Mornings are never easy, especially if you’re not a morning person. Personally, I could sleep 14 hours a day and would be totally fine if mornings just did not exist. This semester, for whatever reason, I decided to take all morning classes to force myself into being a morning person. I was tired of missing out on fun breakfast dates and feeling like I wasted the day when I would wake up at 2 p.m. Here’s some tips and tricks learned from a recent morning person to make those bleary eyed mornings before class a little easier.
1. Wear actual clothes to class.
Wearing pajamas or whatever you slept in is certainly convenient, but it also gives you the feeling that you could just go back to bed after class. We all need to do this sometimes, but to cut down on feeling sleepy in class wear actual clothes (even if that means just putting on leggings and a sweatshirt). Wearing actual clothes makes you feel more together and awake, and tells your body you aren’t going back to bed so it’s time to wake up.
2. Pack your backpack the night before.
This will honestly save you so much time in the morning–the time you usually would have spent frantically running around finding that textbook can now be used to down one more cup of coffee or go over your notes for a test.
3. Go to sleep earlier than you think you need to.
If you’re done with homework and plan on binging something for the next couple hours, just close the laptop and go to bed. This sounds easier said than done, but getting a full night’s sleep is so important and makes such an impact on how you feel the next day.
4. Leave enough time in the morning for breakfast.
Breakfast makes a huge difference in how you feel in the mornings. Running to class late and on an empty stomach is not a good combination and will make you feel more irritable and angry. It can be a breakfast bar if you’re in a hurry or a bagel and eggs if you’re feeling fancy–whatever it is, just make sure you get something in your stomach before class, especially if it’s an 8 a.m.
5. Pick out your clothes the night before.
This does the same thing as packing your bag the night before. It not only saves you time, but saves you the frustration of having nothing to wear and five minutes before you need to leave for class.
6. Wake up a little earlier for some “you time.”
Even if this “you time” is sitting up in bed and thinking about how much you want to go back to sleep, some time in the morning to sit and hang out with yourself makes sure you start your day on a positive note.
7. Read for class before bed, not Netflix.
Not only do blue screens make you feel more awake, but a show or something else suspenseful can wake you up and consequently make you get less sleep. Reading is a very relaxing way of getting yourself ready for bed, not to mention gets your eyes tired so by the time you’re done you’re ready for sleep.
8. Set one or two alarms.
Setting five alarms every 10 minutes might sound more productive, but this trains your body and brain to believe that you can fall asleep again between alarms. Setting a maximum of two alarms tells your body that it has exactly two chances to get it together and wake up.
9. Try to have a set bedtime.
It won’t be followed all the time, but if you tell yourself that you need to be in bed lights off by 1 or 1:30 a.m. you would be amazed by how productive you can be. Everyone knows that adults and teenagers need at least eight hours of sleep, and trying to get that makes a remarkable difference in how you feel in the morning.
10. Leave for class five minutes before you think you need to.
Even if you live two minutes away from the building, leaving five minutes before class starting gives you time to sit down and look over what you have to do for the day… or gives you enough time to get ahead of the Starbucks line.