We’re all familiar with the feeling of being woken up by our alarm and not being sure if it’s the morning or if it’s still the middle of the night 😒.
I don’t know about you, but I find waking up any earlier than 7:00am so hard. Waking up at 5am is a huge struggle.
I can wake up super tired and groggy even if I’ve gotten eight hours of sleep.
Thankfully there are a few things we can do to make waking up early a lot easier and to even not feel tired when waking up early!
Why we should wake up early
It can be very tempting to just hit the snooze button and roll over, however, it’s important to take advantage of the mornings. Waking up early has loads of benefits.
One of the less spoken of benefits is how waking up early can reduce stress.
Waking up early lets us to get ahead of the day. It gives us time time to eat breakfast, get organized, get something ticked off our to-do list and not have to rush to work or school.
I find that this really helps to lower my stress levels, I don’t feel like I’m falling behind the minute I wake up!!
The mornings are also the best time to think and work without distractions. We can use this time to focus on ourselves by journaling, practicing yoga, meditating or doing other self-care practices.
Since most people are more productive earlier in the day it can also be the perfect time to work on a side hustle or passion project.
How to wake up and actually get up at 5am without feeling tired
1. Stick to a routine
Its really important to go to sleep and wake up around the same time every day, yes even at the weekend!
When it comes to sleep our bodies thrive on routine. By going to sleep at the same time every night we can train our bodies, ultimately making it easier for us to wake up early and not feel tired.
Having a morning and evening routine is also very beneficial. Having a relaxing night routine helps to calm our minds and set us up for a good night’s sleep.
A morning routine on the other hand can be a great way to motivate yourself to get out of bed. It gives us a reason to get up and start the day but removes the need to make decisions of what we are going to do.
2. Drink water before bed
A sure-fire way of getting yourself out of bed at 5am in the morning is to drink a glass of water before you go to sleep. By the time morning comes around you’ll wake yourself up to use the bathroom.
A word of caution however, don’t drink too much water or you’ll just wake up in the middle of the night 🙈!
3. Go to sleep extra early
Not the most fun tip, I know, but really it does help. Making sure you get enough good quality sleep will make waking up early easier, your body will be working with you rather than against you and you won’t feel tired.
4. Optimize your morning alarm
Most of us have tried putting our alarm across the other side of the room so we have to get up out of bed to turn it off.
I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS.
I have tried this technique multiple times and all it has succeeded in doing is make me hate winter mornings even more.
An alternative is to use an alarm clock that tracks your sleep cycle and wakes you up when you are a light sleep stage. This will help you to feel more alert and energetic when you wake up making early mornings easier.
Even better than this is using a wake-up light alarm.
These alarms are especially useful in winter when it is still dark outside in the mornings. They help to reduce melatonin, the sleep hormone, in your body waking you up more naturally and less abruptly than a typical alarm.
Philips SmartSleep Alarm
The Philips SmartSleep alarm wakes you up naturally and allows you to personalize your sleep and wake-up experience.
It has been clinically proven to improve your mood and energy in the morning so you don’t feel as tired!
5. Have something to look forward to
Having something to look forward to, be it coffee, a nice breakfast, listening to a podcast or reading your favorite blog, will make waking up at 5am much more enjoyable.
I reserve reading to the mornings meaning that I’m excited to wake up and read if I’m in the middle of a good book.
6. Make your mornings cosy
Another reason we find it so difficult to get up early, besides the darkness, is the cold. When the house is cold it is so much harder to get out of a warm bed.
You can overcome this by making your mornings as cozy as possible.
This could mean jumping straight into a hot shower when you wake up, setting a timer so the heating comes on before you need to get up or laying out a thick dressing gown and slippers to put on as soon as you get up.
7. Turn on the lights
As I mentioned above the sleep hormone, melatonin, is released in response to darkness.
By turning on the lights in your bedroom as soon as you wake up, even if you do it from your bed, will begin to reduce the melatonin levels in your body helping you to wake up.
I guarantee you’ll feel less tired early in the morning if you turn on lots of lights!
8. Have coffee
A combination of caffeine, warmth and a strong smell can really make waking up at 5am less difficult.
If like me you’re not a coffee drinker, having breakfast tea or matcha is a good alternative, these still contain a bit of caffeine so you’ll feel less tired.
9. Know why you’re getting up early
The last tip is to have a reason for getting up early.
Your reason might be to be able to get some work done so you can spend more time with your family, to workout, to learn something new or maybe to just have some ‘me’ time.
Having a clearly reason will help waking up early much easier. I suggest writing down your reason on a piece of paper just before you go to bed.
This will help you to remember and stay focused on your ‘why’ when your alarm goes off at 5am in the morning.
Why it’s more difficult to wake up early in winter
There is actually a simple scientific explanation for why we find it more difficult to wake up early in winter.
In their article ‘Melatonin and Sleep’ SleepFoundation.org explains that Melatonin, the sleep hormone, is released in our bodies in response to darkness. When it begins to get dark outside we become less alert and find it easier to fall asleep.
Light on the other hand causes our bodies to stop melatonin secretion. In winter when we are not exposed to early morning light our melatonin levels stay raised and we find it more difficult to wake up.
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