Many out there find it hard to wake up feeling refreshed in the morning. This, even though sleep is something we need just as much as food and almost as much as water. Sleep is supposed to be restorative, yet so many of you find yourself groggy and desperate for more pillow time more often than not.
I used to be one of you. Seriously, I hit the snooze, and often found myself making an obligatory trip to the bathroom upon waking, only to jump back in bed. Before becoming a freelance writer, this was an issue that created problems at work. I had to find ways to wake up feeling more refreshed in the morning, or risk losing jobs and/or not being as productive as possible at the start of each day.
Here are my 3 tips for waking up feeling more refreshed each day:
1. Learn to hate the alarm clock.
Let me explain before you move past this one. Everyone hates the alarm, I know this. But, how much do you hate yours? Is it enough to force you to set a “mental alarm” that forces you awake before the alarm goes off, get out of bed, make a coffee then come back and turn it off before it goes off?
I hated the alarm so much, I embraced the mental alarm years ago, and to this day rarely set an alarm unless I have to get up earlier than normal — even then, the mental alarm often intervenes before the rooster starts to crow on my phone. Even if you can just get in the habit of waking up just before, turn the alarm off, and get out of bed and get going. Lots of entrepreneurs and career driven folks use past pain to drive them to new heights.
Laying in bed waiting for that annoying alarm to go off is akin to standing on the same street corner every day, waiting for the high school bully to walk by and bully you when you know full well that’s the way he takes to get to school every morning. Trust me, waking up before the alarm is empowering — it makes the process a choice rather than something you’re forced to do.
2. Turn the TV off (unplug before bed).
This goes for all of you who stay up late working, or playing on your smartphone, too. Electronics (screens) keep you awake and disrupt sleep patterns by inhibiting melatonin production. It’s a long-proven fact, that’s been studied to death. Trust me, I totally understand the temptation to stay up and binge a Netflix show, or scroll through my Instagram feed before bed.
Fact is, when you allow yourself to get engrossed in these late night electronic activities, it’s not only harder to fall asleep, we so often force ourselves to stay up longer. Netflix and other instant streamers have made this problem worse over the years. I personally shut everything off two hours before bed and only read paper books (that’s right, Kindles and tablets are just as bad, even with blue light filters turned on).
3. Look forward to waking up.
How much harder is it to wake up for work in the morning compared to when you have an exciting event or activity planned for early morning? Some of you will say waking up is hard either way. This article might not be able to help you in that case because you’re too far gone! (I’m kidding, but you gotta learn to change your mindset).
Rather than staying up and binging on The Sinner or Absentia late at night, why not go to sleep early and get up earlier to catch an episode or two before work. This is all mindset here — changing negative habits. The same goes for the weekends. Not only does this disrupt your sleep patterns for the following work-week, it can take a huge toll on your long-term health.
Conclusion
Most people who’re geared toward success want to get up earlier, feel better upon waking, and get more done in their day. I may not have divulged anything prophetic in this post, but the effectiveness of information so often comes down to how it’s delivered. I hope these tips help you get better quality sleep and wake up more refreshed in the morning.
