Become A Morning Person

It seems that to some people waking up early in the morning comes naturally. They never seem to hit the snooze button and always seem to have that extra pep in their step, even before their first cup of coffee. How can you have this too? How can you be a morning person, and naturally at that.

With so many benefits to being an early riser, there are many night owls wishing they were early birds too. And if you’re one of them, this article is for you. We are going to share with you our top tips on how you can become a morning person. Along with some added information on circadian typologies to explain why some people are early riser naturally, while others have to work at it a bit more to create new sleeping habits.

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1 – Dedicate Yourself To The Process

Changing your sleep schedule takes dedication, there is no arguing that. When you are used to waking up and going to sleep at a certain time, it is going to be difficult to start waking up earlier.

It will be your determination that is going to help you push through those first sleepy mornings before your body begins to adjust to the change.

If you can achieve this first step of becoming dedicated to being an early riser, then nothing can stop you. Seriously, this is the first and most important step.

Your daily schedule can change how you sleep at night, learn more in our post: How A Daily Schedule Equates To Better Sleep

2 – Set Your Desired Wake Time

We suggest diving right into the process and not try and drag it out into a slow transition. Instead, choose the time of day you want to start waking up at and set your alarm.

For some this may be a difference of a few hours, while others may already have an alarm set each morning that they then snooze through a few more hours of sleep.

If you are a chronic snoozer, our next tip is going to be critical for you in order to become a morning person. However, in order to break the cycle, we suggest attempting to get up 15 minutes before your current desired wakeup time. Then, get out of bed at the first alarm and don’t hit snooze. Which brings us to becoming a morning person tip #3.

3 – Get Up With Your First Alarm

You are always welcome to have back up alarm bells in case you accidentally fell back asleep. We understand those back up alarms can save you from unfortunate situations like being terribly late to work. However, do not rely on those back up alarms. If you want to be a morning person, a great habit to get into is to get out of bed right after you turn off your first alarm.

It will be a struggle at the beginning, especially if you are a chronic snooze button pusher. But we promise as time goes by, you will create a new habit. Eventually you will find that you are waking up around the time of your alarm and you will get out of bed without even thinking about it. This whole process is about breaking old habits and mindfully choosing new habits.

Find the latest and greatest alarm clocks and more in our post: How To Design Your Smart Bedroom

4 – Do NOT Get Back In Bed

Do whatever you need to do, whether it is making your bed the second you get out of it. Or leaving the room entirely. Or taking a shower first thing, whatever you need to do to avoid the temptation of climbing back into bed to grab a few more ZZZs or just to “relax” for a moment.

It is far too easy to fall back asleep once you get back into bed. This step is honestly just saving you from yourself and the sirens call of a cozy bed early in the morning. Just say no, and stay out of bed once you have gotten out of it. Don’t worry, those cozy covers will be there waiting for you at the end of the day.

Struggle with scrolling on your phone all morning? Break the habit! Learn how in our post: Best Way To Start Your Day

5 – Avoid Taking Naps

If you currently take a nap every single day, then you are living your best life and you can continue to do so. This is because it is what your body is used to and you can still make the switch to becoming a morning person rather easily. However, for the rest of us who normally only take a nap on the weekends or if we are feeling ill, then try to avoid taking a nap while you are transitioning to your new sleep schedule.

You want to be able to change your sleep schedule in such a way that your body is forced to adjust your circadian rhythm. This way you wake up more naturally in the morning and fall asleep at an appropriate time at night.

The main risk of taking a nap during this transition is that you will oversleep and confuse your circadian rhythm even more. Which can lead to waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to fall back asleep. Leading to confusing your sleep patterns and a lot of difficulty with staying on a set sleep schedule.

You may also enjoy: The Art Of Napping: The Long & Short Of Naps

6 – Get Moving In The Morning

One way to start feeling more awake and alert in the mornings is to get moving. Go on a walk, go to the gym before work, maybe do some yoga. Engage in some kind of activity that gets your body moving, stretching, and gets your heartrate up for at least 15 to 30 minutes.

