Much like the majority of the bloggers, or the people working primarily on their computers, I was a night owl too.
I used to work whole night, then sleep around 7 or 9 in the morning.
Though this was valuable as in I was able to skip the majority of the noisy time, but it had its drawbacks.
But if you understand me a little bit, I am a research guy (all entrepreneurs are). I found that the majority of the successful people are an early morning person. I read schedules of people who finished half of their everyday activities before 10!
I desired to be one of this kind. Mainly because I was aiming to hire new employees.
I tried setting a number of alarms, setting the alarm on the phone kept far away from me, etc., I made myself emotionally ready and available.
I kept telling myself; I am going to wake up, do this, do that, plus much more. But in the early morning, when I was lying in my cozy bed, and the alarm goes on, and I couldn't figure out where all the motivation went.
I knew the advantages of waking up early. I knew how brain's melatonin production was at the summit in the nighttime; I knew I could do a great deal of work when I woke up.
However, all this thoughts and motivation used to hide somewhere in the daytime.
I did some more research and found a whole bunch of schedules, tricks which helped me to become a morning person.
Top 14 Things You Can Do in Order to Wake Up Early
1. Why?
Humans are similar to animals (trust me, that's a huge compliment), we work on a reward basis. When there is no benefit or reward, we won't be doing this. Sometimes the reward is cash, sometimes sex, sometimes luxury or comfort and the list goes on. You can not convince your mind to wake up early because it looks cool, or because most of the entrepreneurs take action. You'd need something more. As I said, I knew every one of the benefits, despite that, I couldn't wake myself up in the morning since I lacked in providing my mind with a proper reason.
Do this, before you go to bed. Ask yourself "what am I going to do if I wake up early?" , come up with a response which is worthy, and FYI, "Sleeping again" isn't on the list of those replies.
2. Go to bed earlier
If you try to wake up early and don't go to bed early, you'll become a zombie someday. Your body needs rest; thereby, it's crucial to get enough sleep to wake up early.
Figure out a bedtime. Your body requires an adequate quantity of sleep. Depending upon your age group, the amount of hours you need to sleep differs. Here’s an article from sleep foundation that discusses this in detail.
Make a bedtime ritual. I figure out what things I must do tomorrow, clean my room (cause I want to wake around a clean environment), then brush, write or read to sleep. I dim my lights two hours before. All this is done, to activate your mind that its time to sleep.
Avoid the blue screen. Keep away from anything which has a blue screen; this comprises your cellular phones, laptops, tablet computers, etc.. Keep away from tv as well. The blue light keeps your mind active and thereby delays your sleeping cycle. Here's an informative article on how blue light impacts your sleep by the scientificamerican.
Exercise. It's quite self-explanatory and straightforward. You do a workout, your body is tired, and you'll want to sleep. But don't do it an hour before bedtime.
3. Do not expect to do everything in 1 day
This was one of my greatest mistakes. I was attempting to Jump from sleeping at 6 in the morning to wake at 4 in one day. It sounds fantastic, but sadly, your body is not that great for new changes.
Thereby, a suitable method is doing it gradually throughout weeks, or maybe a month. Here's what you have to do. Sleep 15 minutes before your sleeping time, and wake up 15 minutes before. Do it for maybe 2-3 days, then rinse and repeat. If you wake up at 12 in the day, trying to wake up at four would fail horribly. Instead, do it slowly, first 11:45, then 11:30 etc.
Yes, I understand this seems slow. However, this works like a charm and contains long-term effects on your sleep cycle. Sudden changes of waking even an hour are striking and don't last long. If you manage to wake up 2 hours (to prove me wrong), you are going to feel sleepy throughout the day. That will make you feel miserable all day. Sleeping patterns are tricky and hard to change, thereby, slow and small changes work best. Besides, it regards exercises or eating customs.
4. Sleep
Although many pitfalls are psychological, doesn't mean all of them are. There is a compelling physical need as well. Your amount and quality of sleep are very crucial factors. It is quite obvious that you require a fantastic sleep or you'll become zombie all day. Pay attention, and keep track of your diet plan.
5. Never snooze
I hated my alert sound. To such an extent, that now I wake up at about 3:58 so that I will not have to listen to it ring. It is normal and psychological. If something causes you to leave something comfortable, you'll hate it. I really don't suggest doing this. It won't let you have enough REM sleep. If you continue snoozing the alarm, you're training your brain to ignore the alarm.
6. Stick to your wake time
When you make a wish to wake up at a particular time, ensure you do it every day. During the moment, my body has been conditioned to this. The exact same will happen to you; your body will get conditioned and so it would become your sleep patterns. You'll receive more REM sleep in case your sleeping pattern is constant. With a good pattern, your body begins the process of waking up even before alert sounds(much like what occurs to me).
7. Build momentum
The challenge is to wake up, true, but the second major challenge would be to remain up. It is dangerous for you to stay in your bed after waking. When I wake up, brush, wash my face and make myself a coffee(strong one). I then go to exercise(I'm lying, but you can do this).
