How To Wake Up Earlier

During my 20s, I slept late and woke up late. So it took quite a bit to adjust my sleeping schedule to wake up naturally between 5 am - 6 am. But following the tactics below helped me wake up earlier faster.

Know your why for wanting to wake up early.

Ask yourself:

Why do you want to wake up early?

For example:

I want to wake up early because/to…

• Exercise because I know I won’t exercise in the afternoon.

• To do some writing for my book.

• To journal and meditate before the rest of the house wakes up.

• Get started on my work projects so I can feel accomplished at the end of the day.

• To study or learn a new skill.

Knowing your why will help you not hit the snooze button repeatedly and get up if you do most of, if not all, the tips below.

Calculate your ideal bedtime based on your ideal wake-up time. For example, if you want to wake up at 5 am, you’ll need to be in bed no later than 9 pm to get at least 8 hours of sleep.

Have a regular bedtime routine. Going to sleep and waking up at the same time each day helps reinforce your circadian rhythm. Over time your body will naturally want to wake up at the same time, and you’ll get sleepy at the same time, making it easier to get out of bed.

Have something to look forward to in the morning. You could make a good cup of tea or coffee. You could meet a friend for a workout. I like to drink my green juice and matcha tea while reading and journaling.

Get sunlight. Getting sunlight in the morning causes our bodies to produce serotonin which helps us sleep at night. So get some sun between the hours of 8 - 10 am.

Have a peaceful alarm. Waking up to a loud-sounding alarm can disrupt your sleep and increase your heart rate and blood pressure.

Exercise daily. Researchers have found that exercise helps you fall asleep faster and improve the quality of your sleep. However, try not to exercise too close to bedtime because your temperature and heart rate are up, which may prevent you from falling asleep immediately.

Set a caffeine curfew. Caffeine takes about 4-6 hours to metabolize in the body, so if you want to sleep by 9 pm, stop drinking caffeinated drinks no later than 2 pm.

Avoid late dinners and snacking close to bedtime. Experts recommend waiting at least 3 hours after eating before going to sleep. Giving your body time to digest your food will help so you don’t stay up with an upset stomach, indigestion, or acid reflux.

Focus on what you want to do instead of what you must do. Then, when you think about the things you want to do the next day, you’ll be more likely to wake up early and want to get out of bed.

Stay off screens close to bedtime. The blue light from screens mimics daylight, can affect your internal clock, and throw off your circadian rhythm. So aim to stay off screens for at least 1-2 hours before sleep.

Don’t drink alcohol close to bedtime. Studies have shown that alcohol can disrupt REM sleep which happens about 90 minutes after you fall asleep. REM disruptions may cause daytime drowsiness and poor concentration.

Do relaxing activities before going to bed like one or more of the following...

Breathing exercises

Meditate

Pray

Journal

Read a book

Listen to some soothing music

Stretch

Take a warm bath

How do you wake up earlier?