How to Become a Morning Person
Back in the day, I was a total night owl. I preferred to stay up late and sleep in. I couldn’t imagine going to bed before 11pm and waking up anytime before 7:30 seemed impossible. I always had trouble falling asleep so I’d stay up later and sleep in later. Clearly, it wasn’t a great cycle.
Yet I’ve found that I’m most productive in the morning. If I have something important I need to tackle at work, I like to get there early while my mind is fresh and things are a bit quieter. I try to do my devotions (She Reads Truth is great!) in the morning before life gets in the way and I’m distracted. I also typically write blog posts and edit photos in the morning. It’s just an easier time to get things done!
But of course, to do all this, I had to become a morning person. It wasn’t easy but I think these tips will help! Here are a few tips that will help you become a morning person.
Start the day with light.
When I first started getting up earlier, I would plug a lamp into a timer and set it to turn on when my alarm went off. It’s so much easier to wake up if the light is on, especially in the winter when the sun hasn’t come up yet. For Christmas, Alex actually bought me this light (<<-affiliate link) which gradually gets brighter in the morning so it simulates a sunrise. It’s actually a really nice way to wake up!
Pick a fun reason to get up.
If you’ve never been a morning person, trying to drag yourself out of bed for something you hate isn’t going to work. Before you get ambitious with those 6am workouts, get your body used to a morning routine by waking up and doing something you enjoy. Maybe read a book, surf the web, or just have some quiet time with coffee. Once you’re in the habit of waking up early, it’ll be easier to introduce things like a morning workout.
Keep your wake up time consistent.
It might make me sound like a grandma, but we typically go to bed around 10:30… even on the weekends. Going to bed at a reasonable hour makes it easier to wake up earlier on the weekends. Waking up earlier on the weekends means getting up on the weekdays isn’t a total shock to my system.
Eat an early dinner.
I find that if I eat an early dinner and skip a late night snack, it’s easier for me to fall asleep. If I do have a snack, I try to have something like popcorn or a piece of super dark chocolate. Avoiding sugar late at night definitely helps. If I’m having dessert, I’ll try to have it shortly after dinner.
Skip the afternoon coffee.
It might sound obvious, but I’m totally guilty of a later afternoon cup of coffee, which makes it hard for me to relax when I get home from work. Now, I try to drink decaf tea if I need an afternoon beverage.
I have always been a morning person even in college I was not a late lerson and didnt really partake in a lot of the parties. I would usually be in bed by 10pm and still aim for between 9:30 and 10 now. On the weekdays when I go to the gym I wake up at 4:45 which can still be hard, luckily I only do that 3 days a week and 5:45 wake up the other 2 days. Weekends I go to bed around 10 and sleep until 7 though. It isnt really consistent but it works for me. I like getting up by 7 saturday so I can be at the grocery store by 8am before the crowds. Light also helps a lot. In summer it is easier for me to wake up at like 6:30am on the weekend but I will often read in a bed a bit before getting up.
I’m with you- I love beating the rush at the grocery store on the weekend! And yes to light! It’s definitely easier in the summer!
The consistent wakeup time is key. I struggled all my life to stay up late and in high school study/party (same in college haha) with my friends on that schedule, but once I embraced my natural early bird tendencies in law school life got a lot brighter. It does mean training my boyfriend to go to bed by 10:30 even on weekends like you said…and when we are up really late for something it really shows on me for a whole day after or even two!
I might have to give this a try. Right now my alarm clock are your two nephews.
Hah! I have a feeling all bets are off when you have kids 😉 but if anyone had a right to wake me up early it would be those two 😉
I am 110% a morning person! Always have been 🙂
What helps me stay that way is going to sleep and waking up around the same time every day.
I”m going to have to work on the whole “keeping my time consistent” thing — I go to sleep super super late on the weekends! These tips are great!
xo, Alicia | Alicia Tenise
I have the day off today, but I was still up at 6:30 haha. I’m such a morning person! I just love how much more I get done before everyone else is up and about. Getting grocery shopping/errands/chores done before 10 AM on a Saturday is worth going to bed a little earlier!
I plan on reading this…sometime this afternoon. Haha. Seriously though, I am still not a morning person at all. I get up and do what needs to get done but it’s not easy. I like the idea of having light, which would probably help me a lot. I have always been envious of morning people, like my husband, who can just jump right out of bed and make it look so easy. My kids are a great reason to get up and get out of bed, their Mom just drags a little. 🙂
I’m a total morning person! I’ve never been able to sleep in. I love being a morning person for the most part, but on days when I haven’t gotten much sleep in can be a drag. Another tip for becoming a morning person – get a dog! Then you won’t have a choice.
I totally agree with the idea of having something ‘fun’ to do when you get up. My neighbor and I will often get up at 545 and walk up to Starbucks for coffee. It’s about a fifteen minute walk there so it’s a nice little half-hour walk + girl time before 630! Love it! My mornings are definitely structured a bit differently now that I have Charlotte but I do prefer waking earlier than her so I can enjoy the time to myself. 🙂 I’ll be interested to see how your schedule changes or what routines you set in place once you have a little of your own 🙂
I was the same way. In college, I was a night owl. When I graduated and started my first job, I became a morning person. I think what helped me the most was waking up at a consistent time.
Whoops, sent before I wanted too. A consistent time whether I need to be up early or don’t. I normally wake up in the same time frame on weekdays and weekends.