I have never been a morning person. In high school, I would repeatedly wait until the last minute to drive to school. It got so bad my brother refused to ride with me and started taking the bus instead!
Now, at 31, gone are the days of sleeping in. Sleeping in now means 7 a.m. I would be remiss if I did not mention that having a child has played an integral in the formation of my current sleeping habits. I have often wondered if morning people were born that way or if their habits formed over time.
How to Become a Morning Person
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Now, I won’t claim to be the expert morning person, but do I think I have made great strides in this area over the past few years. Here are a few things that help me:
Being an Early Riser
• Plan Your Day the Night Before: If not your day, at least plan your morning. On work days I find it incredibly helpful to organize my to do list the night before, move any unnecessary tasks off my calendar and have a plan for what I’m going to do first when I get to my desk. The times I do not do this planning, I find, often lead to chaotic mornings where I flit from task to task and accomplish little.
• Go to Bed on Time: Everyone requires differing amounts of sleep. I do believe I’ve always been in the eight to 10-hour crowd. But I’ve met many people that can comfortably function on six hours of sleep. Figure out what your requirement is and then plan your bedtime accordingly. I know if I stay up too late and sacrifice sleep I am dragging the next morning. Also, drinking Sleepytime tea helps!
• Exercise: While we are on the topic of rest, I have also found I rest best, and my mind wanders the least, when I have exercised that day. For some, evening exercise can make them feel too awake. Whether it’s running, yoga or at home workout DVDs, it’s important to find what works for you. Julie wrote about her morning routine which includes a morning workout.
• Morning Motivation: I’m not going to lie. Getting to my first cup of coffee is one of my biggest motivators in the morning. In fact, I just ordered a new programmable coffee maker with the hope that I can set it to brew upon waking. If you aren’t a coffee drinker your morning motivation could be a tall glass of lemon water, your favorite breakfast, a warm shower, journaling or meditation.
• Don’t Think, Just Do: Lastly, I have found if am lying in bed after the alarm goes off debating pressing the snooze button, or dreading any part of my day, it makes being a morning person that much harder. Jumping (or getting) out of bed and just starting to go through the motions of my morning works best. Every time, within 10 to 15 minutes I am more alert and eager for my day.
What are your tips for becoming a morning person?
*This post was originally published in 2011 and has been updated and republished for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
I’m definitely NOT a morning person. It’s weird b/c I’m fine to start work at 7:00 but I absolutely hate working out that early. I wish there were more races in the evening!
I enjoyed working out and running in the AM in the summer but now that it’s darker and cooler in the morning I like to stay in bed until Miles forces me to get up. 🙂 Hope your commute goes well!
I did a morning workout deal for a little while (about 3 weeks) and then I realized not only was I feeling cranky and rushed, but I have much more stamina when I have been awake and my blood has been flowing all day. I liked the idea of morning workouts (hello, free evenings!) but it just wasn’t the best thing for my training.
I feel the same way. I am becoming more “OK” with the early commute idea, so that I have the evening and dinnertime free.
But I’m not 100% sure about working out at like 5:30 or 6 a.m.!
I get up at 5:30am (used to be 4am, yikes!) and I go to bed around 9-9:30. My tip is this… Jump out of bed the moment you shut off the alarm and jump in the shower. You’ll be awake after the shower. After that, I’m pretty much good to go. If you’re feeling grumpy, wear a shirt that’s bright and makes you feel better about yourself – it’s hard to be in a bad mood when you’re wearing something bright and cute!
Ugh. I hate mornings.
With that being said I typically get up at 7am, get the step kids up, get the BF up, and we are all out the door by 8am. Morning has a routine and we stick to it.
I’ve been going to bed at 10 with the intention of waking up at 5 to workout and then still sleeping until 6! I was great waking up at 5:30 to go run when it was summer, I honestly LOVED working out that early, but I definitely think the cold + dark makes it harder.
I’m AMAZED that you can be up at 6:30 and out the door by 7:15. I wake up at 6 and leave the house at 8! 🙂
Nice! I packed my lunch the night before and literally just threw stuff in my oats and gobbled up breakfast. In the past I have fallen into the “snooze button” trap and ended up doing the same where I set the alarm for one time and didn’t get up until an hour or two later. Trying to avoid that this time around!
I’m definitely not a morning workout person! I’d have to get up around 4 to do that- 5:30 for work is bad enough!! I just run at night after the kiddies are in bed unless I have a longer run scheduled then I go right when I get home if I can.
It’s all about going to bed early. When I started getting up at 5 AM I had to start going to bed at 8 PM. It was hard to turn down late invites, but I got used to it and once my sleep cycle reset I felt great. I also have full spectrum lamps I use in the darker months so I miss the sun less.
it’s just getting used to a new routine. it took me months to adjust to 5 a.m. wake-up calls to teach 6 a.m. classes. i would literally be falling asleep at my desk but now i am so used to it. i get up around 5 a.m. every day and usually don’t make it to bed until 11ish. my body has totally adapted to the routine and i love morning workouts!
I just (re)joined the gym and that is helping me get up and at am in the mornings. I find that getting up to run outside in the a.m. or even on my home treadmill is not as easy as getting up to “head to the gym”. I love that phrase! Commuting to and from the gym adds about a 1/2 hour of extra time, but for some reason I’m more faithful to going to the gym than just getting up to run at home. I’ve also added in other exercises, too, which I very proud of. I’m still pushing myself to go to bed before 10, but I’m getting there. 5:00 alarm does come early!
Hi Lori! Thanks for your comment.
Maybe it’s the driving portion of “going to the gym” that helps with waking up. I agree going to bed at a decent hour is still the hard part!
I think having a job that requires me to get up at a certain time has trained my body to be up (whether it’s a weekend or not!) Sometimes I wish I could sleep in on the weekends but I’ve gotten much better at being a morning person!