You Snooze, You Lose, So Start Your Morning Off Right
For those of us who have night owl tendencies, morning wake ups may be an everyday struggle. Some of us have no problem staying up into the later hours of the evening, but find great difficulty when the world beckons for us to shed the security of our comforters and greet the morning sun with the adage, “the early bird gets the worm.”
But is it at all possible to change habits you’ve formed over the course of lifetime? Of course it is. If people are able to reshape their thoughts and beliefs about dieting, religion, politics, etc., then you can absolutely change your circadian rhythm.
It requires some purposeful action on our parts, but the dread you face every morning when your alarm clock goes off can be realigned to fit your schedule and help you start the day proactively.
So without further adieu we’d like to share with you 5 Tips To Help You Get Out of Bed.
1.Preparation Is Key
Getting an early start on your day begins long before your waking hours and in order to help alleviate some of your early morning tasks we recommend getting a start the night before.
Preparing your lunch, packing your gym bag, choosing your outfit, pre-filling your coffee pot, taking out the trash, checking weather reports, etc. are all small items you can knock out the evening before that will make for a smoother morning.
Each task will allows you to wake up prepared for the upcoming day, so that even if you’re a slow riser, you can get up to speed in no time.
2.Break Bad Habits with Better Ones
The longest span of time that we’re detached from our phones, television, email, and any and all external forces is during our sleep cycle– we’re completely disconnected from our conscious selves.
When waking in the morning, it can be a habit to reach for our phone and begin checking Facebook, the latest news story, or checking our emails. This is a bad idea, as it throws our waking conscious mind states onto a freeway of information while our bodies have yet to become energized– it throws our natural connection between our mind and bodies off, as we rush to meet the speed of the world with a body that has been inactive for several hours.
Instead of cycling through your phone for updates, try developing a stretching routine or engaging in some early morning workouts. This change in your routine will help spark your energy by re-synchronizing your mind & body allowing you to get yourself up to speed before stepping out in the world.
3.Break the Fast
We’ve all heard the saying, “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” and it’s true. While we sleep our bodies are fasting and in order to break this dormant state of activity, we need to consume food–specifically protein.
Rebecca Scritchfield, R.D., Washington D.C. based nutrition and exercise expert, states that, “After sleeping all night, our metabolism and blood sugar are at their lowest; we need a healthy breakfast to re-energize us.”
Some excellent sources of protein for breakfast are nuts, yogurt, oatmeal, tofu, and cheese. Add in some colorful fruit and you can open up your options to include a semi-sweet cereal, smoothie, or your own breakfast bars.
4.Get an Early Start The Night Before
Whether it’s been a stressful or successful day at work, we often need to decompress after office hours. Some of us choose to veg out on the couch while others of us enjoy going out and enjoying the nightlife.
Either can be a hindrance on your morning. Instead of choosing to stretch your evenings late, cut them shorter which may mean abstaining from going out. For those of us who are home bodies, cutting off the television and unplugging from our electronics is a good idea.
Try limiting your caffeine & sugar intake and try reading a book before bed to slow the pace of your mind and easy your body into peaceful state of rest. As Benjamin Franklin said, “Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”
5.Find A Why, To Find a Way
Ultimately becoming a morning person is about taking actionable steps with a purpose. Anything we do in life should have a purpose and by clearly defining what our purpose for waking early is will help us in determining what changes are necessary to make it possible.