I once had a tuition teacher(the best teacher I've ever had), he educated me concerning this momentum item. He used to call me to wake up. I gradually stopped sleeping after waking up early.
8. Adjust The Environment
Block every source of lighting, as small as it may be. Keep your gadgets away and do not use television, notebook or tablets before one hour of your sleeping period.
In case if you have to use them for some reason, use a yellow light filter, tons of software let you do this. Blue light from apparatus prevents the production of melatonin, the hormone that's responsible for your sleep patterns.
It is possible rather read a real book. Do not read self-help, politics or anything else similar. Read fiction or history.
9. Go Camping For A Week
A Research from science guide demonstrated your body could sync its sleeping cycle with sunrise and sunset if you're able to spend a week with no artificial light. You can go camping with your friends, leave your gadgets other than a smartphone in your home so that you don't have a blue screen device in the camp. Use the yellow light filter into your smartphone. Following next week, your system clock would be adjusted with nature, and you'll become an early riser.
10. Create A Wind-Down Routine
Your actions, prior to the bed work as a cause for sleeping. Therefore, consider keeping them consistent, like a regular, sort of.
You can do your dishes, take a cold shower, read novels, etc. before your bedtime. If you can do it for 21 days, your body will see that these activities mean its time to go to bed. I listen to the same playlist daily before sleeping. Which tells my brain, that the day is over now, and we can sleep now.
11. Trick Your Brain To Get Up
As I said, your initial result of the alarm is the snooze and return to sleep.
However, there is a solution to this.
It's known as the inverted snooze. What you do is as soon as your alarm goes off and you hit snooze, instead of sleeping, you have to get up. You have to tell your brain " it's just 15 minutes". You can do anything for that 15 minutes. But not to go back to sleep, neither on mattress nor the couch. You can do exercise, possibly brush your teeth, or even check youtube!
By the time it is 15 minutes, you'll be awake. This is known as Sleep inertia, and could be over by the time snooze sounds again.
12. Utilize Your Pet As An Alarm Clock
They're consistent, extremely intelligent when it comes to their meals. You Should set their feeding time early in the morning; they'll wake up so that it is possible to feed them. They will jump everywhere around you, or on the bed to awake you. They'll keep doing this until you wake up and give them some food. In the early hours, dogs need to go out and play, or, more important, poop.
Many of you may find this pretty and cute; rest might find it irritating, at the start, however, it is one of the most effective ways to start your day.
13. Don’t Allow Your Brain To Deceive You
Your brain is smart and controls you. If you're a night owl, then it is going to reject all efforts you make to wake up in the morning. Your brain will find ways to convince you to sleep. Don't fall for this! Stick to your schedule.
14. Resist The “5 More Minutes” Urge
You will always feel that you need 5-10 more minutes to sleep but it's a trap and you should not fall in. The best way to avoid this is to sleep early right?
If you sleep again, you'll enter a deeper sleep cycle, making it harder to wake up if your alarm goes up. The reason people keep hitting snooze, again and again, is because their heavy sleep cycle informs that moment went by very fast.
Make it a habit always to wake up when the first alarm rings and stick it.
So, when you woke up before your alarm time, give yourself a high five, and prepare yourself for the day.
Common Problems
I have talked with many people about this morning schedule. Additionally, I talked with a lot of people and once I mentioned this in my other blog too. Based on these conversations and questions, below are a few common issues.
1. I feel super tired.
You Should wake up early, for a few days, it will feel like you aren't able to work. It is okay. It is possible to use water, have a walk around your property, or drink coffee/green tea. Don't take a rest though. You may lose control and sleep. This won't allow you to sleep in the night time.
2. I am a night person.
It comes from people who either haven't attempted this at all or attempted it but hated being tired all time. This is the reason why I mentioned the gradual method. If you aren't a morning person, you'll feel your energy being emptied out if you create a dramatic change. However, there are some people that are better focusing throughout the nighttime, and it's alright. If you believe you are the night person, then it's ok.
What to Do When You Get Up
Don't check your emails once you wake up. You’re still dealing with sleep inertia. Do simpler things.
Drink 1-liter water: All the nighttime, you haven't had any water(unless you drink water while sleepwalking). Drink 1 liter to power your body and feel awake. This is also called Japanese Water therapy.
Exercise. Try jogging, do a home workout, or simply do yoga for 10 minutes.
Watch Youtube. I don't know if it is going to work for you or not.
Nonetheless, it is well worth giving a try.
Drink coffee or tea. Both of these can provide you with an instant powerup. I drink tea and it keeps, I woke up all the time.
AUTHOR BIO.
Hi there. My name is James. I am a seasoned writer, and blogger entering in my 8th year in this industry. I like to read and research new things in SEO and accept new challenges. I am also associated with a software company that provides Microsoft Dynamics 365 Services.
