Ever since I finished taking my board last exam, getting about 5-6 hours of sleep every night. I had a very difficult time waking up in the mornings again...disclaimer: I am a morning person. But even though I am a morning person, I just couldn't find the motivation or desire to wake up early again. I started to blame the weather after moving back to Miami, since its warmer and little more cozier maybe that’s why am having a hard time...so I gather some of the top tips I have found and tested. Like good ol' Ben Franklin once said
"Early to bed and early to ride makes a man (or woman), healthy, wealthy and wise"
Lets test that theory shall we?
Photos by Andrei @andrei_2.0
Get your mindset...set.
This is one of the hardest things, but I try to do this pretty much every night. I tell myself... hey tomorrow I have to wake up at (whatever time). In a way this prepares your mind and your body to have a internal clock ready to go. It also cultivates your mind to prepare itself.
Take those difficult baby steps.
Like any habit, you need to start slow...like f you want to lower sugar or caffeine in your diet. You have to do this little by little. The first week give yourself a realistic wake up time. When I was a photographer, we had to be at the studio at 7 AM. For most models this was very difficult to wake up at a certain time. What I would do is to make sure that I slowly work my way up to the desired time. Now for residency I have to be at the hospital by 5 AM. What I started to do (after getting mentally prepared) was try to wake up at 7 AM every day, then the following week I will try to wake up at 6:45 AM...and I’ll keep doing this week by week removing 15 minutes until I lead up to my desired 5 AM wake up time.
Prepare the night before.
What I try to do here is make sure that I do things that are already set so when I wake up there ready for me for example set up my coffee on a timer so when I wake up I don’t have to run to make a coffee it’s already been brewed another thing I try to do is have all my clothes that I’m gonna need it ready to go first thing in the morning so I’d have to spend time sorting through my closet looking for something to wear when I already have set up.
Stick to your wake up time.
What you want to do is to really to set up a time that is realistic and at the same time productive for you. The way that I do this, is to prepare ahead of time and give myself enough time to get ready before I leave the house. For example, if I have to be somewhere at say 8 AM (and I know it takes me about 45 minutes to an hour to be out the door) I know I have to set my time to at least 7 AM. What this does, is give me enough time to be able to get out of the door after doing all the things that I have to do every morning.
Avoid snoozing.
Try not to move around the bed and tell yourself that you will get up soon, also do not use your phone as an alarm clock. When we wake up, we have this urge to want to snooze and stay in bed a little bit longer. What most of us end up doing (I am guilty of this) is reach for the phone press the snooze button. Which leads to staying on the phone, get distracted and want to check Instagram or Facebook. to realize that I’ve already been up for about 40 minutes and I’m still in bed using my phone. This I learned from a book 5 second rule where you count to five seconds, it's kinda magical and gives you enough momentum to get going...now it sounds easier said than done but I do recommend actually reading the book has a lot of information on how to get things done.
And a one and a two.
Something you can do when you’re laying in bed is due a couple of stretches and here are some of my favorite. It does help promote blood flow throughout your body and it will eventually help you get up from bed. Once you’re out of bed...you can do additional exercises or little stretches to get you going. Fitness experts and trainers recommend doing a plank position for 30 seconds or doing a couple of push-ups if you don’t like push-ups you can do a couple of lunges at the same time you’re stretching.
Make sure you get a good nights sleep.
Now, I know the eight-hour night sleep is not realistic for many people but it is recommended (why, go here) that we get at least eight hours of sleep every night...this will definitely help you wake up in a much realistic time. So think backwards...I think about how much time it takes me to get ready in the morning and count back 8 hours. This way I can get my 8 hours and know at what time I have to go to bed...which it is usually around 10 PM. Go check out my sleep hygiene post.
Reap the benefits.
Studies have shown that people who wake up early, have a more productive day and feel much better about themselves knowing that they did. Some people (myself included) recommend doing your workout at this time. You'll have more energy throughout the day. Another great benefit of waking up early, is that you will get a great sleep the night before. People that wake up early end up going to bed earlier...so then you actually have a much better sleep quality. This is the biggest problem with us these days: we don’t get enough (quality) sleep. We think that by working a lot and not getting sleep, we would be productive, and the opposite is true. And trust me, the early bird does catch the worm, I don’t care how many night owls tell you otherwise...that’s why they’re always saying "who who?" They don’t know where they are or who they are.
Try this for a month, I dare you and you’ll see how much better you will feel.
Till next time hope you enjoy this one and if you have any questions or comments and any tips or you have on sleeping better or waking up easier let me know send me an email.