4 Ways to Wake Up Early - wikiHow

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How to Wake Up Early

Four Methods:

Retraining Yourself

Sleeping Better

Waking Easier

Lifestyle Changes

For some of us, waking up early means falling out of bed, wandering around
like a zombie until that third cup of coee, and then taking a mid-morning nap
just to feel semi-okay. Not anymore! To eectively wake up early, you'll have to
reset your sleep schedule, develop eective waking-up-early habits, and
become more of a morning person than you currently are.

Method 1 of 4: Retraining Yourself

Pick your goal wake-up time. If you'd like to get good at being ready and raring to
go by 6 AM, great! There's your goal. This will be the goal you're working toward

every day of the week. You're going to do it gradually, though, as to avoid shocking your
system.
That's right, every day of the week, including weekends. Until you're completely
reprogrammed, there won't be any sleeping in whatsoever. But once you get it
down, you won't need to!

Set your alarm clock 15 minutes earlier than normal. If you're normally sleeping
till 9, going cold turkey and aiming for 6:30 just isn't going to happen. Well, it could

happen once, but then you spend the entire day drinking coee and regretting your life
decisions. For the next day, set it for 8:45. The next day? 8:30. And even when you hit
that glorious Saturday, chuck o 15 minutes until you hit your goal wake-up time.
If mornings are a serious issue for you, stay at one level for two days. Monday
and Tuesday can be spent at 8:00 and then on Wednesday bring it down to
7:45.

Give yourself enough time for a good night's rest. If you're used to sleeping
from 12 to 9, you can't still go to bed at midnight and expect that 6 AM wake-up call

to be all trumpets and roses. As you get up earlier and earlier, go to bed earlier and
earlier. The goal isn't to need less sleep (sleep, after all, is wonderful), the goal is just to
wake up earlier easier. Science tells us that if you get the recommended amount of
sleep during the night, it's easier to do just that.[1]
You can also try conditioning your body to need less sleep if passing on those
night hours is like giving up your rst born child. It's the same idea, but with
maintaining a set bedtime.

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Get excited. In order to hop out of bed in the morning with gusto, you may need
something to hop out of bed for. So nd something to get excited about! If nothing

comes to mind, use this experiment as something to do full-force. After all, the path to
new, more productive habits is certainly something to be proud of.
What do you have going on in the next day that you can't wait to get up for? Its
size does not indicate its ecacy -- small things work just as well. Even getting
excited for the morning's cup of joe works! Yum. Can you almost taste it?

Get ready for the benets. Waking up early is linked to a bunch of dierent,
positive things. Research says that early risers get better grades, are generally

more proactive, can anticipate problems and plan better than their late-rising
counterparts.[2] Hope you can handle your own impending awesomeness.
It's sort of a chicken before the egg thing. Early risers have more time for
exercise, family, and more quiet time at the oce (and an easier commute).[2] Is
sleep making their lives better or do they sleep better because they have good
lives? Try it out for yourself!

Mentally prepare yourself to wake up early. Run through your morning routine in
your head so that you have a game plan for the early hours. If you have a plan, you

won't need to think about it--just move.

If you need to be out the door and on your way at a certain time, think about
how much time you'll need for each step of your morning routine. Consider
what, if anything, you can cut out of your routine to streamline the process: do
you need that shower, or that cup of coee?
As you lay in bed, drifting o to sleep, tell yourself: "I need to wake up early
tomorrow. I need to wake up at 5 a.m., make a pot of coee, shower, shave, and
be out the door by 5:45. It'll take me twenty minutes to drive to the airport, ten
more minutes to get set up in the long-term parking lot, and another fteen
minutes to walk to the security check. I can grab a quick breakfast in the
terminal before my ight leaves."

Method 2 of 4: Sleeping Better

Start a nighttime routine. Our bodies need to program down, in a sense. The
rush of the day has us into human-sized Energizer bunnies and we can't just go

from 60 to 0 in a heartbeat. Your routine should be whatever appeals to you, but it

should be daily (to serve as a cue to your body) and take at least 15 minutes.
The routine can consist of showering, drinking warm milk, listening to classical
music, or doing relaxing exercises such as yoga or Pilates. If you read, make
sure to read without any bright lights (more on that later). Designate your
bedroom for sleeping only. Refrain from any strenuous activities right before, as
this will inhibit comfortable sleep time.

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Dim the lights about an hour before you go to sleep. Bright lights can suppress
the hormone melatonin, which can lead to sleeplessness and suppress the "tired"

feeling.[3][4] Try to turn o TV screens, laptop monitors and the like an hour before you
want to go to sleep.
The science behind it is that all these bright lights are messing with our body's
internal clocks. When you're sitting in front of a computer, TV, and phone until 2
AM, your body has zero ideas as to what's going on; it could be 2 AM or 2 PM
for all it knows. Turning o the lights lets your body realize, "Ahh, it's bedtime.
Shutting down!"

