Have you ever had ‘Morning Person’ envy? I know I have!
Morning people seem to get so much more stuff done and seem to be so much more awake and alert throughout the day. It almost leaves you wondering if there’s some kind of secret formula to getting up early every day with bounce and vigour.
Until about a year ago, I just couldn’t get out of bed until 8.30am – and sometimes, this was no matter what time I went to bed!
I figured out what I was doing wrong (turns out I had a fairly long list of stuff to address) and finally, I started waking up earlier and with more energy each day. Take a look below to find out what helped me out.
Improve Your Overall Health
This is probably the single most important tip when it comes to moving closer to being a full-time, genuine morning person.
If your general health is poor, you’ll likely feel sluggish often, if not all the time. If your vitamin and mineral levels and hormones are in balance, you’ll feel far more energized so you’ll fall asleep easier, stay asleep throughout the night and those early rises will become far more enjoyable.
Stay Hydrated Throughout The Day
Staying hydrated will do wonders for your body and mind in general but it will also help to keep your energy levels up and therefore help you rise earlier each morning.
Drinking plenty of mineral water throughout the day will help with this but remember to avoid excess fluids at night as these will keep you up at night with trips to the bathroom.
Move Most Electrical Items Out of The Bedroom
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If it isn’t already, your bedroom should be your sanctuary; your haven of rest and relaxation. Gadgets such as mobile phones, televisions and games consoles aren’t signalling to your brain that it’s time to rest so you find it a lot trickier to get off to sleep with these around.
The light from screens is also usually ‘blue light’, which is stimulating and won’t help you drift off to sleep.
Get Some Blood Tests Done
This might sound a little drastic but Magnesium, Calcium, Iron, Vitamin D, B12 play significant roles in regulating your sleep cycle and keeping your energy levels up. If you’re feeling chronically tired but might be too low (or too high) on any of these.
You might find you can’t get enough quality sleep at night or you might feel drowsy during the day despite having slept more than 8 hours the night before.
Getting these checked out to be on the safe side and rule them out as possible causes of lethargy might be something you’d like to consider, especially if you’ve tried other things to help increase your energy levels and they haven’t worked.
Program your Body Clock
This is probably the second most vital tip when it comes to becoming a morning person. If you go to sleep and wake up the same time virtually every day, you’ll notice it will become far easier to get the rest you need and wake up on time the following day.
Some people even make a habit of waking up at the same time each weekend, too. It’s not always possible to do go to bed at the same time each evening but for most people, it’s definitely possible to do so most of the time.
Splash Cold Water on Your Face
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As soon as you wake up, if you don’t have time for a shower, just splash some cold water onto your face after removing your cleanser. You’ll feel instantly invigorated and more alert.
Have Your Schedule Ready
Be it a to-do list or a firm schedule, have what you need to do the following day all written down in advance from at least the day before.
This way, you don’t need to spend any time trying to recall what it is that you need to get done on the day and you can just get on with doing it. You’ll have more time available and you’ll make the most out of your day.
Add some Epsom Salts to Your Bath
You might be a bath person, you might not be. If you are a bath person, then this tip is for you. Epsom salts can actually help to soothe muscles and deeply relax you.
Epsom salts are made from Magnesium Sulphate and offer the added benefit of helping to boost the amount of Magnesium in your blood when added to a hot bath according to a study by a UK University.
Magnesium is a very important mineral that regulates around 300 chemical reactions in the body and helps you to get off to sleep and stay asleep throughout the night. You’ll also find your skin is much softer and smoother after use!
Really Try to Say Goodbye to Caffeine
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Yes, you read that correctly! Even if you have a good tolerance of it, caffeine can only offer a very temporary boost and many people find that they feel sluggish as the day progresses as a result of that initial hit.
It might seem impossible to start the day without a cup of tea or coffee but try starting the day with a low sugar fruit or vegetable smoothie for a week and see how you feel.
The smoothies will release energy slowly and they’re far more nutritious options that will help to keep your mineral and vitamin levels up, which will in turn help to keep you feeling more energized in general.
Set Some Intentions & Visualise
Try setting the intention (out loud or in your mind) of sleeping well and waking up at your ideal time. You can also visualize yourself in (in the third person) waking up the following morning, looking at the clock or phone and feeling happy and ready to go.
Meditate Before Going to Bed and Upon Waking
Mornings are a great time to sneak in a little meditation. Immediately after waking up, you should be feeling perfectly relaxed and your mind will usually be clear. Try taking some deep breaths and then meditating for 10-15 minutes after waking and see how you feel after a week.