The media is flooded with stories of successful people who wake up early to get things done. Oprah Winfrey, Bob Ferguson, Serena Williams, and Apple CEO Tim Cook are all early risers.
While it’s unclear whether morning persons are more productive, waking up earlier may benefit your health.
This habit has been linked to lower stress levels, improved mental focus, and increased work performance. Not to mention that you’ll finally be able to find time for exercise, meditation, and meal prep.
If you’re wondering how to wake up early, be prepared to change your sleep schedule. You may also need to give up your afternoon coffee break and unplug from technology before bed. Here’s where to start.
Turn Yourself into a Morning Person
Waking up early doesn’t guarantee success, but it may improve your well-being while allowing you to get more done. Plus, you’ll have more time for yourself.
From your sleep environment to your evening routine, every detail matters.
If, say, you eat a heavy meal before bed, you may not be able to get enough shuteye. An old mattress or a pillow that hurts your neck may affect your sleep, too. These small things can make it difficult to wake up in the morning, leaving you feeling drained.
For starters, take these steps to gradually change your bedtime so you can wake up earlier and feel refreshed.
How to Wake Up Earlier
- Plan your day the night before: Take a few minutes every evening to plan the day ahead. Think about what you’re going to wear, prep your breakfast, and make a to-do list for the next day.
- Naps are okay, but keep them short: Long naps can disrupt your sleep at night and affect your internal clock. Limit napping to 20 minutes in the early afternoon.
- Start the day with a quick workout: Morning exercise energizes the mind and body. Set some time aside for yoga, jogging, stretching, or whatever activities you prefer.
- Tweak your morning routine: Small changes, such as switching to a programmable coffee maker and solving puzzles right after waking up, can give a fresh start to your day.
- Use light therapy: Light boxes and other similar devices mimic natural outdoor light, making it easier to wake up early even if it’s dark outside.
- Keep a consistent schedule: Try to wake up every morning at the same time. Weekend catch-up sleep can disrupt your internal clock and make it harder to rise early during the week.
Now let’s take a closer look at these strategies and how to fit them into your routine.
#1. Plan Your Day the Night Before
JuntoBot cofounder Devin Voorsanger told Fast Company that he plans his day the night before. You, too, can use this strategy to make your mornings more manageable and have some time for yourself before heading to work.
Use a note-taking app, such as Evernote or Google Keep, to plan things out. A notebook will work just as well. Write down your plans for the next day, including your job duties, house chores, errands, and so on.
This trick can take the stress out of your morning routine and even help you get a better night’s sleep. By planning things ahead, you may find it easier to relax at bedtime instead of worrying about your to-do list. Consequently, you may be able to wake up earlier without feeling drowsy.
Stress affects your sleep, said Dr. Kelly Baron in an interview for the University of Utah.
When you’re stressed, your body enters a state of hypervigilance. This affects your quality of sleep, which can further increase stress levels. If you plan your day the night before, you’ll be better prepared for the challenges ahead.
#2. Keep Your Naps Short
Many late-night sleepers take naps in the late afternoon or after work. This habit tends to be common among those who work from home, reports a 2020 survey conducted on 2,000 people.
As the Mayo Clinic notes, napping can lift your mood, reduce fatigue, and boost cognitive performance. It may also have beneficial effects on memory and mental health. The downside is that it may affect your ability to sleep at night.
Long or frequent naps during the day can lead to insomnia, according to the above source. To avoid these problems, limit napping to 10 to 20 minutes in the early afternoon.
Some studies suggest that drinking coffee before a short nap can increase energy levels and mental focus. If you do so, the caffeine will kick in by the time you wake up, leaving you feeling more alert.
While further research is needed, coffee naps appear to be more effective than coffee or naps alone.
All in all, napping isn’t inheritably bad. On the contrary, it can boost your energy and mental focus. Just make sure you keep your naps short and take them early in the day.
