This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Aberdeen chapter.
t home I was always an early riser just like my dad; I loved mornings and everything about them! However when I got to university, I no longer had a bedtime (yes I had a bedtime until I was 18) and I got a bit reckless with this newfound freedom! I would stay up until 3, sometimes 4am in the morning and this was not always because I was out- most of the time I was simply binge watching a new series on Netflix! This completely confused my body clock; I would sleep until late in the afternoon and then repeat the cycle the next night! What makes it even worse is that I can’t study at night, so I was not even being productive. However I have regained my early riser status, and trained my body to point where on days when I’m allowed to have a lie in, my eyes are bright and open by 8am! Yes it’s blessing and a curse. So I thought I would give you guys some tips on how to become a morning person, and a happy one at that!
- Okay so firstly, before go through your night-time routine and head to bed make sure you organise everything you need for the next day. Prepare your uni bag, prep your lunch, sports gear, whatever. The main idea is that you find the things you need for the following day, organise them and trust me you’ll save yourself time and stress in the morning.
- GET ENOUGH SLEEP! This might sound a bit obvious, but waking up early in the morning can be difficult at first, especially in cold, bleak Aberdeen; the duvet often seems like the better option. So if you have not had enough sleep (7-8hours), you will find it even harder to leave the cosiness of your bed and your body will struggle to function effectively throughout the day. On weekdays I usually wake up at 7am so I make sure to be in bed by 10:30, aiming to be sound asleep by 11.
- Turn it off. Do I even need to elaborate on this one? Laptop, iPad, tablet, kindle if it has a screen switch it off and put it away! (PHONES NOT INCLUDED). Social media does not sleep; you, however, need to. Spending hours at night trawling across instagram, pinterest, twitter etc. can be fun and entertaining but you can waste so much time on there and before you even realise it, you’re cutting into your sleep. A good trick is to turn everything off and then put it somewhere in your room you cannot reach from your bed. This will make you less inclined to go on it.
- Set an alarm; this is the only reason your phone should still be on, but if you have an alarm clock even better! However it’s 2016 and most of us, myself included, use our phones for pretty much everything. This can be especially difficult when trying to get to sleep because if your phone is so close, how can you resist not going on it?! So here’s a little trick; set your alarm, make sure your ringtone is incessantly loud. Done? Okay, now place the phone on the other side of the room. This means that when it goes off in the morning, you have to leave your bed to turn it off and you wont be as tempted to keep on pressing snooze. Also, as you’ll be up and out of bed you might as well get your day started huh? Additionally you can even leave your curtains open so the sunlight streams in in the morning, which will also help wake you up.
- Okay so now you’re up, first thing; drink a big glass of water. This will rehydrate your body, kick-start your metabolism and will help to wake you up! Hey, you can even get creative with it; add some lemon, mint,whatever your taste buds fancy.
- Work out in the morning! This is totally optional if you are not a morning exerciser; feel free to leave this out. But if you can change your routine and place your workouts (whether they’re at home, the gym or even going for a run) in the morning you will get your body moving, energized, and ready for the day ahead.
- Okay now for my favourite part, food! Breakfast, I’m sorry to sound like your ma, is indeed the most important meal of the day but it is also the one many people in the frenzy of the morning, forget to eat. However since you’re up early, you have enough time to eat one. I will usually have a bowl of oats, topped with some fruits, depending on what’s in the fridge. What’s great about oats is they can be made overnight and left to thicken in the fridge, so you can enjoy them in the morning, fuss free. Plus they’re filling and energizing; it doesn’t necessarily have to be oats, just make sure that you have a wholesome breakfast so that you don’t feel sluggish and tired throughout the morning.
- Now get ready for the day ahead! I put this last because, I find that whenever you wake up early and have a enough time to do everything well, you’re more inclined to waste it on your phone, or other things that aren’t particularly necessary, then rush out, most likely forgetting something important. So if you’ve already eaten your breakfast, your things are organised from the night before, maybe even gotten a workout in, you can simply get ready, grab your bag and head out! Result!