By getting your body moving and your heartrate up, you are waking up your body. This also helps to release hormones and endorphins that are incredibly helpful with making you feel awake and alert. You will feel more awake than just having a cup of coffee that is for sure.

There are so many benefits to morning workouts! Check it out in our post: Exercise and Sleep: Is Exercise Good For Sleep?

7 – Turn On Your Lights

When our eyes see light, it sends signals to our brains that it is the sun rising. Which in turn, kicks on our circadian rhythm and sends out hormones to wake up our bodies and minds in order to start the day.

Which is why we suggest turning on the lights whenever you get up for the day. Even if the light is dim at first, like turning on a lamp before you switch on the overhead lights. You can gradually increase the light from there. It is all about working with your bodies built in systems in order to make waking up early easier.

8 – Get An Accountability Buddy

It is much easier to stay on track with any task when you have accountability buddies. It can be more fun to share your success with someone as well. If you do not have anyone in particular that wants to join in with your journey and try to become a morning person also. There are other ways to have others keep you accountable with your new goal.

Start telling everyone you come in contact with about your new plan to become a morning person. Tell your coworkers, your friends, your family. It is not very exciting to talk about however, this means people with check in with you occasionally to ask how your journey with becoming a morning person is going.

9 – Make Your Morning Enjoyable

Waking up early doesn’t need to be a dreaded task. One of the major benefits to being a morning person is that you get some extra time to yourself each day. One way to make it easier to wake up in the morning is by having a little something to look forward to.

Whether it is blissfully enjoying a cup of coffee while you journal, or if you take an extra long shower. Whatever you like to do make sure to add in a bit of selfcare and enjoyment into your morning routine. This will make waking up about more than simply getting ready for work or school. Instead you will have a bit of time to yourself before starting your day.

Create a relaxing morning routine, find out how in our post: Stress Free Morning Routine

10 – Stick With It

Do not be disheartened when you slip up and sleep in. Even if you have a hard week and for the entire week you sleep in, all is not lost. No matter how much time goes by you can always begin again.

Bear in mind that every time you start over, it will become easier to begin again. You will find little habits that work well for you personally. This will make it more and more easy to stay on track with waking up early.

Types of Sleepers – Chronotypes:

Your Circadian Typology goes beyond the idea of “early birds” and “night owls”. In this line of thought there are actually 5 different typologies to circadian rhythms. They use different types of animals to categorize them. The four different Chronotypes are called the Bear, Wolf, Lion, and Dolphin.

The “early bird” out of the group is the Lion. They tend to rise early and have their peak productivity in the earlier hours of the day. While the “night owls” tend to relate more to the sleep and energy patterns of the Wolf. The Dolphin has more of an irregular sleep pattern that varies often. While the Bear is the most common chronotype, they tend to rise mid-morning and experience afternoon slumps.

This being said, anyone can change their sleep patterns no matter what their natural bent is. So, whether you are a night owl, dolphin, or lions and tigers and bears. (Oh my!) You can become a morning person. It is all about being consistent with your sleep schedule. When you do so, you can actually change how your circadian rhythm works.

Want to learn more about Chronotypes and find out what your Circadian Typology is?! Click the link to find out! Chronotypes: Your Circadian Typology

How To Become A Morning Person – The Takeaway:

We mentioned this briefly throughout the article but it is worth mentioning again. When it comes to the process of becoming a morning person. It is all about breaking old habits, while mindfully choosing new ones. The process will be most difficult at the beginning when you are trying to break the old habits and set new ones.

However, if you are consistent and dedicated to the process, then soon the new habits will take root and you will find yourself waking up in the morning like it is second nature to you. We hope these tips help you to change your behaviors and give you the life you have been wanting to live.

Are you a morning person? Tell us what works best for you! We would love to add your insight. Simply contact us with how you’ve turned into a morning person and we would love to add you personal journey to this article!