How To Be a Morning Person (& why you can’t get out of bed in the AM)

As a professional snoozer it always comes down to those first 30 seconds of telling yourself  “F*** I’m still tired…just 10 more minutes will fix everything”. And then 10-minutes turns to 20-minutes, turns to an hour later. But guess what, you’re still tired even with that extra hour of sleep. 

Well, 90% of the time I’m not actually tired, I’m just lazy (and comfortable and warm and snuggled up with my dogs…ugh I just love my bed), but breaking that habit is possible and I’ve found I appreciate the feeling of accomplishing something (big or small) 1000x more than sleeping in just a little longer. Because, let’s be real, that extra 30-minutes isn’t making any difference in how tired you are – it’s just making an excuse.

Why You Can’t Get Out of Bed in the Morning & How to Fix It

The problem: You’re in an intimate relationship with your snooze button.

•  Make yourself accountable – Have you ever not woken up for an early flight? No, because there’s a negative consequence if you don’t (and hell yeah you wanna be in Miami by noon!). Knowing I have to be somewhere on time always gets me right out of bed and ditching the snooze button completely. Sign up for an early workout class. You’ll feel obligated to go because 1. it’s rude to not show up and 2. you paid for this class and it would be a silly waste of money not to go!
• Stick to the routine – If you stick to your morning routine on the weekends it’ll be easier to continue through the week and eventually that routine will become a habit. I hear ya, you’re hungover, tired and have nothing to rush to on Sunday morning, but your body will get used to being awake earlier and make the other 80% of the week a whole lot easier. Plus, the weekends can be your most productive days if you work a 9 to 5  – why waste that time!

The problem: Your body is tired, but your brain is still whirling right before bed.

• Keep a journal on your nightstand – I often have my best ideas about the blog when I first close my eyes to fall asleep. I love that, but sometimes it keeps me up. I’ve started writing down all my ideas and to-do lists in a journal next to my bed before I turn off the lights. I quickly jot down anything that comes to mind after that and let the idea leave my brain so I can turn off and fall asleep. 
• Start using a diffuser – Lavender, Roman chamomile, and cedarwood are known to promote sleep and relaxation. Give your brain a little help in unwinding with these scents before you turn off the lights. I recently purchased this diffuser and love it so far!

The problem: You’re wired at night, but exhausted in the morning.

• Quit screen time early – I’m talking cell phones, tv screens, iPads, whatever your poison is, turn if off. We’ve all fallen into that Netflix trap that lands you 3 seasons deep into Shameless and 3:00 am glaring on your alarm clock. The same goes for your phone! Instagram and Snap Stories will still be there in morning! **Bonus points if you leave your phone somewhere other than your night stand. Not only does it force you to end screen time early, but it also forces you out of bed in the morning.
• Reset the cycle & get moving – Waking up late may be the reason you’re falling asleep even later (sleep is a vicious cycle!). When I started waking up later for my new job, I was still as mentally exhausted as I used to be, but I struggled to fall asleep at night. I quickly realized I wasn’t exerting enough energy through the day by just sitting at my desk. Once I started waking up just a little earlier to go to the gym or work on a blog post I immediately noticed I was able to fall asleep quickly at night!

Now, I admit I’m terrible at following my own rules so I’m writing this as much for myself as I am you guys! Last week I spoke briefly about my fitness goal of getting up early to hit the gym and this accompanies that goal so nicely. (P.S. I went 3 out of my 4 day goal this week! #smallvictories)

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Happy Sunday guys! I hope this post helps you all have a more rested Monday morning and fabulous rest of your week 🙂

*Melissa