There was a time when it seemed totally normal to stay up all hours of the night. But now that we’re past that phase of our lives, we must encourage ourselves to get the 7-8 hours of rest our bodies need to perform optimally. We need to transition from a night owl to a morning person. How? Check out these easy-to-follow tips and tricks!
Keep Your Bedtime and Wake Times Consistent
Consistency is key when making a new habit stick. So much so that if you set your alarm for the same time every day, your body will begin to naturally wake up before it goes off. As mentioned, the average adult needs approximately 7-8 hours of solid sleep a night to achieve maximum repair and rest. Just do the math, and you’ll know when you should be going to bed. If you’re starting this early-to-sleep, early-to-rise routine, you may need to get into bed even earlier to give your body ample time to adjust and fall asleep.
Let Less Light In at Night
The more fluorescent and blue lights you are exposed to at night, the more difficult it becomes to fall asleep. This is because these lights can suppress melatonin production, a hormone that regulates sleep. To reset your circadian rhythm, your body’s internal clock, dim your inside lights when it’s dark outside. While you’re at it, minimize blue light from all electronic devices. Phone and computer dimmers allow you to switch screen displays to different backlight colors to avoid messing with your melatonin suppression. If you’re still struggling to fall asleep at night, we suggest putting electronic devices away entirely. Read a book, play cards, color, or find another soothing activity to keep you occupied before bedtime.
Don’t Sleep In on Weekends
If you genuinely want to be a morning person – whether for work, exercise, or relaxation time – don’t just do it Monday through Friday. Do it every day of the week – even on weekends. Once you break your routine on Saturday and Sunday, it becomes much harder to get back on track come Monday.
Plan Something for the A.M. You Look Forward To
Plan something you enjoy in the morning to entice you out of bed. This could be a cup of your favorite coffee, a delicious omelet, a leisurely walk, or a relaxing yoga session. Don’t plan an activity that feels like torture. For example, if you don’t enjoy working out, try not to make it the first thing you do in the morning.
Set Up the Perfect Sleep Environment
Generally speaking, most sleepers do best in cool, dark, and quiet rooms. So get the temperature comfortable, turn off all the lights, and shut out the noise. If you have to, plug in a white noise machine to drown out unwanted noise. Your perfect sleep environment may need to be tweaked a few times before finalizing it.
Do you have any tips for transitioning from a night owl to a morning person? Share them with us in the comments below!