Tips for Waking Up Early Even If You Are a Night Owl

It can be quite challenging being a night owl in a society wherein early risers get appreciated and even rewarded more. Unless you are willing to work graveyards your entire life, you are the one who has to adjust, which means you have to force yourself to be awake and alert early in the morning. This may seem impossible, but it’s definitely doable.

Here are some tips on how a night owl like you can wake up early:

1. Know why you should wake up early in the first place

There is no way you can make yourself wake up early if you don’t have an important reason to do it. Forming a habit of waking up early isn’t as easy as going to bed early at night. You need to have enough motivation to do it. Before you go to bed at night, think about why you want to be up before everyone else in the morning. Whatever that reason may be, it should serve as your motivation to get up and leave the bed even before the sun rises.

2. Teach and train your body to sleep early

Yes, your body can be trained to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. Thus, you should make an effort to adjust your sleep time. After several days of keeping the right sleep schedule, it will become easier for you to sleep early and wake up early as well.

3. Make your environment conducive to sleep

Make sure your bedroom is completely dark when you sleep. Even the small red light from your TV should be blocked. You should also avoid using your gadgets when you’re in bed and turn off your TV at least an hour before your bedtime. It is important also that your bedroom is properly ventilated so that you will feel comfortable. All these will help convince your body that it is already time to sleep.

4. Avoid taking a nap 7 hours after you wake up

If you are feeling drowsy or very sleepy, you may take a nap, but make sure it is not later than 7 hours after waking up. Sleep experts say that napping after the 7 hour period will ruin your sleep schedule – it will make it hard for you sleep at night, so waking up early the next day will be as difficult.

5. Don’t give in to the ‘5 more minutes’ temptation

Many of us have the habit of turning off the alarm clock and then sleeping for an extra 5 minutes. We believe that 5 minutes won’t make us late for our appointment, and instead, it can make us feel better when we wake up. What happens, however, is that sleeping for 5 more minutes makes us even more sleepy and it tempts us to sleep longer and wake up later. Once your alarm sets off, be sure to get out of bed and start your day already. There is really no point in going back to sleep for 5 minutes.

If you want to be an early riser, you need a lot of determination and discipline. The tips above are meant to help you change your sleep habit, so it could be easier for you to be awake and alert early in the morning. But if despite all your effort you still struggle to wake up early, you may as well consider having a personal coach who will suggest what other changes you need to make in your routine or lifestyle that will make you active and productive throughout the day.

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