For a lot of people, every morning starts off the same. The alarm goes off, you hit snooze multiple times, and then rush through a scattered, poorly thought out routine to get yourself out the door, most likely skipping a few steps and adding a few at times.
Believe it or not, there are a couple of simple tricks you could incorporate into your morning routine that will make waking up not as challenging, and maybe even enjoyable.
Avoid the Snooze Button
Hitting the snooze button can be a slippery slope, giving you the illusion of a longer rest. Those ten or twenty minutes of you rolling around in your bed won’t help you feel any fresher, and can be used in much better and effective ways. When your alarm goes off your body’s internal clock is ready to wake up. Hitting snooze daily and repeatedly sends your whole system into a confusing tailspin, it leads to extended periods of
sleep inertia. Before long, your body isn’t sure when it’s time to wake up and when it’s time to go to sleep.
Snoozing your alarm, or setting multiple alarms and trying to sleep between them is not a good habit if you plan on starting your morning on form. The solution, although you may not like it, is pretty simple. Just get out of bed as soon as your alarm goes off. It might feel unpleasant at first but within minutes, that docile feeling wears off, you’ll start your well thought out morning routine and your day has a purpose.
Let Light Into the Room
Waking up in a dark room can affect your mood as soon as you open your eyes. You register darkness as the time to sleep, and you might later on feel like you’ve gotten up way earlier than you should have.
Pull the curtains back, and let daylight enter your room, if it isn’t daylight make sure that you expose yourself to adequate amounts of light, it will make getting out of bed a much more manageable task.
Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells’ (ipRGCs). Yes, it’s time for a little science.
These are light-sensitive cells inside your eyes. They don’t help you see, but they absorb light in order to properly set our
circadian clock. Light is a potent stimulus for regulating circadian, hormonal, and behavioural systems therefore sufficient light exposure when you wake up, is essential to keep your body rhythms in sync and make sure you start your day right.
Article: Understanding the Role of Light and How it Wakes Us Up
Hydrate
A good tip is to put a covered drink on your bedside table and drink it when you wake up. It’s both good for your body, and if you do it every day, your mind will register it as a sign that it’s time to wake up. It’s also a pretty solid start to a great morning routine.
Whether you implement this strategy or not, start your day with fluid. Science tells us that dehydration of 2% or more of body mass can increase the perception of fatigue, impair cognitive function such as memory and attention, and negatively alter your mood.
If you intend to Live on Form, adequate hydration is a daily staple.
Create a Routine
A morning routine means you start your day with wins. This is part of the reason that the military insists that making your bed is such a pivotal thing to do. It means you accomplish something immediately and what better way to frame your day? It’s disciplined and we know what an important part discipline plays in achieving goals.
Write down what you intend doing and achieving every morning.
Caffeine Is an Option
Coffee is an essential part of a lot of people’s morning rituals all over the world. A
cup of joe releases caffeine into your system and once it reaches the brain’s bloodstream, it blocks the inhibitory neurotransmitter Adenosine. Caffeine, in whatever guise scientifically boosts
mood,
vigilance, energy levels, reaction times, memory, and general
cognitive functions.
While coffee can be a great way to get your caffeine, not everybody enjoys it. Fortunately, caffeine comes in many sources nowadays.
Plan Your Bedtime Routine
Create a routine for before you go to bed, it can change how you feel when you wake up. Pack lunch for tomorrow lay out the clothes you would like to wear – stuff like that that you’ll be able to skip in the morning and wake up with fewer things to worry about.
Doing some chores like these before you go to bed will have you waking up with the feeling you already have some tasks done, and make the whole process a bit easier. Also, finishing up some chores before bed every night will have you going to sleep with a sense of accomplishment.
Know-How Your Sleep Cycles Work
Making your sleep cycle regular will make it much easier on your body to identify the signs that it’s time to get up. Once you are used to this rhythm, you’ll find yourself waking up even without an alarm. Everyone at some stage in life has experienced this, waking up to see there is a minute left on your alarm clock before it goes off.
It’s also recommended you keep this schedule up even when you could sleep in, like on weekends.
In Conclusion
Even if you’re not a ‘morning person’, waking up doesn’t have to be so difficult. With just a couple of adjustments to your sleep schedule and routine, you can be out of your bed and on your way with little to no effort.
