The transition from university to full-time work is hard enough to deal with without being forced to completely change your sleeping pattern.
You might already be an early riser, and therefore suited to the usual 9-5 working hours. But for those who consider themselves ‘night owls’, the change can be extremely difficult.
If the latter is true, and you still struggle with mornings after trying all these strategies, it might be worth looking into flexible working that allows you to work on your terms.
The point to take from this article is that no one size fits all; some strategies may work for you, and not for others. So if you’re desperate to breathe life and energy into your mornings, read on for tips on which aspects you could consider changing.
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Learn to stop snoozing
Every time you snooze, you restart a new sleep cycle, which then gets interrupted every 9 minutes until you finally get up. And guess what? You’re at your most rested when your first alarm goes off – the more you snooze, the worse you end up feeling. Starting the day with a feeling of resistance isn’t exactly a precursor to a good day.
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Drink a WHOLE glass of water when you wake up
How much water do you think you drink in your sleep? None? Correct. So, logic (and science) infers that drinking a lovely big glass of H2O as soon as your alarm goes off helps to wake your body up by re-hydrating it, which in turn, makes you feel so much more alert.
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Actually eat a proper breakfast
It’s a highly disputed topic as to whether breakfast’s importance is overstated. There’s not enough evidence to prove either side right.
Common sense suggests that it’s your first meal for over eight hours. Breakfast is supposed to fuel you for the day, as opposed to dinner which fuels you for the evening. Others argue that they lack appetite first thing in the morning, or they’ve always skipped breakfast, and they’re “fine”.
But what if you could feel better than just “fine”? If you want to try to do breakfast right, aim for a slow-release bowl of something like porridge or muesli. If you have a little more time, make sure you eat as much protein in your breakfast as you can (think: eggs, kippers, beans etc.).
Protein contains amino acids which help your brain perform at its best, and means you release the energy you gain from food at a slower rate.
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Get some daylight ASAP
Open your curtains as soon as you wake up, or better yet, actually go outside and get some sunlight. Even if you can’t face parting with your bed just yet, compromise with a quick dash to the curtains, then return to your bed to bask in the morning glow.
The influx of daylight tells your body that is time to be awake. Humans are hard-wired to follow an internal sleeping pattern, and daylight helps us to achieve this by reducing the ‘sleepy’ hormone, melatonin.
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Exercise really gets you going in the morning
Exercising in the morning is one of the easiest ways to wake up, it’s just harder to motivate yourself to do. To increase to the chance you’ll actually exercise, try laying out your workout clothes next to your bed the night before.
Also, opting for an AM routine can help you sleep better at night. If you don’t have time for a full body workout, just 20 star jumps will help buckets to invigorate your body.
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Meditation
If meditation is more your cup of tea, try 10 minutes a day. Meditation can be a very rewarding way to start your morning. Try Headspace’s 10 day free trial for a taster.
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Go to bed earlier (obviously)
It’s probably the most important point in this article, and the most obvious too, but you need to sleep 7-9 hours to feel your best in the mornings.
Don’t force yourself to stay up late just because you can, and don’t watch one more episode every night; no matter how good the show is, it will be there tomorrow.
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Put your alarm clock in a different room
If you struggle to get out of bed after your alarm goes off, you could try placing an additional alarm in a different room that goes off a few minutes after your main one.
This is especially effective if you live with others who would be disturbed by the noise should it go off – it forces you to get out of bed, which will hopefully wake up your body enough that you can’t drift off again.
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