Maybe you’re about to turn 20 and you’ve realized that you might need to start functioning before 12 p.m. on the weekends. Maybe you’ve been late to your 8 a.m. one too many times and your professor has started to roll his eyes at you when you finally come running in around 8:20–yikes. Whatever your reasoning is, becoming a morning person is no easy task. Here at Her Campus, we’ve compiled a little list to help you succeed in your early-a.m. endeavors.
1. Be Prepared!
You know those little tasks that you dread (and sometimes fail at) doing through your morning fog, like picking out your outfit and packing your bookbag? Do them the night before. Check the weather for the following day, and lay out your clothes, all the way down to your undies (because nothing says, “I’m gonna kill it today,” like matching your underwear to your outfit). Think about your class schedule and pack everything you need into your bag. If you’re a coffee drinker, set out your K-cup and to-go mug so you’re ready to brew. Doing things at night when you’re not rushed for time will ensure that you don’t forget anything in your bag or end up having a Cher Horowitz meltdown in the middle of a pile of clothing because you have nothing to wear.
2. Put. Your. Phone. Down.
A lot of us lay in bed at night scrolling through the Insta posts and tweets that we missed during the day. While taking a little time before bed to catch up on social media is fine, don’t bring your phone into bed with you. If you use your phone as an alarm clock (like the majority of us do), just set your alarm before you get into bed and set it far enough away from so you can’t reach it from bed. You won’t be tempted to do any late-night scrolling and you’ll get to bed at a decent hour. As an added bonus, you’ll have to get out of bed to turn your alarm off in the morning. Once you’re up, resist the urge to dive back into your bed before the blankets get cold and just start your day. The eight minutes of sleep you get between snooze button slams isn’t enough to help you in any way. In fact, those last few minutes are more likely to make you feel groggy and probably kind of angry. So, when it comes time to head to the bed, put your phone down and just go to sleep. I know it’s nearly impossible at first. Don’t give in!
3. Establish a Routine.
Even though you probably don’t have classes at the same time every day throughout the week, try to wake up at the same time every day anyway. If you want to start waking up earlier, try setting your alarm for five minutes earlier every few days–don’t try to go from an 11:00 a.m. alarm to waking up at 7:00 a.m. in one day. Once you’ve achieved the wake-up time you want, get into a routine that you follow every morning. Personally, my mornings start at 8:08 (because 8:00 is just way too early), and I’m usually ready for the day around 9:15. I step onto my apartment’s balcony for a little stretching and a weather check, make and enjoy my coffee, and spend a good amount of time being Beyoncé in my bathroom mirror while I put on my makeup and fix my hair. Having a routine that I follow every morning makes my life so much easier. Working yourself into a routine will let you wake up a little slower, since you can allow yourself to turn on your autopilot while you go through the morning motions. A morning routine will give you a smooth start that will likely flow into the rest of your day.
4. Stretch It Out, Sunshine!
You don’t have to be able to bend yourself into a pretzel* to get the benefits of a little morning-time stretching. We naturally want to stretch when we wake up anyway, so why not take a few minutes in your morning routine for some deep stretches, complete with as many “baby dinosaur” noises as you see fit? Getting your blood flowing in the morning will release happy endorphins to start off your day, help you feel refreshed, and wake you up quicker than any double-shot of espresso ever could. Those benefits aside, stretching just feels good, and once you get into your new morning routine, you’ll start looking forward to getting up so you can get your stretch on. Morning yoga is an entirely different post for me, since I am crazy about it, so I’ll just suggest that everyone gives Yoga with Adriene a try. She has everything from foundational videos to videos about how to breathe like a yogi.
*Disclaimer: I am a college student, not a doctor (I’m not even pre-med). Always use your best judgment and listen to your body when starting any new physical activity, and consult a doctor if you need to. Happy stretching!