Take Home Points:
- Many tricks exist for becoming a morning person.
- Being a morning person is possible, but you still need enough sleep!
From sleep walking to sleep deprivation, I’ve tried it all. As a child, I was overactive which was present not only at day, but also at night. I would sleep walk every night, typically waking up in the recliner at our house, but sometimes even in our car!
My senior year in college I began manipulating my sleep to
optimize productivity, who doesn’t want 100% productivity with minimal sleep? At the time, I was graduating from Purdue, swimming collegiately, starting a business, and socializing with the best of them. The only problem is sleep got in the way of all this fun. It was at this time I started waking up earlier and earlier. These times of sleep deprivation forced me to research everything about waking up early.
With all this research and personal trails, I have tried it all, as minimal as 3-hours of sleep at night. Through all these sleep trials, I have found a few keys to becoming a morning person. Follow these tips to make boot camp in Santa Clara, exercise class, swim practice, physical therapy in San Jose, early Bay Area traffic, hyper children, or running laps around the park more bearable!
No LED Screens
Make sure at least 30 minutes before going to bed you put down the electronics, turn off the TV, close the laptop, and perform something relaxing. Whether this is preparing meals for the next day, stretching, or reading, stay away from the LED screens as they excite the pineal gland which regulates arousal. On a side note, take the TV out of the bedroom, trust me, and if you don’t understand why, you can always e-mail me for more explanation.
Cold Shower
Cold showers may sound horrible, but they serve two outstanding functions. First, they will increase the amount of brown adipose tissue (BAT) which is great at fat burning. Second, it will release melatonin an important hormone in circadian rhythm. Try one 30-60 minutes before bed.
Celery and Almond Butter
Many people wake up hungry and angry. A simple, healthy solution is to have almond butter and celery stick to curb the appetite and stabilize blood sugars throughout the night. This is shown to increase cell repair and prevent fatigue.
Dark Room
Once in bed, give yourself all the tools necessary to sleep. Too often will people toss and turn for hours instead of doing the intended function in bed…sleep. Make your room dark as possible, with the most comfortable level of pillows and covers to leave your body cool, but comfortable for a good night’s rest (I suggest 67-70 degree temperature for optimal body temperature).
Zeo Light
Every night I sleep with a Zeo alarm clock and headband.
This fancy device, records my sleep waves and wakes me up within 30 minutes of my desired wake-up time during peak brain levels to maximize arousal. Since using this product for the past year, I can honestly say waking up in the right sleep phase is essential for being a morning person.
Far Alarm
This is slightly cruel, but set your alarm away from your bed. Forcing yourself to get up to turn off the clock will prevent slapping the snooze button and get your butt off the bed.
Light Cues
Many of us have to wake up prior to the sun. This is unnatural and is one reason we are constantly fatigued. Our ancestors used light cues to spark arousal and luckily this is possible with GoLights. These lights are typically for people with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), but are a simple tool to give you a kick in the morning.
Don’t Drink…too much
Everyone likes to have a drink from time to time, but drinking more than two glasses of wine within four hours of going to bed decreases deep sleep. Deep sleep is an essential component for a healthy night’s rest, don’t drink it away!
Reward Yourself
Lastly, give yourself something to look forward to in the morning. Whether it is gourmet coffee, bullet proof coffee, favorite podcast, heavy ropes, or eggs, find something to look forward to in the morning and do it! This reward will be greatly beneficial during the tough days, which everyone has!
How to Become a Morning Person Wrap-up
Although becoming a morning person is feasible, it is more crucial to get enough sleep. The average adult needs 7 – 9 hours of sleep and frankly, not enough people get this range. Make sure you allow yourself to get enough sleep for optimal function and health!
John