Get a decent amount of shut-eye. It's a simple truth, but that doesn't mean it's
any less important: sleeping enough will help you wake up earlier. What are yours?
It's easier to wake up early if you've have the recommended amount of sleep
during the night. Plan on getting:
7 to 9 hours of sleep for men.[5]
8 to 9 hours of sleep for women.[5]
9 to 10 hours of sleep for pregnant women.[5]
10 to 12 hours of sleep for children and the elderly.[5]

Sleep with the curtains half-open. Sleeping with the curtains half-open could
help your body to stop producing melatonin while simultaneously ramping up

production of adrenaline.[6] This could help your body be ready to embrace the day by
the time your alarm clock goes o.
You know how we just said light keeps you awake? Well, if you're asleep it
awakens you. Crazy stu, huh? The natural sunlight will be perceived by your
body, even when you're asleep.
Sunlight can also warm your bed, letting the temperature tell you to get up, too.
If that's possible, consider placing your bed in the right position in your room to
utilize this eect.

Try to fall back asleep if you wake up at night. Remain in bed to avoid
awakening your body should you move around. However, if you're tossing and

turning for over 20 minutes, get up. Do a relaxing activity (like reading or stretching) until
you feel you can go back.
Getting up in the middle of the night could be the symptom of a larger problem.
Evaluate your habits and your environment. If you're doing everything right
(you'll know by the end of this page), consider seeing a doctor. You may have a
sleep condition that he/she can help with.

Adjust the temperature. Most doctors will tell you to keep the room somewhere
between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit (18 to 22C).[7] However, what's

comfortable for one person may not be comfortable for another. If you have any trouble
sleeping, consider messing with the temperature. You may nd your sleeping woes to

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vanish at the click of a button.

If you're not sleeping alone, utilize layers or the lack thereof. Try to nd a
common ground where you're both negotiating. Worst comes to worst, there's
always heating blankets!

Method 3 of 4: Waking Easier

Put your alarm clock away from your bed. When it's out of reach, you're forced
to get out of bed. Putting it next to your bed is just a temptation to hit the snooze

button and fall back to sleep -- for 9 minutes. Not helpful at all.
Consider getting a new one. There are tons of alarms with dierent tones.
Maybe yours isn't working for you, in which case, consider a new one. [8]
Be considerate of roommates and housemates. If you're sleeping in the same
room as someone, tell them your plan to wake up early, and ask their
permission to set an alarm. This way, they can prepare for the alarm--with
earplugs, or opting to sleep somewhere else for the night--and they won't be
startled awake in the morning.

Avoid snoozing your alarm clock. As soon as the alarm rings, get out of bed to
start your morning. You will eventually awaken and feel better that you've

persevered through morning drowsiness. Jump out of bed (as much as is feasible) and
think about tackling your inevitably awesome day.
Snoozing won't make you feel more rested. Scientists have found that you don't
get the more restful, REM sleep while snoozing, making this guilty pleasure
especially wasteful for your wakefulness. In fact, you'll just feel worse.[9]

Wake up your senses. Once you've gotten out of bed, give yourself that
much-deserved pick-me-up. It could be a cup of coee or tea (that brewing smell

will be sure to get you going), a cold glass of water, or a nice shower. Whatever it is,
make sure it awakens one (or more) of your senses. When your body and mind are
stimulated, you'll automatically wake up to take it in.
Light and sound work, too, in addition to taste, smell, and touch. Throw open
the curtains, turn on some music, and get your day o on the right foot. The
better the morning, the better the afternoon and evening!

Try to wake up at the end of a sleep cycle to minimize grogginess.

When you sleep, you cycle between REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep and
non-REM sleep. Non-REM sleep comprises three stages: N1 (Transition to
sleep), N2 (Light sleep), and N3 (Deep sleep). You usually slip into REM sleep
70 to 90 minutes after falling asleep, and this is when most of your dreams
occur.[10]

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Each sleep cycle lasts roughly 90 minutes, and repeats four to six times over
the course of a night. If you are awoken in the midst of N3 deep sleep, you may
feel groggy and disoriented. You want to wake during the lighter, more active
stages of sleep, especially REM or N1.
Try setting a wake-up time that's a multiple of 90 minutes away from the current
time.
Consider using a sleep-cycle calculator like [1] to plan out the best time to
wake.