#3. Work Out Early in the Morning
A quick morning workout might be exactly what you need to boost your energy and mental focus. This habit can also lift your mood and enhance cognition, reports Entrepreneur.
Exercise increases the release of endorphins and other “feel-good” chemicals. Think about the so-called runner’s high, a mental state characterized by feelings of well-being. Yoga, Pilates, strength training, and other forms of exercise have similar effects.
Physical activity can reduce stress, decrease pain, and improve depression symptoms due to its ability to boost endorphin production. Even if you’re feeling tired in the morning, a quick workout can give you the energy needed to function optimally.
Morning exercise also stimulates blood flow to your brain, making it easier to stay focused. Moreover, it can help you sleep better at night.
Recent evidence shows that working out early in the day can shift your circadian rhythm, which in turn may help you become an early riser. In the long run, it may improve your memory, executive function, and alertness.
Note that you don’t have to spend hours working out to reap these benefits.
Start with 15 to 20 minutes of exercise in the morning and take it from there. Stretch your muscles and joints, do a few push-ups, or walk on the treadmill. Keep your workout varied and strive for consistency.
#4. Make Small Changes to Your Morning Routine
Image related to meal prep or showing a man/woman laying out their clothes for the next day
The simple thought of getting out of bed to make coffee, get dressed, and have breakfast can drain your energy before you even wake up. Again, proper planning is the key.
Use these tips to take the stress out of your morning routine:
- Switch to a programmable coffee maker. Set it on a timer so you can have your coffee ready when you wake up.
- Use Puzzle Alarm Clock, AlarmMon, AMDroid, or other alarm apps that require you to solve puzzles or complete challenges to turn them off.
- Put your alarm clock away from the bed or in the hallway so you have to get up to stop the ringing.
- Make breakfast in the evening to save time when you wake up.
- Lay out your clothes the night before.
These small changes can free up your time and make it easier to wake up early. You’ll finally be able to relax in the morning instead of rushing through the motions.
#5. Use Light Therapy
If you still can’t figure out how to wake up early, there’s one more thing you could try. We’re talking about light therapy devices, which mimic natural outdoor light.
Sunrise simulators, or wake-up lights, are available as alarm clocks, light therapy boxes, lamps, or smart bulbs.
These devices emit light that increases in intensity over 30 to 90 minutes. The light may also change in color to simulate sunrise and sunset. Some gadgets have built-in alarm clocks, multiple sounds, and sleep trackers.
The National Institute of Mental Health suggests that light therapy may help with the seasonal affective disorder (SAD). This form of treatment may also improve depression symptoms in people with SAD.
While not all light therapy lamps have this effect, they can make it easier to wake up early. Clinical research indicates that bright-light therapy may benefit those with circadian rhythm disturbances.
However, many of the devices on the market are different from those used in clinical settings and have nothing to do with natural light. But even so, they may help you wake up naturally by creating sunrise simulations.
The Mayo Clinic recommends choosing a 10,000-lux light box or lamp that generates as little UV light as possible. Place it about 16 to 24″ from your face and use it for 20 to 30 minutes when waking up in the morning.
Another option is to leave your blinds slightly open the night before. This way, your room will be filled with natural light in the morning —assuming that you wake up at sunrise, not earlier.
#6. Keep a Consistent Schedule
If you manage to become an early riser, try to keep the same schedule on weekends.
While you may be tempted to sleep until late in your free time, this habit can disrupt your circadian rhythm. In the long run, it may cause social jet lag and put you at risk for diabetes and heart disease.
To avoid these issues, simply go to bed earlier on Fridays and Saturdays. This way, you’ll be able to wake up early and still feel fresh.
If you go to bed late, try to wake up at the same time as you normally do. Take a power nap in the early afternoon to get the energy needed for the day ahead.
How to Wake Up Early If You’re a Night Owl
Night owls often find it difficult to stay focused in the first part of the day.
