It is a weekday morning and you can’t stop hitting snooze on your alarm. Before you know it you’ve overslept, and find yourself dressing as you’re running out the door. If only there were ways to make getting out of bed in the morning easier, you might be thinking at that exact moment.
If there were a way you were able to get up peacefully and on time in the morning, perhaps you wouldn’t constantly be rushing to work every morning like this. Why does it always have to feel so difficult?
Many of us have been in that exact position — especially those of us who love to sleep. For me there’s almost nothing better in the whole world than being able to spend a morning without the ting of an alarm clock, where I can sleep until whenever I’d like. However, like most, until I’m an elderly retired lady I’ll be required to wake up early most days of the week.
It feels like agony, but it doesn’t have to be. There are some tricks I’ve rounded up that are helpful in making that getting out of bed process a whole lot easier. By implementing these habits into our lives, we can quickly find we are getting up with ease in the morning, and have as much energy as possible when doing so. Dare I say it… perhaps we will all even become morning people. Here are eight ways to make getting out of bed in the morning much easier.
1. Plan Ahead
I don’t know about you, but if I don’t have an exact purpose for waking up early, I’ll hit snooze on my alarm over and over and over again. For that very reason, I try to devise a mini-morning plan for myself — especially during the week — so I know exactly why I need to get going. Michelle Segar, PhD, a healthy living expert and motivation scientist at the University of Michigan spoke to Everyday Health and said to stick to waking up on time you should consider clearly outlining what your motivation is for doing so. Of course, if your motivation is to get up and get directly to work, you don’t really need much more than that. However, if you want to wake up earlier to get to enjoy some meditation and yoga, or to cook a nice breakfast to enjoy it with your S.O., outline this plan in your head before you go to sleep the night before. To give the plan added oomph, Segar suggested telling someone about it, whether that be your partner or a roommate, and this will help you feel accountable to it.
2. Get In The Habit Of Never Hitting “Snooze”
Not hitting the snooze — it might seem impossible, but if you break the habit you’ll be really thankful you did. WebMD suggested one way to make getting up in the morning a lot easier is to skip the snooze button. The outlet added the sleep you get in between hitting snooze doesn’t end up being sound anyway, so it’s not as if you’re missing out on great sleep in those last few moments. Try to set your alarm for as late you as you can based on when you’d like to be up and moving, and then you won’t be tempted to go back to sleep, WebMD added.
3. Keep Water Next To Your Bed
Did you know drinking a glass of water right away when you open your eyes will wake you right up in the morning? It’s true, according to POPSUGAR, who said this is a great way to get yourself up and out of bed in ease. If you think you’ll be extra drained, they suggested trying something with caffeine instead.
- Add A Little Motivation To Your Bedroom
Your bedroom décor can actually play a part in how successful you are in getting out of bed in the morning, according to The Muse. The outlet suggested decorating in a way that allows your eyes to immediately see something motivational as soon as they open. Those gorgeous slogan signs you see on Etsy? Grab yourself one of those, and hang it on the wall next to where you sleep. These positive messages can encourage you to jump up and get moving, The Muse said.
5. Wake Up To Sunlight
Not only will the décor on the walls play into your ability to get up, The Muse also noted the role of natural sunlight in assisting you in the morning as well. According to the outlet, waking up to sunlight streaming in will cause your body to stop releasing melatonin — the sleep hormone. This means the sun is literally waking you up. To achieve this, ditch the heavy curtains (or save the act of drawing them for your Sunday morning sleep-in), and instead keep your windows uncovered or draped simply with thin, white curtains.
- Take A Whiff Of Citrus
Taking a smell of citrus — like an orange or a lemon — can give you a mega kick-start in the morning, according to StyleCaster.com. Why? The outlet noted it is effective in raising your alertness level as well as your energy level. If you feel you’ll end up wasting the actual fruit by using this method, StyleCaster.com suggested buying a bottle of citrus essential oil and inhaling that as soon as you wake up. Your brain will begin stimulating ASAP, and you’ll be energized before you know it.
7. Start The Day With Your Favorite Playlist
This is a method I personally use, and it works wonder for me. Since I never want to get out of bed, on the mornings I know I need to be up and motoring quickly, I’ll get up with my alarm and then immediately put on my go-to music playlist. While I love me some mellow tunes, for this “Wake Up Now” playlist I keep it to rowdy tunes only. Just like that I’m up and getting ready while dancing around — an activity I really love. Huffington Post said by doing something enjoyable first thing in the morning, you’ll give yourself some immediate energy. Like we discussed earlier, too, if you plan on doing something fun like this in the morning in advance, you’ll be even more apt to get up and going.
8. Go To Bed Earlier
I’ll end of this super-obvious one, but it’s the most foolproof of all. I’m a night owl for sure, so I have a difficult time going to sleep early, but it certainly helps with a lot of the pain and suffering of getting out of bed the next morning if I cave and do so. To adjust our bodies to getting into that early-morning routine, we need to slowly train it, and part of that is getting to bed at a reasonable time. Entrepreneur spoke to Julie Morgenstern, time management expert and author of Never Check Email in the Morning, who said, “Getting up earlier requires a fundamental shift in your neuro-pathways. While the change makes total sense to you the day before, actually doing it the next morning is hard work and requires you to break a lot of patterns.” So, do the math on what time you need to get to sleep the night before, and try your best to stick to it. Your morning self will be very grateful you did.
Getting up and out of bed in the morning does not have to be a dreaded process. By incorporating some of these easy tips you can start to quickly notice you have way more energy in the morning, and can start to realize that moving your body out of your bed isn’t so terrible, after all.
