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The morning hours of the day can make your day highly productive. And that isn’t because the morning people say so or because you want to become one, but because the research now backs the fact. According to research, a morning person is less likely to face stress and anxiety and is more productive at work. A study by Biologist Christoph Randler showed that morning people are more proactive, can better anticipate challenges, and minimize them.
Challenges to become a morning person
Have you been trying to wake up early, but your body and mind don’t support you? Even while it seems extremely important to wake up early, it can be a herculean task. Here are some reasons why you might be facing roadblocks to becoming a morning person.
Your Chronotype
Can we all become morning people? While it may seem like a lucrative offer, it may not be as easy for all of us. The answer to whether you are a night owl or a morning lark is in your DNA, instead of your ability to respond to the alarm. The circadian rhythm of 24.1 hours, which governs our sleep-wake cycle, determines whether you are inclined to be a night owl or a morning lark. The shorter circadian time makes you a morning person, while the longer circadian time makes you a night owl. Thankfully, a majority of us fall into the category of intermediaries, which makes us easy for us to transition to a morning person. In fact, according to Robert Carter, author of ‘The Morning Mind,’ less than 1% of the population is genetically programmed to be night owls.
Lack of an inspiring morning routine
Have you ever given a thought to why you want to become a morning person in the first place? How can those morning hours add to your day? If you have been trying to become a morning person but have failed, a lack of a transformational morning routine may be the roadblock. Building a morning routine that aligns with your goals and values is crucial for successfully transitioning into a morning person.
The hurdle of habit
How to become a morning person and transform your habit? While most people can manage to shift their waking-up patterns for a couple of days, the challenge lies in adopting a sustainable change. After a week-long routine of waking up early, most of us fall back to a more comfortable routine, which is catching up on sleep hours over weekends.
Medical conditions
A range of medical conditions can make it very challenging for you to have a restful sleep, thus making it challenging to wake up early morning, including heart disease, chronic back pain, and arthritis. Stress, anxiety, insomnia, or any sleep disorder can also impact your sleep and waking pattern.
Sleep paralysis can also be a prominent reason why it seems impossible to wake up early. Sleep paralysis is characterized by your inability to speak or move while you are in the transition of wakefulness or sleep. Accompanied by vivid and often scary hallucinations, sleep paralysis can cause immense stress making it challenging to have a restful sleep.
Sleep Inertia and Sleep Debt
If you are a night owl, you may be experiencing sleep inertia, which is a feeling of sleepiness and brain fog immediately after you wake up. The groggy feeling of sleep inertia makes it extremely challenging for you to focus on anything but sleep in the morning hours. On the other hand, if you haven’t been sleeping well over the last few days or weeks, you have been building on sleep debt. Sleep debt is your body’s way of responding to the restful sleep it requires to get back to normal functioning. So while you can push yourself and work for those additional night hours for a few days, you are likely to hit on debt to break the pattern.
How to become a morning person
1. Determine how many hours of sleep your body needs
As per the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, adults above the age of 18 require at least 7 or more hours of sleep. Yet, 7 isn’t a magical figure. Sleep hours required for you may vary based on your health, daily routine, history of sleep disorders, dietary intake, and more. So take in some extra hours if your body sends you an alarm. Take it easy with yourself. However, if you find yourself sleeping more than 10 hours, consult your health practitioner.
Becoming a morning person does not require you to cut down on your sleep. In fact, sleeping less can be highly counter-productive. What happens when you cut down on the minimum sleep requirement? You create a backlog of sleep which may not affect your health and performance. Now sleeping less than 7 hours for a day or two is still fine but can impact your performance if extended for a longer duration. As per a study, the participants who incurred a sleep debt of more than 15 hours had a huge impact on their physical and mental performance. Clearly, without proper sleep, you cannot be your best self.
Understand your requirement for sleep hours, and plan your bedtime routine accordingly.
2. Find that compelling push
Ever wondered why you want to wake up early? Now make your reason more interesting and compelling. Go beyond the reasons of ‘It is a good thing to do’ or ‘I need to get to the office on time.’ Instead, recalibrate your morning schedule and fit in things that you love doing. Schedule some me time by journaling your dreams, starting a new painting, dancing your way, or anything else that you otherwise struggle to find time for. A compelling reason for waking up early is a great reason to become a morning person.
3. Avoid multiple alarms
One of the common impacts of multiple alarms is multiple snooze. We have all tried numerous alarms in the morning and have found that more often than planned, the alarms fail.
But what is more concerning is that those strings of alarms do more harm than good. The sound of shrieky loud noise can jolt you off the bed and has the potential to impact your heart rate and blood pressure. Experience this for a long period of time, and you have increased your chances of diabetes and heart disease. Multiple snooze alarms also prolong your sleep inertia, the time required to get back to productivity. That means even if you wake up with that loud alarm, you will experience grogginess or disorientation, which can last from 30 min to a few hours. Additionally, multiple alarms also impact your quality of sleep. So while snoozing the alarm may look like catching up on some extra sleep, you are readily breaking your deep sleep patterns every time you pause the alarm, only to repeat the cycle.
How to become a morning person without the usual alarm pattern?
