I have never been a morning person. Like never ever ever ever ever. Is that enough, evers? Ever. Ok I’m done.
But seriously, for as long as I can possibly remember I have always loved staying up late, and HATED waking up in the morning. When I was younger, I would sneakily stay up super late and watch TV and then wonder why I didn’t wake up to my alarm and miss the bus all the time. I’ve just always been a night owl. I enjoyed staying up late to finish school work rather than wake up early. I liked working out at 10pm instead of 6am. 8am classes… NO, THANKS. Even when we took family trips to the beach as a teenager, they would get on me about sleeping in and missing half a beach day. I didn’t care, I loved my bed and I loved sleeping in.
Fast-forward and my husband, Matt, is a die hard morning person. He wants to go to bed early, wake up, workout, and have a refreshing amount of time to get ready and enjoy the morning. Me, on the other hand, …sleep in as late as possible, then frantically rush around the house in a pure state of anxiety making it out of the house” just in time”. Literally I have traffic hours down to a science, so I know the exact possible time I can leave and arrive just on time, down to the minute. I clearly don’t leave very much room for error, but it seems to always work out.
Recently, something has changed… and I kinda really LOVE IT!!! With Matt being a morning person, and is going to bed at the same time, it is very unfair to keep him up so late, continually knocking him out of his routine, just because I like to stay up late. Mind you, he has been asking me for a long time if we can start getting ready for bed earlier to create a better routine.
Well ladies and gentlemen, …it was time for me to make a change. So I started forcing myself to wake up earlier and go to bed earlier. It helps if you focus on the morning first because that way your body will be up for more hours than normal, and you will get tired earlier. If you focus on just trying to go to sleep early for starters, then you might have a hard time falling asleep since you slept in to the latest possible moment that morning.
So how did I begin this journey? I started by making a commitment. One that forced me to wake up, one I could not back out of. I started taking fitness classes in the morning. I joined an amazing new fitness studio called Envie (blog post about this place coming!) I signed up for their 6:00am classes, which motivated me to not only wake up early, but also get my workout done for the day. BRILLIANT! I noticed that the earlier I woke up, the earlier I would become tired at night. Duhhhh..right? Makes total sense. Thus, a routine has begun forming! I am really enjoying my early mornings.
Matt and I have also begun a new routine of reading the USA Today in the morning together on our back porch and talking about the articles. Matt wakes up, makes us coffee, and we relax and connect over the news. I feel so accomplished even before I begin work. I also have a clear, an energetic mind when starting my work day.
Since the routine of falling asleep early and waking up early can be very difficult to begin for a lot of people (ME!!): here are my 7 tips for becoming a morning person. Many begin with nighttime prep for a good night sleep!
7 Tips To Become An Energetic Morning Person
1. Make a cup of calming tea before bed.
I actually have 2 drinks before bed, a chamomile tea and my calming antianxiety drink.
Chamomile has been used for centuries to cure many emotional and physical ailments. In addition to chamomile being a natural mild sedative to help you fall asleep, it also helps to alleviate migraines, reduce allergic reactions and skin irritations, decrease inflammation, and fights against bacteria.
The calming antianxiety drink I consume is called Natural Calm: The Anti Stress Drink. I do not suggest you take both this and a magnesium supplement before bed, as I mention in the next tip, because this drink also contains magnesium. Always consult your doctor first! You do not want to overwhelm your body with an unhealthy amount of magnesium. Aside from that, this drink is the sh*t. It’s the bomb dot com. After I drink this, I immediately feel so relaxed and at peace.
2. Take a magnesium supplement
Most people do not even know they are deficient in magnesium. I always recommend talking with your doctor first and getting your magnesium levels tested, but here are a few symptoms of magnesium deficiency: Fatigue/low energy, poor memory, high blood pressure, anxiety, weakness, muscle cramps, depression, hormone problems, and sleep problems. Personally, I take this kind HERE.
3. Stop looking at your phone at least 20 minutes before you go to bed.
We all know we need to stop doing this, but rarely does it actually occur. I just want to check social media one more time, or read that email I kept forgetting to all day, or you get that text right before bed…we’ve all been there. Recent research suggests that staring at the blue and white light emitted from digital screens prevents your brain from releasing the hormone melatonin, which lets your body know when it’s time to hit the hay. So it becomes harder to fall and stay asleep. (source). By looking at your phone before bed, you are saying “Hey brain, stay awake!!” and that is the last thing we want.
Have you ever had a hard time falling asleep, so you grab your phone and start scrolling through social media, hoping you will eventually will become tired? Then the complete opposite happens, the struggle to fall asleep gets worse and worse. Next thing you know, your whole next day is spent chugging coffee and trying to concentrate during that morning meeting. Just put the phone away before bed and pick up a hard cover book to relax your brain.
4. Start your bedtime routine at least 20 minutes before you go to sleep.
Whatever your nighttime routine consists of i.e. washing your face, brushing your teeth, start the prep early! Washing your face can wake you back up, and after you have taken the effort to calm down and relax, you certainly don’t want something that will reawaken your body. Start your routine early enough that you allow a calming routine prior to bed.
5. Put your alarm out of arm’s reach.
Make sure your alarm, whether it’s on your phone or a clock, is totally out of reach in the morning. You shouldn’t even be able to lean over and grab it. Across the room is best, since it will force you to actually stand up and get out of bed to turn it off. This way you are less likely to crawl back in bed, and when you have that urge to hide back under the covers, ignore it and start your day! Studies show that continually pressing the snooze button can ruin the rest of your day. By snoozing, you are throwing off your internal clock by changing the exact time you wake up every morning. If you do not wake up at the same time every morning, your body doesn’t know when to start feeling sleepy, therefore pushing your bedtime later and depriving yourself of rest.
6. 5 Yoga Poses to energize your body after waking up.
As soon as you wake up, do these yoga moves or make up your own routine to start waking up your body. This is a game changer! It gives you a boost of energy similar to coffee. The yoga poses do not need to be crazy advanced, just simple moves to get your blood flowing. Yoga is especially good first thing in the morning if you plan to be at a desk or sitting for long periods of your day. You body has been still for 6+ hours, you need to give it the stretch it craves.
7. Drink a full glass of water upon waking up.
I keep a full water bottle next to my bed, so I can do this as soon as I wake up. Think about it, you have not drank one sip of water for 6+ hours, and then you go straight for the coffee. Big no no. One, because you are so dehydrated upon waking up, you need to re-hydrate your body. Two, dehydration is a lot of times mistaken for hunger and can cause you to over eat in the morning, and three, water wakes you up! It fires up your metabolism, starts to flush out toxins, and increases energy levels. One more important part of drinking water first thing in the morning is that your brain tissue is made up of 75% water, and when you are not properly hydrated, your brain operates on less fuel, making you feel drained and prone to mood swings.
After incorporating all of these tips into my daily routine, I have found it so much easier to become a morning person. Don’t get me wrong, I am not perfect and still have my late nights, immediately regretting watching that 1 more TV show before I went to bed, but hey, I’m a work in progress too! Have I mentioned I have seen a major decrease in anxiety levels throughout my day?! Yes please. Try some of these out and let me know if they help you!