Method 4 of 4: Lifestyle Changes

Exercise early enough in the day. Many doctors believe that getting in a
moderately-intense cardiovascular workout during the afternoon helps people get

to sleep at a reasonable time.[11] So go to the gym, join a basketball team, or bust out
the dusty treadmill you've been telling yourself you'd use. It'll help you get to sleep
earlier.
Try not to exercise later on at night. Exercising late at night raises your body's
core temperature. Since sleep is thought to be brought on by a drop in the
body's temperature, late-night exercise may be detrimental to an early night's
sleep.

Avoid drinking caeinated drinks at night. It will keep your body awake and
ultimately cause insomnia. Limit your daily consumption to less than 500 mg per

day.[12]
A grande brewed coee from Starbucks has 330 mg of caeine. [13] Red Bull
clocks in at a decent 80.[14] Just for the record.

Get more sleep on days after you under-sleep. People need more sleep the
next day when they fail to get enough sleep the previous day(s).[15] So if you got

only 5 or 6 hours of sleep on Monday (which you shouldn't, usually), be diligent about
getting 10 to 11 hours of sleep on Tuesday to compensate for your deprivation.
Otherwise, you could be feeding a vicious cycle of sleepiness every morning.
Don't nap for long periods of time during the day to make up for it, however. The
closer it gets to actual bedtime, the more devastating a nap can be. If you need
to take a nap, try to make it before 3:00 PM, and limit it to under 45 minutes.[4]
That'll provide the most rest while still giving you a good chance of falling asleep
quickly later at night.

Avoid eating large meals before bedtime. Not only does the rush of avor wake
you up, but once you do hit the sack, you may have a hard time staying there. Not

only is it bad for your waistline, but it's bad for the next day's energy, too.[16]

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Your digestion slows down when you sleep and eating a big meal beforehand
makes you susceptible to heartburn (in addition to the trips to the bathroom).
Going to bed in a near food coma makes it dicult to initially fall asleep, too. So
it's best to just avoid it.

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Tips
If you are drowsy in the morning, take a cool shower. This will raise
your blood pressure and considerably awaken your body.
Before bed, tell yourself that you are going to wake up early. This often
helps and you might nd yourself waking up earlier then usual.
Read a book! Not a boring one, but your favorite. Your brain will
automatically undergo shut-down once it gets tired from all the reading.
This is will help you sleep faster.
Keep a consistent sleep schedule. Fall asleep and wake up at the
same time every day.
Do physical exercises that stimulate your body. Push-ups, jumping
jacks, and lunges are great for ridding morning fatigue.
If you're having trouble waking up in the morning, splash your face with
cold water, or before you go to bed, put 2 spoons in the freezer and in
the morning when you wake up, hold them on your eyes for about 1
minute. This really helps to open up your eyes and wake you up.
If you use a phone or electronic device as an alarm clock, make it a
strange, catchy, jazzy tune that wakes you up. Also be sure to change
up the alarm often so that your body does not learn to sleep through it
or begrudge waking up to it.
When you wake up, go straight to the bathroom and wash your eyes
and face with cold water. The abrupt chill of the water will help reduce
grogginess a bit faster and bring your nerves and senses to life.
Try nding the amount of sleep that is right for you. Some people only
need seven hours of sleep and feel energized in the morning. Find a
week or weekend that you can go to sleep at dierent times and wake
up at the same time. See how energized you are when you wake up.

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Try Morning Matches for a lift when you are rst trying to become more
of a morning person. The supplement helps you physically get out of
bed. You can purchase them on Amazon.
Show 13 more tips

Warnings
No matter how big the temptation is, don't go back to that bed for
anything.

Sources and Citations

1. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6116a2.htm
2. 2.02.1http://www.forbes.com/pictures/lmj45hjhj/more-family-time/
3. http://www.lisajohnsontness.com/dim-your-lights-for-a-better-nightssleep/
4. 4.04.1http://blogs.wsj.com/atwork/2013/01/23/give-it-a-rest-tips-forimproving-sleep/
5. 5.05.15.25.3http://www.lisajohnsontness.com/dim-your-lights-for-abetter-nights-sleep/
6. http://www.rd.com/health/wellness/24-ways-to-brightenyour-morning/
7. http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/cant-sleep-adjustthe-temperature
8. http://www.boredpanda.com/20-annoyingly-creative-alarm-clocks/
9. http://www.citynews.ca/2008/07/03/why-you-shouldnt-hit-yoursnooze-alarm/
10. http://www.helpguide.org/articles/sleep/how-much-sleep-do-youneed.htm
11. http://health.howstuworks.com/mental-health/sleep/basics/how-tofall-asleep1.htm
12. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caeine/NU00600
13. http://www.energyend.com/the-complete-guide-to-starbuckscaeine
14. http://www.energyend.com/caeine-content/red-bull
15. http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/sleep-requirements
16. http://ask.metalter.com/63763/Why-is-eating-right-before-bed-badfor-you

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