wouldn’t necessarily say I’m a morning person but I’m not exactly a non-morning person either. I am however an enormous, gluttonous, can’t-get-enough-of-my-delightful-bed person and I really struggle with this when it actually comes to leaving my bed once I’m awake. When I’m all snuggly and delicious in a giant pool of heaven blankets, I find it really difficult to get my butt out of bed and into the shower. There are a few things I’ve been experimenting with recently that seem to be working so if you can’t get out of bed in the morning here are a few things you should try.
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1. Keep your alarm in another room
I keep my iPhone in the lounge room so when it goes off, I have to get up to press snooze. Once you break the bed cocoon it’s all over, you might as well get in the shower and start your day. The trick with this one is putting the alarm as far away from your bed as possible… so you can’t just stumble back under the covers and face-plant for another 15 minutes.
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2. Use two different alarms in different locations
I have an old-fashioned bell style alarm clock next to by bed but to be honest, it’s kind of awful to wake up to so I set my phone alarm in the lounge room for 6am with a less abrasive alarm and my bedside table alarm is set for 6.01. That way I have to get up, turn off the alarm in the lounge room, then turn off the bedside alarm before it goes off because I really, really hate that horrible bell. By this stage I’ve been wandering around for at least 60 seconds doing fairly delicate tasks that require a bit of brain power and it wakes me up enough to keep me out of bed.
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3. Keep the blinds open
Your circadian rhythms are (should be) in tune with the rising and the setting of the sun so if you make sure the sun visible from your bed, you’ll have a much easier time waking up in the morning. I have an eye-mask that I use to block light as I fall asleep but I’ve usually lost it somewhere in the bed by morning time so the sun gently wakes me as it rises. It’s very difficult to get of bed if your room is dark.
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4. Organise everything the night before
The less I have to do in the morning, the better. If I’m going to the gym or yoga, I will have everything all set out in a pile – clothes, towel, keys, water bottle – so I don’t even have to think about it. I do the same thing on non-gym days with my clothes for the day, breakfast things and make-up. If I’m lying in bed and feeling annoyed about having to find my headphones/favourite bra/appropriate socks it’s just too much crap first thing in the morning which makes it impossible to get out of bed. Getting organised the night before means that you’ll wake up with a clear head and it will make it much easier to get out of bed in the morning.
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5. Eat a small dinner and then nothing afterwards
I’ve been doing the 5:2 diet since about June this year and not only have I lost weight and changed shape but it’s also taught me about the effect my eating habits have on my sleep. On fast days where I consume just 500 calories a day and usually stop eating at about 7pm in the evening, I have a much deeper and more restful sleep and waking up the next day is far less traumatic. Many sleep experts suggest eating light dinners and not snacking into the night and now I think they may be on to something.
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Do you struggle to get out of bed in the mornings? Any tricks you’d like to share?
13 Comments
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You missed the important one: Stay in bed.
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That is indeed an excellent one but not really a great solution for people who need to earn money to buy stuff. 🙂
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Going to bed earlier is my best and most obvious tip. I’m big on getting things ready the night before, especially on gym days. Looking for a gym pass or sports sock before the sun is even up, ain’t nobody got time for that!
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Tell me about it! I’ll pre-empt not being able to find something and then be like ‘Stuff it! I’ll just say in here!’
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I’m actually thinking of trying the 5:2 diet. For health reasons mostly. The science behind it makes sense. Will add improves my sleep to the list of positives!
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It’s really great, one of the best things I’ve done. That’s sort of why it hasn’t copped much flack in the media because it’s scientifically sound. I’ll write a post on it soon I think!
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Get cats. They wake you up at 5am for food or to play or for cuddles. It never fails. Even if they’re all cute and cuddly, 20 seconds later they’re biting your feet through the blankets and you just have to get up.
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I’ve just started using that sleep cycle app recently and I’m finding it does seem to wake me up more gently (it wakes you up at a lighter point of sleep), but then I’m a morning person anyway so I’m probably not its harshest judge!
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I used the Sleep app for ages and really loved it too.
I’ve stopped now, because I don’t love having my phone that close to my head for that long, even if it’s on Flight mode and emitting less radiation, but I do think that app is great.
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I’m curious about this 5:2 diet. Do you go crazy on your ‘normal’ days?! I fear I would.
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Man I need this 🙂 Good tip about eating early… I find the morning light makes all the difference for me. Melatonin power 🙂
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Why is it so darn hard to keep a sleep mask on your face? I wear one every night, and every. single. morning I wake up and it’s either under my pillow, on the bedside table or buried under the blankets. Why?
I’m a morning person, but I still struggle to get out of bed sometimes, particularly when it’s cold. One thing that has helped a lot was getting a cat. One of my cats is majorly demanding at breakfast time and will start bellowing from the foot of the bed the moment the alarm goes off. He won’t stop until his breakfast hits his bowl. His yowling breaks the bed-snuggly-bliss every time.
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The problem with leaving your alarm in another room is that you just dont hear the alarm anymore! I am a very deep sleeper and whenever i try moving the alarm further away i just sleep right through it because its not loud enough. Not very effective haha!
