Face it, you hate waking up. You love your bed.
It’s time to change that, though. Here are 11 ways to make the morning your friend just as much as your comfy covers.
1. Listen to your favorite song as your alarm clock.
Wake up to a pleasing sound (even if your favorite song is BANANAS, but I hope not) and your day will start off on the right foot for sure. No more annoying beeps and buzzes that make you loath the morning. Use a program like Karen’s alarm clock for PC or Aurora for Mac that take a song from anywhere on your computer or from a CD.
2. Have something to look forward to.
Either the night before, or earlier, come up with something you can look forward to the next day. No matter how simple it is, from a smile to pay day (for me, my beautiful girlfriend), make sure there’s something that makes you happy every day.
3. Lay your clothes out the night before.
What you decided to wear in the morning is like making the decision of how high your expectations are for the day. Don’t do it when you’re tired and groggy, do it the night before. Lay out clothes that will make you happy during the day or give you a confidence boost. After all, you spend 12 hours a day in your clothes. Wouldn’t it feel nice to have them compliment you all day long?
4. Go to bed earlier the night before.
Waking up, rolling over and turning off the alarm clock feels so nice when you’re tired. So get to bed earlier! When you wake up feeling refreshed you’ll be happier and ready to seize the day.
5. Have a happy visual in plain site when you wake up.
Whatever your favorite thing is, have it there when you wake up. A picture of your dog, your dream car, rain in the evening, your significant other, or anything that makes you smile. You can change this every once in awhile to wake up to something that makes you happy every day.
6. Drink lots of water.
A healthy body makes a happy mind. Drinking plenty of water makes sure you’re well hydrated and fluids are running well in your body. If you feel good when you wake up you’ll be happier. Plus, if you’re one of the many that find it difficult to get out of bed, drinking a glass of water before bed makes sure you want to get up.
7. Don’t eat before bed.
Even if you have the late night munchies, try to leave snacks alone. Your body isn’t doing any work as you sleep so the fat will just get stored and make you feel worse the next day. Instead, eat lighter and earlier and you will feel more energetic and happier in the morning.
8. Clear your mind before you go to bed.
Stop thinking about the worries of the day. Turn off the television. Unplug. Relax. It feels so much better when you can just lay in bed and sleep without worry. Let the world pass you by for the night and you can wake up feeling renewed.
9. Don’t stress.
Plan out your morning the night before so you won’t get stuck in traffic or rushing out the door with your shirt untucked and a powerbar half eaten. Make sure you know what you have to do the next morning so that it goes by easily and simply. You will be much happier when you can relax and go through your morning at your own pace.
10. Don’t drink a lot of caffeine.
I used to drink a huge energy drink or two every morning and then another one during the day because I hate coffee but needed the energy. I wouldn’t be able to function without it. Or so I thought. Slowly I weened myself of the constant need of caffeine and started replacing it with water. I realized that my body was already starting to positively react to the water after only a week of cutting down to one energy drink a day. Now I drink only one or two a week when I absolutely need to and feel a thousand times better. When I wake up I can stay awake and still feel great even after I’ve broken the addiction. So I encourage you to do the same, whether it’s energy drinks, coffee, or tea, the caffeine can be helpful, but don’t rely on it.
11. Let the sunlight in.
Sunlight gives you energy and invigorates you for the day. If you wake up to a dark room you’re more likely to want to sleep more. So, open your window at night so that when you wake up to sunlight you can hop out of bed with a smile on your face.
Now go own the world.-Ravi Vora
Be the first to know how to own the world: Subscribe via e-mail or RSS feed.
Umm, I like the idea of waking up with sunlight, but I have to wake up at 6 every morning, and it’s almost winter. There’s no sunlight to let in. :P
The conventional wisdom now is that it doesn’t matter at what time of day calories are consumed. Weight gain has to do with eating more calories than you burn–not when you eat those calories.
I have an alarm clock with a light. About half an hour before the set wake-up time, the light comes on but only dimly. For the next half hour the light gradually brightens. At the set time, the light is fully illuminated and an audible alarm is activated.
Using this alarm clock, I tend to wake gradually instead of being suddenly awakened by a startling alarm. It is as if my body can sense the dim light and awakes slowly as the light brightens.
I cannot honestly say that this means I am always at my best when I awake but at least am am prepared mentally in the morning.
I have had a quick scour of the web and this is a link to the type of alarm clock similar to the one I use;
Soleil Sunrise Alarm Clock
I use an artificial sunlight alarm clock. The light gradually brightens from about 1/2 hour before the alarm goes off.
Gabe - I know how you feel, I wake up at 6 every morning and am getting ready for the winter. My drive into work gives me the sunlight I need and makes me realize how beautiful the world is. Even the reflections off other cars that are cutting me off are pretty in the morning.
isansu - Very true. However, when you sleep you’re not burning calories and your body has shut down most of your digestive system so that when you sleep you can heal.
Douglas Woods - Great idea, I’ve seen many unusual alarm clocks but that one seems less annoying and more enjoyable.
Actually, your body burns calories at all times. yes, that even means when you are sleeping.
Not eating at night is desired because your metabolism slows down at night, hence fewer calories are burned.
I assumed every school boy, and many school masters knew this fact.
Jeeze
Thanks for the tip about the sunlight - I know it helps during the day, but hadn’t thought of it as a way to wake up.
Another one of my favorites is to wake up to the sound of my 9 month old son squealing in joy. Nothing starts a day off right like the contagion of somebody else’s joy!
My tip for myself would be to get to bed on time. I usually have so much homework, I get to bed at really unreasonable hours.
simply good and practical tips.
Great list. I specially like number 8, leave today’s problems behind, at least for the night, and take care of them tomorrow… after a good night sleep, yesterdays problems might not be a problem anymore.
thanks for the very helpful and insightful tips! most appreciated
Although waking up to your favorite song every day is nice for a while, I recommend changing it up every once in a while.
Every time I hear the song I used as my alarm I kind of cringe and I get a sick feeling in my stomach from all those mornings I had to get up at 5am.
Kind if a Pavlovian response.
Just mix it up.
A good routine I have found is to wake up to music but that doesn’t wake me up so I also have an alarm clock. I also keep a water bottle on my night stand and drink it when I wake up then for 5 minutes or so I stretch on my bed with my music on and after that I’m not as tempted to go back to sleep. Although I still have my cell phone away from my bed and I set the alarm on that so I do get out of bed when I’m done stretching. Then instead of immediately getting ready I just sit down and watch the news for 15-20 minutes and after all that I am very ready to start my day. Another hint is to open the window so you can wake up to some fresh air and possibly sunlight if you don’t have to get up too early.