There are some unique people who wake up to their first alarm and happily jump out of bed, eager to start the day ahead of them. I am not one of those people. I have never been a morning person, despite how hard I've tried to be. I've attempted to follow advice from friends that rise every day at the crack of dawn, read blogs and tips regarding the routines and habits of morning people, but nothing seems to work.
Nothing can possibly be worse than waking up to a cluttered mess of your homework dispersed everywhere as you struggle to find your textbook and throw together a semi-decent outfit at the same time in order to make it to class in time for your 8 a.m.
Although I will not account for how to become a morning person, I will provide some tips to make your mornings a bit less hectic and stressful, allowing for a more positive way to start the day.
1. Plan ahead.
This will ensure everything goes smoothly the morning of. If you can prepare your breakfast the night before, lay out your clothes, pack your bag and everything that you will need for the next day, you will be less likely to forget your essentials. Especially when you have somewhere to be at a specific time, planning ahead will prevent you from being late.
2. Have something to look forward to.
This can be absolutely anything that gets you out of the bed in the morning. Whether it be your coffee, breakfast, or planning a time to see your friends, we all need something to keep us going when staying in bed just seems like the optimal option. This will make it a bit easier to resist the urge to hit the snooze button and roll over.
3. Establish a routine.
Establishing a morning routine sounds cliche but it actually increases our productivity and allows us to become more efficient. Waking up at the same time each day will eventually allow your body to become accustomed to this, which may make it easier to get up in the morning. It additionally gives us a sense of control and relaxation.
4. Play music while getting ready.
Listening to music in the morning holds benefits beyond increasing alertness. It is proven that it improves brain functioning and lowers stress, which is ideal when you have a test, meeting, or any other important event in the morning that requires your undivided attention and focus. In addition, doing this also improves one's mood as it releases dopamine. So, why not kick off your day focused and happy?
5. Drink water before caffeine.
You may have heard over and over that it's best to drink water as soon as you wake up. This does hold true for digestion and hydration purposes. However, it is especially important to do this before you drink coffee, as drinking coffee first thing will increase the amount of acid the stomach produces, which may cause you to feel not so great.
6. Make your bed.
Making your bed not only saves you from doing it later when you are probably much busier, but it also allows you to feel productive. This may then encourage you to continue this productivity throughout the rest of the day. Besides, having an organized space with everything in its place makes life so much easier in my opinion.
7. Eliminate phone time before going to bed.
A good night's rest is probably the most significant factor in determining the quality of your morning. No one likes to wake up after a poor night of rest or after getting barely any hours of sleep. Staring at your phone or laptop for hours on end before you sleep has become a nighttime ritual for so many. However, it is this that stimulates brain production, causing us to become more alert, which is definitely not ideal for when you finally try and go to sleep. This also interferes with the amount of melatonin your body produces which means that your cardiac rhythm is disrupted.
