When it comes to sleep and productivity, early birds have the greatest advantage. Studies show that early risers are less more likely to function at a higher capacity in regards to their task effectiveness and emotional regulation.
As beneficial as it is to maintain this kind of wake-up schedule, it can be difficult to put into practice. Whether or not you’re predisposed to enjoying your mornings, here are a few simple tricks that can help you get on the path to waking up early.
Have A Nighttime Routine
In order to wake up early, it’s important to get good rest the night before. Give yourself at least half an hour to settle down with a nighttime hygiene routine. Include simple tasks like brushing your teeth, doing skincare, taking a hot bath, and putting on pajamas. It’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of the day and crash before you have the chance to engage in some self-care. But by having a daily bedtime routine, your body can better anticipate when it’s time to sleep and you face less risk of being groggy the next morning.
Put Away The Screens
Screentime before bed can be detrimental to your sleep routine, causing you to stay up later and have a harder time waking up. Technology at night sends signals to the brain that continue stimulating it, even when melatonin is released to try to induce sleep. Jacking up your sleep schedule makes early morning wake-up times nearly impossible, so it’s crucial to do all that you can to protect the time you should be sleeping from electronic distractions.
Keep Your Window Open
Sunlight is a great alarm clock. It might be tricky to wake up to natural light at first, especially considering how culturally accustomed we are to staying up late at night. But as you continue to synchronize your sleep schedule with the sun, it becomes easier to identify it as a stimulus that indicates the end of your sleep cycle. Over time, your body will internalize this rhythm and will fall into a pattern of falling asleep when it’s dark and waking up when it’s light out.
Take It Slow
If you’re a first-timer when it comes to being an early bird, don’t rush into the idea of an early morning. It takes time for your body to adjust to new habits, and this concept is especially true for your sleep schedule. Gradually shift your wake-up time week by week, moving it up by small increments of 15-30 minutes every time you make that change. This way, you instill a more permanent habit rather than waking up early once or twice.