Try some of these methods:
- Try two alarms instead of multiple alarms. The first alarm is like a preparatory sound, while the second one is the final order call to get out of bed. Set different sounds for each of the two alarms so your brain registers the meaning of those sounds over time.
- Set a realistic target for waking up. If you are sleeping late at night, it is best to set your waking up time after 7-8 hours of sleep. A more regular bedtime routine will also help you.
- Wake up at your natural rhythm. While waking up on your own at the right time can be challenging in the beginning, it goes a long way in setting up a natural circadian rhythm, which is customized as per your needs.
- If alarms are imperative for you, try more calm alarm sounds, including the sound of birds chirping, flowing water, or some chant.
4. Build the habit
Don’t be selective in choosing to wake up early or stay back late over weekends. Building a habit and being consistent is your answer to how to become a morning person. In fact, imbibing a sustainable change doesn’t come so quickly. Breaking a habit and forming a new one can take anything between 18 to 254 days. The good news is, once you create the habit of waking up early and train your subconscious, you will not have to put any effort henceforth to wake up early. It will become your automated response every morning.
Try some of these tips to instill the habit:
- Don’t over-plan things, instead focus on taking action. The more times you are able to wake up early, the easier it gets.
- Make it more challenging to stay awake at night by removing all distractions from your bedroom. Turn off the internet, put your phone aside, and remove the television from your room.
- Take a pause to visualize the next day and the impact your morning routine will have on your life.
- If you want to include walking or jogging as part of your routine, consider joining your friend who is already doing that. If yoga is your thing, enroll for an online session.
- Don’t miss out on rewarding yourself when you are able to follow your sleep routine. Leverage the luxurious 30 min of your earned time in the morning and treat yourself to your favorite breakfast or stop at the coffee shop on your way to work.
5. Night routine
Building a consistent evening routine can help you unwind and prepare for quality sleep. Here are some tips for developing your routine
- Slow down your pace towards the night, have an early dinner, try aromatherapy, read a book, journal, or any other calming method that works for you.
- Shift your meetings from late evenings or night to early morning. Instead of going out, plan your hangouts at home or somewhere close by, so you can cut down on travel time.
- Consider adding a warm shower to your bedtime routine. A relaxing shower can help you ease out stress built through the day and support unwinding.
6. Heed the light – the blue light at night and natural light in the morning
Here is your answer to how to become a morning person – pay attention to the light you are being exposed to. Studies show that exposure to blue light lowers your body’s ability to release melatonin, the hormone response to make you sleepy. Simply put, exposure to blue light may be one of the reasons you don’t get quality sleep. So keep aside your smartphones and laptops, at least 2 hours before bedtime.
Interestingly, blue light can be used to our benefit when used at the correct time. Exposure to blue light can make you feel more awake and alert, so rather use it during the day and particularly more after you wake up. We don’t suggest you switch on your phones first thing in the morning. Instead, leverage the biggest source of blue light to your rescue- sun rays. Expose yourself to the morning sun to get over that grogginess.
Try some of these tips to manage your blue light exposure.
- Reduce the use of electronic devices, or reduce the brightness of the electronic device you use at night.
- Keep your window blinds open to let in some sunshine. It will indeed facilitate your wakefulness.
- If you have an urgent timeline that needs to be addressed at night, use a reading lamp with red or orange light.
- Spend some time outdoors, preferably the first 15 min to half an hour of your morning time to get exposed to natural light.
7. Monitor what you consume
High or even moderate intake of alcohol is one of the reasons you aren’t able to enjoy quality sleep. While alcohol can slow down your brain and make you a bit sleepy, you are more likely to wake up in the middle of the night. As per a study, two servings of alcohol for men per day and one serving of alcohol for women per day can decrease sleep quality by 24%.
Your sleep is also dependent on what you consume for dinner and when. The natural metabolism of your body is slower during the night, which means that you take longer to digest the food. Avoid high-fat or high-sugar food closer to your sleep schedule, and replace that with fruits or easy-to-digest, less spicy food. Similarly, consuming caffeine closer to bedtime will make it harder for you to fall asleep and reduce the amount of deep sleep.
8. Take it slow
Avoid making unrealistic sleep patterns. If you have been sleeping at 11 in the night for a long time, shifting it to 8 PM will be challenging. Give yourself a manageable push by moving your sleep time an hour before your usual bedtime and waking up an hour before your wake-up time. You can then make a gradual shift in your sleep time based on your requirements. Also, cut down on your afternoon naps to improve your sleep quality at night.
9. Incorporate exercise into your routine
Did you know that the reason you are not able to sleep may be related to less physical activity throughout the day? Any form of exercise or body movement can transform your sleep, make it deeper and reduce the time required to fall asleep. Experts suggest including 30 minutes of exercise can help improve sleep; however, avoid including rigorous exercise an hour or less before bedtime.
10. Don’t sleep with your head facing north
Studies show that aligning your body to the Earth’s magnetic field improves sleep quality. However, when you sleep facing north, your body’s magnetic field interferes with that of Earth, causing fluctuations in blood pressure and heart-related issues. You can also improve your sleep quality with your sleep position. According to Ayurveda, it is best to sleep on your left side to reduce pressure on the heart and improve digestion. What’s more? Sleeping on your left side can reduce snoring! For getting up, however, it is advised to roll to your right side and then get out of bed.
