How To Wake Up Earlier in the Mornings

Whilst many like the idea of getting up early and having a full and relaxing morning, for the chronic pressers of the snooze button, making the most out of the early hours in the day may feel like a far-away fantasy. 

However, it doesn’t have to be! For those who struggle to wake up early but want to make the most out of their mornings, there are a few tips and tricks can help you to achieve this.

Why Can’t I Wake Up Early?

One of the first steps to take in breaking out of the lie-in routine is to figure out why you struggle to wake up in the mornings. Loving sleep and hating mornings aren’t the only factors that can make it difficult to wake up early, there are a whole host of different issues that may be contributing to this.

It could be that you’re not getting enough sleep in the first place, which is causing you to lie in as much as possible to catch up on the sleep you need. If you go to sleep quite late during the night, it might be worth considering an earlier bedtime to help you get the sleep you need earlier in the night, and meaning you might find it easier to wake up early the next day.

Other reasons you might be struggling to wake up earlier in the mornings include:

• Medication – certain types of medication can affect your sleep quality, including certain muscle relaxants and beta blockers.

• Mental illness – stress, anxiety and depression have all been linked with disrupting healthy levels of sleep, impacting your ability to drift off as well as how tired you feel throughout the day.

• Parasomnia – a type of sleep disorder that causes sufferers to behave abnormally during sleep, e.g. talking and moving around. It can also make it difficult for sufferers to have restful sleeps.

• Circadian rhythm sleep disorders – when the rhythm that helps you to regulate when to sleep and when to be awake comes off-course. This can lead to a poor quality of sleep at night, and subsequent drowsiness during the day.

If struggles with your sleep are a regular issue, it’s important to seek the advice of a healthcare professional, who will be able to advise you on the best course of action to take.

Tips to Help You Wake Up Early  

Whilst any underlying health conditions that may be causing your difficulties with sleep will need medical attention, there are a few general tips and tricks that can help you to wake up earlier and enjoy your mornings, including the following:

• Stop hitting snooze.

• Exercise regularly.

• Get enough daylight.

Whilst it might be tempting to give yourself five more minutes in bed, an effective way to get up earlier in the mornings is to stop hitting snooze. Research has shown that sleep fragmentation, something that occurs when you fall back asleep after hitting the snooze button, actually increases sleepiness during the daytime, as well as grogginess, and can further decrease your performance throughout the day. 

If hitting snooze has become part of your daily waking routine, a good first step would be to stop this. Putting your alarm away from your bed so you have to physically get up to switch it off can help you wake up properly when your alarm first goes off.

Exercising regularly has also been proven to help promote healthier sleep, however, it’s important not to exercise just before bed, as this might make it more difficult to drift off at night. It might help exercising regularly in the morning to help better your quality of sleep at night, and subsequently make you feel less tired during the start of the day.

Daylight is known to help in regulating your circadian rhythms. By opening your curtains/blinds first thing in the morning, this can help to make you feel more awake, boosting both your energy levels and mood, and ultimately making it easier to get up from bed. 

In addition to these tips, it might also help to improve your sleeping environment with such sleep-enhancing products as a weighted blanket, which provides proprioceptive input to help reduce restlessness, promote a sense of calm and relaxation, and ultimately help you to drift off at night.

By optimising your bedtime routine in this way, you can help to promote your sleep quality and quantity, making you feel less tired in the mornings, and thereby making it easier to get up early.

Sources:

https://www.healthline.com/health/cant-wake-up#solutions 

https://www.healthline.com/health/parasomnia

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sleep-and-tiredness/10-tips-to-beat-insomnia/

https://www.sleep.org/articles/what-are-some-circadian-rhythm-sleep-disorders/