Even if they manage to wake up early, they lack the mental energy required for work, decision making, and other cognitive tasks. That’s why some prefer to go jogging, exercise, or do house chores in the morning and early afternoon.
If that sounds like you, it’s time to make some changes to your daily routine.
Indeed CEO Chris Hyams, for instance, told Fast Company that he raised a family through the majority of his career. For this reason, he had to do house chores first thing in the morning. Even today, he doesn’t check his emails before arriving at work.
Hyams recommends waking up early so that you have more time for yourself. He also emphasizes the importance of planning your wake-up strategy.
The Strategy
- Week One: wake up 15-20 mins earlier than usual
- Week Two: wake up 30-40 mins earlier than usual
- Week Three: wake up 1 hour earlier than usual
If you take these steps, you should start to feel tired earlier in the evening, which in turn, may help you fall asleep faster at night.
For example, if you need to be at work at 9 AM, try to wake up around 6:30 or 7 AM.
Spend those hours doing something you enjoy, such as yoga. Or you could simply make breakfast and take your time to enjoy it before heading to work.
What Time Should You Go to Bed?
Health experts recommend seven to nine hours of sleep per night for adults. Teenagers, on the other hand, need eight to 10 hours of sleep during a 24-hour period.
If, say, you’re in your 30s and want to wake up around 7 AM, then you should probably go to bed between 10 PM and 12 AM. But these numbers are not set in stone. The best time to go to bed and wake up depends on your circadian rhythm, or sleep-wake cycle.
Sleep consists of several cycles that alternate between non–rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
As Dr. Matt Walker told Time, these cycles tend to be consistent throughout the night, regardless of your bedtime. However, the amount of NREM sleep versus REM sleep tends to decrease as the night progresses.
If you go to bed late, you may not get enough NREM sleep, which may lead to brain fog, tiredness, and fatigue.
Some studies even suggest that shift workers are at higher risk for cognitive impairment, obesity, and heart attacks, reports Times. The same goes for those who sleep too little.
Dr. Walker recommends going to bed between 8 PM and 12 AM to get proper rest. The problem is that some people are genetically inclined to stay up late, Dr. Allison Siebern told Time magazine. If that’s your case, you should go to bed when you feel most sleepy.
Make Gradual Changes to Your Daily Routine
As you see, it’s possible to turn yourself into a morning person —even if you’re a night owl. Don’t expect it to be easy, though. It may take you weeks to adjust to your new routine and tick all the boxes on your to-do list.
Start by making small changes to your daily routine. Exercise for 15 minutes in the morning, have a light dinner, and go to bed 30 minutes earlier than usual.
Plan your day the night ahead to reduce morning stress.
Do you have any other tips on how to wake up early? What’s keeping you from becoming a morning person? Go ahead and share your experience below.
FAQ
If you want to force yourself to wake up early try making it the only option. Eliminate alarm clocks with the “snooze” feature. Or even more annoying, consider an alarm clock that rolls around the room until you press stop. As soon as you’re up take a shower or immediately go outside. Do something that wakes up your body and acts as a signal that it’s time to start the day.
For many sleepers, it is difficult to wake up early because they either did not get enough sleep or simply because it is out of the routine. Sleep schedules act as the building blocks of our sleep habits. If you want to consistently get up early, try practicing this habit, even on the weekends.
Sunlight is one the most effective ways to naturally wake your body up on its own. If the sun isn’t up at 5 am where you live, consider buying a sunrise alarm clock. These clocks illuminate a glowing light that simulates sunlight, skipping the harsh sounds of a traditional beeping alarm.
Citations
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- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, April 1). Circadian rhythms and circadian clock. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/emres/longhourstraining/clock.html.
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- Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2016, March 16). Seasonal affective disorder treatment: Choosing a light therapy box. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/seasonal-affective-disorder/in-depth/seasonal-affective-disorder-treatment/art-20048298.
- Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2020, November 13). How to get a great nap. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/napping/art-20048319.
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