The struggle is real – every morning millions of people struggle to get their backsides up and off the bed. We like to ‘snooze’ or get just another ‘5 more minutes’ of sleep and when we wake, we are like crusty-eyed walking zombies…
The benefits of getting a good night’s rest and waking up early is well known. You’ll increase your productivity, get more work done, possibly have greater mental clarity and you’re more likely to develop healthy traits like optimism.
So how do some people just get it? How can they wake up at 5am or 6am every morning and go for a jog or a swim? Truth is, there is nothing special about it; like almost everything else, its a trainable skill. Here are 5 simple tips to help you get up ready and raring to go!
#1 – Down a glass of water the first thing in the morning.
Keep a glass or a bottle of water beside you at night. We lose an incredible amount of water through respiration and sweat when we sleep so drinking a glass of water immediately after you wake is a great way to rehydrate your body. Helps with keep the skin taut as well!
#2 – Let there be light.
Natural light – loads of them. In fact, take a few seconds to bask in them. Open your curtains, blinds or if you like, head out to your front door to soak in a little bit of sun. Don’t worry if it’s cloudy, as long as you’re not in stormy weather, there will be some light. It is proven that your body’s contact with light sends a signal to your brain wake up and get ready for the day.
#3 – Watch what you did last night
We all love our pint from time to time. Perhaps you, like me, also take coffee quite a bit. But I found that laying off alcohol and coffee (or caffeine of any kind!) was most helpful to me the day after. For one, I get no weird tension headaches and my voice does not crackle that much. I’m not suggesting you go cold turkey but I am submitting to you that you could cut down your intake OR try to cut down the times you take it at night.
#4 – Positive affirmations go a lone way
If you keep insisting that ‘I’m a night person’ of course you would struggle to wake up and work in the morning! Try telling yourself that ‘I am a morning person’ or ‘I can surely be a morning person’ instead. You may find this a little ‘fake’ and contrived but that is only natural. You’ll be surprised, how after a while, how effective this actually is!
#5 – Prepare a hearty breakfast.
Plan and prepare your delicious breakfast the night before. This makes waking up so much easier especially when you’ve a full, tasty and healthy meal to look forward to in the morning!
Go forth and wake up early tomorrow! Click here for even more tips on how to wake up feeling refreshed.
