How To Become A Morning Person You’ve probably heard it since you were little: “The early bird catches the worm.” “Good for the worm”, you might think. “I’m hitting snooze.” Most of us would love to be morning people. We’ve heard about the benefits of waking up early time and time again. But it’s easier said than done, and good intentions alone don’t go very far. You need actionable, can-do strategies to make lasting change.
Here are some battle-tested tips you can use to go from annoyed to animated every morning: Put a big glass of water on your nightstand. If you drink 16-32 ounces of water as soon as you wake up, you’ll fire up your metabolism and feel energized. You’ll also be hydrating yourself and giving your brain some fuel to get moving.
Plan out the “hard” things the night before. If you drink a morning smoothie, have everything pre-cut and ready to go in a Ziploc bag. If you want to exercise in the morning, have your workout clothes ready - or even sleep in them. When you prepare in advance, getting up doesn’t feel like as much work.
Have your first activity be something you love. It’s a lot easier to get out of bed when you have something to look forward to. Create a great playlist, save a podcast you want to listen to for your morning walk, or schedule an exercise class with a friend.
Go to bed earlier. This isn’t new, but consider the time you spend watching TV or surfing the web. If you can cut that out in service to making lifestyle changes that make you feel a lot better, your quality of life may exponentially increase. It’s worth testing, right?
Commit to waking up early for 21 days. Commit to waking up, even through the discomfort, an hour earlier every day for 21 days. Whenever you don’t feel like doing it, remind yourself that it’s only for 21 days. Many people say it takes 21 days to create a habit, so this is a great way to “trick” yourself into making lasting change.
Become accountable with a friend who also wants to wake up earlier. Set a time for both of you to wake up. Text each other to show you’ve done it. Accountability is a very powerful motivator.
Get perspective. The amazing Hal Elrod, in his Miracle Morning book, says, “When the alarm clock goes off in the morning, it's life's first gift to you. But it's also life's first challenge or test. You say you want an extraordinary life, but the message we send to the universe is ‘Well, no, no, no. I don’t want it as bad as I want to lay here unconscious for another nine or ten minutes.’ Then the alarm goes off again, and it’s like, ‘Yeah…I could wake up and become a better version of myself but I'm too lazy. I just want to lay, I don't have the discipline.’” Remind yourself of this when you’d rather lay in bed - it’s powerful.
Visualize yourself waking up early the next morning. Feel how it feels, what you see, and how you move throughout your day. Visualization is extremely powerful and will prep your mind for what’s to come. Studies have shown that sports players who visualize making winning shots have found it nearly as effective as actually practicing.
Visualize yourself waking up early the next morning. Feel how it feels, what you see, and how you move throughout your day. Visualization is extremely powerful and will prep your mind for what’s to come. Studies have shown that sports players who visualize making winning shots have found it nearly as effective as actually practicing.
Remind yourself what the benefits will be. When your alarm goes off and you’d rather keep sleeping, remind yourself that you’re about to get some “me” time, that you’re going to be becoming healthier, or that you’ll be enjoying some endorphins. You can also feel proud of yourself for committing to something and sticking with it.
Take melatonin. If you have a hard time falling asleep, you might consider trying melatonin. It’s available at most mainstream drugstores or health stores, and is a natural, non-addicting hormone that helps you get to sleep.
Take deep breaths before you go to bed. If you’re going to bed with stress and anxiety on your mind, it’ll be a lot tougher to fall asleep and/or have high quality sleep. Take several deep breaths before you go to bed to help calm down your nervous system.
If all else fails, start slowly. If you’ve tried other things and you just can’t wake up 30-60 minutes earlier, try doing it gradually. Set your alarm clock 15 minutes earlier than you normally get up for a few days, then 30 minutes, then 45, and then 60. It might make it easier if your sleep routine isn’t that different.
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