Can’t Wake Yourself Up In The Morning? Try These 13 Things
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Growing up you may have hated having your parent wake you up for school with incessant pleading, yelling, and maybe just a bit of gentle force. However, you can’t deny that it was effective. If you’re the type of person who would ask for “five more minutes” every morning growing up, you might find it difficult to wake yourself up as an adult. If that’s the case, these tips may help you roll out of bed quicker and more easily.
Consider Your Alarm
Your alarm is like your technological parent easing you out of bed, except you can customize it to your needs. You may want a gentle start to your morning with birds chirping and the sun rising. Or, you may have discovered that only a blaring horn can wake you from your slumber.
Either way, if you’re reading this, the typical alarm clock probably isn’t working for you. Here are a few specialty alarm clocks made to wake you up in a pleasant and effective fashion:
Use an App
Sleep Cycle is an app designed to track your pattern of sleep and wake you up at an optimal time. It tracks when you fall asleep, when you wake up throughout the night, how your circadian rhythm looks, and when you should wake up. You set a 30-minute window for when you want to wake up, and the alarm will sound when you’re in your lightest sleep. Rather than sluggishly waking from deep sleep, the app gentle wakes you when you’re nearly conscious already. The app is free to get and a premium, paid subscription is available, but not necessary for the alarm feature.
Try A Sunrise Alarm
If you want a gentle start to your morning, consider getting a sunrise alarm. This type of alarm is especially great in the winter when natural light is slim. The alarm wakes you up by casting an orange, sunlit glow across your room. You can also select calming noises to accompany it, such as birds chirping. Hatch makes a great sunrise alarm, but Amazon has plenty of more affordable options available as well.
Sunrise Alarm Clock
Hatch
…Or Chase Your Alarm Clock
If absolutely nothing can get you out of bed, consider getting a moving alarm clock. Clocky will loudly sound off and begin its journey across your room. It will move in unexpected ways, forcing you to get up, chase it, and get your blood pumping for the day. If you don’t want to invest in a moving alarm, you can also plug your phone in someplace away from your bed so you have to get up to turn it off.
Alarm Clock on Wheels
Clocky
Other Helpful Tips
Even with an effective alarm, you may find yourself guiltily slinking back into bed after it sounds. Or, you might be content with the alarm you have and are looking for other ways to rouse yourself from the lulls of sleep. Either way, these tips will help you to not only get out of bed, but have better morning once you wake.
Plan a Morning Treat
Have something you look forward to waking up for each morning. This can be the promise of coffee, reading a book, or watching a TV show. Find something that you love and that can motivate you to get out of bed to start the day. Think of whatever this is right as your alarm sounds and soon you’ll be getting out of bed to retrieve your morning treat!
Have a Morning Routine
A key to waking up in the morning is eliminating thought. Once you turn your alarm off, you may not know what to do next. You know you have to start work in an hour, but you work from home so you decide to sleep for thirty more minutes. After all, all going to work entails is throwing on an appropriate shirt and rolling to your computer. When you don’t have a morning routine that’s essential in order for you to start your day on the right foot, you’ll come up with all sorts of excuses to press snooze. Create a routine that makes you happy and helps you have a great morning. You’ll want to stick to this routine and soon enough you’ll be waking up to get a head start on it.
Make Your Bed
Make your bed shortly after you get up. Once you’ve put in the effort to make it, you’ll be less tempted to destroy it for some extra ZZZ’s. You’ll also start your morning with a great accomplishment. Making your bed indicates that the day has started, and you won’t be tucking yourself under the covers until tonight.
Have a Night Routine
Waking up in the morning starts the night before. In order to feel well rested on eight hours of sleep, you have to get to bed on time. Set up a night routine that helps you wind down thirty minutes to an hour before your bedtime. This can include your oral hygiene routine, skincare, yoga, reading, or any other activities that help you relax and reset for the night.
Having a nightly routine can also help you to better plan when you go to bed. Since you know you’ll need time to get your routine in, it may encourage you to head to the bedroom sooner than you would’ve on other days. Falling asleep at an appropriate time and getting the necessary hours in bed can help you feel recharged in the morning, rather than sluggish and reaching for that snooze button.
Get Moving
Getting a bit of exercise in the morning can jump start your energy levels. If you’re the type of person who can fall back to sleep right away—even if you wake up—getting your day started with movement may be the answer. Wake up and make exercise the first thing you do: change into workout clothes right away, get ready, and head outside for a walk or to the gym. You don’t have to do a full workout, but a bit of movement will do well to wake you up when you’re at your most tired state.
Get a Pet
Okay maybe “to wake me up in the morning” isn’t the best reason for getting a pet, but you can’t deny that a furry creature licking your face or pawing your nose at the crack of dawn isn’t a sure-fire way to get up.
Drink Water
Have a glass of water or a water bottle by your bed for when you wake up. Start your day by chugging a whole glass. Even if you’re tired, the act of drinking water and hydrating yourself will get your system moving since this signals to your body and mind that it’s time to get down to business and up out of bed.
Take a Shower
The common school of thought is to start your day with a cold shower. This method is effective in getting the blood pumping and shocking you into being awake. However, the majority of people might agree that waking up on time isn’t worth the icy blast of water first thing in the morning. It’s okay if you can’t stomach a cold shower. Especially in winter, the ideal is just not realistic.
However, drenching yourself in water does have a way of waking you up. Pick your preferred temperature and step into the shower for a second or two. You can also splash your face with water if you’re a night shower person and unwilling to change (I feel you).
Listen to Music
Have one of your favorite up-beat song as your wakeup alarm. Music can get your brain firing and your body moving. Have a mini dance party to wake you up right away. If you’re not into music, you can always throw on a podcast or audiobook that gets you thinking. Anything to wake your mind up from the deep slumber it was just in!
Don’t Look at Your Phone
It’s tempting to scroll on your phone for the first hour after your alarm wakes you up. However, the point of getting yourself up early is to have that hour for productive or relaxing activities that add to your life. Having an alarm that isn’t on your phone can help you avoid scrolling first thing. Try to keep your phone out of reach for the first hour your wake up, and your mental health will greatly thank you.
Don’t Let Yourself Down
As an adult, you can only count on yourself to get you up on time. Use these tips to get your morning rolling, and soon you’ll become the morning person you never could’ve imagined you’d be.
Or, if all else fails, move back home with your parents and ask them to be your alarm clock once again!