Let's face it. Most morning people are crazy. But have you ever met a morning person who's in a bad mood? Exactly.
I think I've tried all the moods at this point. I've tried waking up whenever, tried being that person that goes to bed at two in the morning, tried being a person who lives on five hours of sleep, but I think I've found my happy medium.
In high school, I used to be someone who could go to sleep between 11 p.m. and one a.m., then wake back up at six a.m. every day.
Now I think if I had to do that more than two days in a row, I'd go crazy. As I've gotten older, I've really learned to value the gift of sleeping. With that, I think I've gotten a pretty good grip on sleep patterns and the habits you can make in order to get yourself to be a morning person.
I know, I know, mornings SUCK! They're not always what we desire. But I find on days when I get up and start my day and do these exact things, I have a damn good day and you know what? Yeah, I'm a morning person.
1. Get into a night routine.
Every good morning routine starts with the night before. Hate to break it to you, but no one going to sleep at two a.m. is going to have a very practical morning waking up four hours later. Get decent sleep!
I try to wind down whatever work I'm doing by around eight or nine o'clock that way my body still has time to relax and rewind. A healthy human should be getting between seven ti nine hours of sleep per night. Getting into a nightly routine of winding down a few hours before you plan on sleeping, shutting off electronics early, and relaxing all add up to how the morning is going to go.
2. Put your alarm across the room.
This is probably one of the best and most annoying pieces of advice I've ever been given. Setting your alarm and putting it across the room requires you to get up and out of bed in order to turn it off. This would hopefully make it harder for you to want to fall back asleep. It's annoying, but it works.
3. Stop hitting snooze!
If you're someone who for some reason can't put your alarm across the room, try your hardest to get out of the habit of hitting snooze. Hitting snooze and letting your body fall back asleep or almost asleep for five to 10 more minutes can actually do more harm than good. It makes your body more restless and feels more tired, so honestly, just get up!
4. Drink a full glass of water (before your morning coffee!).
Think about the fact that you're awake and go about your day for anywhere between 12-18 hours. Between those hours, you're (hopefully) drinking water. When your body goes to sleep for an extended amount of time it's not getting any water, so when you wake up in the morning, your body is dehydrated. Not only will drinking water rehydrate your body, but it'll also give yourself an extra boost to waking up your day.
5. Workout in the morning.
Working out is something that's hard to make a habit. But once you get into the routine of it, it can be glorious. Working out isn't something that necessarily needs to be done in order to achieve something, it can just be fun or a way of staying healthy. But working out in the morning really jump-starts your day and actually wakes you up. Also, doing one of the hardest things in the morning gets it out of the way and it's already done so you don't have to worry about it later.
SEE ALSO: I'm The Girl Who's Up At 6 A.M. And Honestly, I Love It
6. Wake up at the same time every day.
This can take some time. But training your body to go to sleep around the same time and wake up around the same time is such a habit. That's why it was so easy to wake up at six a.m. every day in high school, even though it seems crazy! I personally try to be falling asleep between 10 and 11 p.m. because, as I said, I've learned to value my sleep. Depending on my next day I try to wake up around seven or eight a.m. Obviously, not every morning is the same, but it's all inhabit.
7. Stick to a schedule.
Getting your body to stick in a routine builds so much repetition for you and your mentality. If you train your body to do the same things regularly and of the same purpose, you'll find yourself to gradually fall into a pattern. Waking up at the same time, doing the same things when you wake up, putting your shoes on the right foot then left; those all build a sense of repetition and routine and it's so much easier to still do things when it fits in a schedule.
8. Make breakfast.
I used to never make breakfast ever. Then I went through a phase my senior year of high school where I physically couldn't go about my day if I didn't eat something, even if it was just apples and peanut butter. Getting to college I tried to psych myself into thinking I didn't have enough time for breakfast. But boy, was I wrong.
9. Make your lunch the night before.
Anything you can do the night before to make your morning easier is always a plus. One thing I highly recommend is making your lunch the night before so that's one less thing to worry about. Even if you don't plan on leaving your house the next day, at least your lunch is premade! Plus, it can save you money in the long run so you're not buying anything wherever you are that day.
10. Get outside!
Whether it's through a morning walk or working out, I highly suggest finding time in the morning to get outside and get some fresh air. There's nothing better than fresh air to wake you up in the mornings when feeling extra sluggish. If you must persist that you don't have the time to go outside, open up a window while getting ready or making breakfast!
At the end of the day like everything else, mornings are all that you make it out to be. You can tell yourself you're not a morning person 20 times and eventually, that'll rain true! But if you want to be a morning person and get yourself to do things, you have to work for that.
I know, personally, that when I wake up at noon and start my day, one, I feel like I wasted my entire day, and two, I basically did! Even if you're just waking up to go outside and take a walk then watch television, at least you're awake! You'll feel so much more productive if you actually get up earlier.
We all have the same amount of hours every day, we all have as much time as anyone else. We're the ones that are in charge of whether we have time to make habits, or not.
With all that, happy mornings! Plus, you learn to really love that morning time.
