We all loathe having to take 8 A.M’s and spend our college lives planning against them, but they are ultimately inevitable. Almost everyone will be forced to take an 8 A.M class at least once and sadly you can’t avoid them, but what you can do is prepare for them. Here are some helpful tips to get you out of being a zombie in every early morning class.
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Use the “Alarmy” app
(Photo by Alarmy)
This app is free on both the iTunes Apple store and the Google Play store. It is a sure way to get yourself more awake in the mornings. If you’re prone to pressing the snooze button over and over until you end up with 10 alarms 5 minutes apart, then this is for you. With the app, you can set alarms normally but you will have to complete missions in order to turn it off. There are multiple options, such as shaking your phone a certain amount of times or solving a simple math problem to turn the alarm off. Personally, after trying it myself I loved it and definitely recommend.
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Keep the blinds open
If you want a more relaxing and natural way of waking up, then leave your blinds open enough so that sunlight can seep into your room every morning. Our bodies are naturally sensitive to light and having your mornings filled with it will help you stay more awake during the day. If you don’t have a window close to you or wake up before the sun, you can get a wake up light alarm clock which is meant to mimic sunlight as the alarm goes off.
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Drink a glass of water to wake up
(Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels)
One popular tip for beating bad mornings is to drink a fresh cup of water as soon as you wake up. There are many benefits to this, but mostly it is important to immediately hydrate your body after around 6-10 hours of sleep. Once made into a habit, it will help prepare your body and brain for the day.
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Use night shift on all your devices
While everyone advises not to use any devices before bed, it is extremely tough to stop. Especially if you are a college student and have homework to do or have at least one Netflix episode to watch right before bed, you can’t always avoid it. If you can, read a book or journal before bed. If not, at least turn all your devices onto night mode. You can do this manually or set them to be automatic with timers, either way, it will stop your brain from thinking that it is constantly daylight. Get that work done and go to sleep!
(Photo by freestocks.org on Unsplash)
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Get out and stay out of bed
A problem I struggle with all the time is staying in bed for too long. I can’t get myself to get up yet, so I end up on Twitter or YouTube until I have to rush to get myself out of the door. As much as we all love our beds, we should not be spending our lives in them. If you sleep, study, eat, watch TV, etc. in your bed then your brain will no longer associate it with sleep and only focus on those distractions. Always try to get out of bed as soon as you’re awake so that you don’t slip back into sleep and keep out until you want to go to bed at night.
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Use the “Sleepytime” app to understand sleep cycles
If you don’t want to spend time looking into sleeping cycles and how they work, download the free “Sleepytime” app or any other sleeping app. These apps allow you to input what time you want to wake up and informs you the best time to go to sleep, or vice versa. Utilize your sleep cycle to feel more awake.
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Plan your morning ahead of time
In the morning especially, the last thing your brain wants to do is make decisions. When you’re groggy and wanting to get back in bed, having to make little choices about what to wear and what to bring can make your mornings stressful. To avoid this and become more productive, plan your mornings the night before. No matter how simple the task is, picking out your outfit, packing your bag beforehand, or pre-making a simple breakfast can make all the difference. Knowing you are already prepared will make it easier to get up in the morning and it will also make you feel more accomplished.
(Photo by Pexels.com)
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Eat protein
Make sure to eat! Breakfast is truly the most important meal of the day so don’t neglect it. However, eating anything quick and easy may not be enough to make an impact. If you’re grabbing some carbs on the way out of the door, you’re likely going to crash later on. You’ll be grateful for taking a little more time to fill your breakfast with proper proteins to help make you more awake and ready to go.
Having an early class doesn’t mean you have to show up in the worst mood and hate being there. You have the power to change your mindset on early classes, keep yourself motivated, and make the most out of them. On the bright side, having early classes will mean you have more free time later in the day. So, get to sleep early, follow these tips, and you’ll survive those horrid 8 A.M classes.