for the day. Therefore, the following wake up early tips may help you start a new day well.
Tips to make yourself wake up earlier
1. Try to sleep earlier
How do wake up earlier? The first answer is, of course, to go to bed earlier. If you are used to staying up late, but also try to wake up earlier in the morning, it is likely to contribute to your lack of sleep. Also remember that even if you are not sleepy, you can still fall asleep earlier by starting bedtime earlier. In addition, a great bedtime routine also allows you to easily achieve sleep and wake up earlier.
2. Get up earlier just a few minutes each day
When you decide to wake up earlier, your body needs a while to adjust to such a change in routine. You may try to achieve the goal for a week or even a month if you expect you can wake up half an hour earlier than you do now.
For example, you’re getting up at 7:00, while you hope you can wake up at 6:30. You can start by setting a 6:59 wake-up call tomorrow and a 6:58 wake-up call the day after so that you can successfully wake up at 6:30 in a month’s time. Although it’s a longer affair than just getting up 30 minutes earlier the next day, you’ll find you can accomplish the process more easily.
3. Get regular exercise
Some studies show that regular exercise can help you be more alert during the day and have a good night’s sleep at night[1]. A regular brief exercise with gentle, soothing stretches and invigorating movements such as deep squats may help stimulate your muscles and make you feel more awake in the morning. Besides that, if you can’t clear your mind of the sleep and start the day, you may try to start exercising in the morning when you wake up. Try getting outside and getting some fresh air, then you’ll feel better throughout the day.
4. Power down your devices before bedtime
Generally speaking, it is more difficult to fall asleep in front of a screen before going to bed. Besides, using a cell phone before bedtime may increase your risk of sleep problems. This is not beneficial for you to accomplish your goal of waking up earlier. Therefore, you may try to put down and turn off your electronic devices earlier before you go to bed and place them as far away from your bed as possible to get a better night’s sleep.
5. Give a pleasure reason for wake-up
If you want to wake up a little earlier, you may need to give yourself a reason for waking up which sounds pleasant. For example, if you want to wake up early to tidy your house, but you don’t enjoy it, your morning wake-up may become miserable. However, if you want to wake up earlier to do something you enjoy, you may easily reach your goal or even get up much earlier.
6. Get bright light first
Exposure to sunlight in the morning can make it easier for you to wake up. Remember to open the curtains immediately after you wake up to let the sunlight in. If you need to get up earlier or when the sun comes out later on cloudy days and in winter, you may turn on the room lights as soon as you wake up to awaken yourself quickly and prevent you from falling back asleep.
7. Move your snooze away
Have you ever switched off your alarm clock after it goes off and continued to sleep? If so, waking up early will be a difficult task to accomplish. You may try to move your alarm clock away from your bed so that you have to wake up to turn it off. This allows you to wake up quickly when the alarm clock first rings.
8. Start a meditation
Meditation can help you get full relaxation. As well, together they can help you achieve balance in your life, improving both your leisure time and your focus at work. Although this method may seem difficult for beginners, it can provide you both a nice night’s sleep and an earlier wake-up. You may try meditation for beginners to get up earlier with a good quality of sleep. Of course, if you still feel difficult, don’t worry, MindZone will help you start your meditation journey easily by providing guided meditations and “courses”.
9. Keep your week-up time
May you’d like to sleep more on weekends It is very important to stick to your bedtime and wake-up routine. However, the reality is that if you sleep in on the weekend, you may feel more tired in the new week. The research indicates that a constant weekend bedtime seems to provide better sleep and make it earlier to wake up during the next week[2]. So it’s a best practice that whatever bedtime and wake-up time you set on weekdays, you have to follow it on weekends.
Signals you need more sleep
If you find yourself consistently struggling to get up early and are experiencing the following symptoms, then you may need more or better quality sleep.
- Excessive daytime sleepiness
- Brain fog
- Easy fatigue and irritability
- Frequent yawning
- Increased appetite
- Lack of motivation
Overall, the premise of waking up early is to improve the quality of your sleep. You may learn some techniques to improve your sleep and combine them with the above wake up early tips to wake up earlier while ensuring your sleep quality. If you need to gain more knowledge about sleeping and meditation, MindZone will always provide company for you.
References
- [1] Kline C. E. (2014). The bidirectional relationship between exercise and sleep: Implications for exercise adherence and sleep improvement. Am J Lifestyle Med. 2014;8(6):375-379. doi:10.1177/1559827614544437
- [2] Soehner, A. M., Kennedy, K. S., & Monk, T. H. (2011). Circadian preference and sleep-wake regularity: associations with self-report sleep parameters in daytime-working adults. Chronobiology international, 28(9), 802–809. doi:10.3109/07420528.2011.613137
