To one who isn’t a morning person, morning people may be an enigma. How do they get up at 6 a.m. and can get ready, eat breakfast and go about their day with seemingly no struggle? For non-morning people, getting out of bed, being productive and looking presentable presents itself as another hardship. It won’t be easy to give up the snooze button on your alarm, but early mornings are a time you can do stuff for yourself before you start your busy day. Here are five helpful and easy tips to help you turn yourself into a morning person
- Develop a Soothing Bedtime Routine
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If going to sleep was as easy as turning off the lights and laying down, everyone would get eight hours or more of sleep. Ditching your old bedtime routine and creating a new one could help send a ‘bedtime signal’ to your brain. Calming rituals such as reading, meditation, journaling and more could help you relax.
Creating a new routine may help you change the time you go to sleep. Sleep experts recommend you start going to sleep between 20 minutes to two hours earlier each night. Over time, moving your nighttime routine earlier can help you get an adequate amount of sleep, motivating you to wake up earlier. - Expose Yourself to Light
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Our bodies have an inner clock that sets our circadian rhythms. Our bodies are sensitive to light. Limiting exposure to blue light, such as laptops and phones close to bedtime can help you fall asleep faster! Exposing yourself to the natural sunlight of sunrise is also an easy way to help signal your body that it’s time to wake up.
- Incorporate a Daily Exercise Routine.
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Studies show that exercising daily can move your sleep cycle earlier in the evening. A study showed that people who were used to going to sleep later could move their sleep cycle to an earlier time of the day, by exercising either in the morning or evening. Exercising earlier in the day could also help boost your energy levels.
- Adapt Better Eating Habits
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Protein naturally increases dopamine levels, and research shows dopamine regulates motivation. A 2020 research analysis also reports that people who are more of an evening people tend to eat their last meal of the day later than a morning person. Evening people are more likely to skip breakfast and consume more caffeine.
Adapting better eating habits is a simple way to promote more restful sleep.
- Make the Morning Easier for Yourself
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Make things easy for yourself in the morning! Have all your favorite snacks and lunch ready, and make sure that everything is organized and easy to pack. Recognize the smaller accomplishments during your journey to become more of a morning person and don’t forget to reward yourself for achieving small goals! Another tip is to try to have something you look forward to every morning, whether that be your morning coffee or a workout.
If you have trouble becoming a morning person right away, don’t let that deter you. Even making small improvements to your routine can help you achieve better sleep and wake up earlier, even if it’s just 10 minutes.