Tips on becoming a "morning person"?

[Mreader]

Sooooo I have been spoiled silly for the past couple of years in that my work has been flexible and my kid started sleeping better (after a couple of years of sleep-deprived hell). Anyway I have never been a morning person and if I have to wake up early I feel tired and cranky for most of the day. Kid starts "real school" this year so the schedule has to drastically change and I'll have to be up at 6:30 am. My spoiled self has been getting up around 8 now. Presently kid is at camp so we have been getting up at 7, which I consider "training" for the school year haha. I have been trying to get to bed earlier, around 10pm, but tend to just lay there and fall asleep around 11-11:30 which is my normal bedtime. So I still feel tired the next day. Will it take awhile to change my body clock to fall asleep earlier? Any tips or ideas on being a morning person?

 

[kenny]

Coffee!

 

[Mreader]

Coffee!

HahHa. I love coffee. If only it made a difference.

 

[pearlsngems]

Try adapting gradually: go to bed 10 minutes earlier than usual tonight and for a couple more nights, and get up 10 minutes earlier. When you are used to that, subtract 10 more minutes for a few nights and get up 10 minutes earlier. Keep working it back gradually.

 

[missy]

Go to bed earlier.
Shut off electronics an hour before you plan to go to bed.
Don't take phone calls an hour or so before bed. They are too stimulating just like electronics.

If you go to bed earlier and wake up earlier eventually you will reset your body clock. It happened to me when I was a resident. I had to be at the hospital by 7AM. I was a night person but after a year or so of having to get up super early it just became easier and I started going to bed earlier and waking up earlier without any issues.

One piece of advice- just get up early at the same time every morning no matter when you go to bed and eventually going to bed earlier will become easier and you will fall asleep more easily. The key is getting up at the same time every morning. Until you are used to it and then you can sleep an hour or two later on the weekends if you want.

Also, try to get sunlight early when you wake up if the sun is out. And fresh air. It helps.
Not sure if you work out but working out early gives me energy for the day.

Then came menopause (for me) and well, I won't bore you with those details but let's just say while I fall asleep quickly (and early) I cannot sleep through the night anymore. Not something you have to worry about now. But oh, I would kill (not literally hahaha) for 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

 

[GK2]

I get up at 5am Monday to Friday and have done so for the past 3 years - I have a long commute and like to be fully awake before hitting the road at 6am

i go to bed for 10pm every night - I find 10 minutes with my kindle on a low but readable backlit screen setting is the best way for me to drop off. Blackout blinds for when it’s still light at the height of summer. still kills me when the alarm goes off though, and I never use snooze. got to get up then, otherwise it’s so much harder. jump in the shower and then a hot cup of tea with a slice of buttered toast and I’m good to go!

hardest time is winter but that’s the same for all of us, and my absolute hate is when British summer time starts and the mornings are dark again when I’ve just started getting used to dawn breaking

 

[MamaBear]

Avoid caffeine after noon. Exercise in the mornings. Exposure to sunlight in the mornings can be helpful, also. It can be hard to make a transition to an earlier morning. You may never get used to it or like it! Hope you can make it work for you.

 

[Mreader]

Go to bed earlier.
Shut off electronics an hour before you plan to go to bed.
Don't take phone calls an hour or so before bed. They are too stimulating just like electronics.

If you go to bed earlier and wake up earlier eventually you will reset your body clock. It happened to me when I was a resident. I had to be at the hospital by 7AM. I was a night person but after a year or so of having to get up super early it just became easier and I started going to bed earlier and waking up earlier without any issues.

One piece of advice- just get up early at the same time every morning no matter when you go to bed and eventually going to bed earlier will become easier and you will fall asleep more easily. The key is getting up at the same time every morning. Until you are used to it and then you can sleep an hour or two later on the weekends if you want.

Also, try to get sunlight early when you wake up if the sun is out. And fresh air. It helps.
Not sure if you work out but working out early gives me energy for the day.

Then came menopause (for me) and well, I won't bore you with those details but let's just say while I fall asleep quickly (and early) I cannot sleep through the night anymore. Not something you have to worry about now. But oh, I would kill (not literally hahaha) for 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

I’m not in in the “M” phase yet but had lots of insomnia issues after baby - omg awful! So hate the idea of happening again when I hit menopause (I’m 46). I already do the electronic thing since the insomnia and when I’m tired I do exercise to give myself energy. thanks for the advice

 

[Mreader]

I get up at 5am Monday to Friday and have done so for the past 3 years - I have a long commute and like to be fully awake before hitting the road at 6am

i go to bed for 10pm every night - I find 10 minutes with my kindle on a low but readable backlit screen setting is the best way for me to drop off. Blackout blinds for when it’s still light at the height of summer. still kills me when the alarm goes off though, and I never use snooze. got to get up then, otherwise it’s so much harder. jump in the shower and then a hot cup of tea with a slice of buttered toast and I’m good to go!

hardest time is winter but that’s the same for all of us, and my absolute hate is when British summer time starts and the mornings are dark again when I’ve just started getting used to dawn breaking

Wow 5am!! And if you’re in the UK it has to be hard to go to bed early in the summer with the extended daylight!!

 

[Sprinkles&Stones]

I have no suggestions as I am not a morning person! I don’t care what anyone says, if it’s not in your DNA it won’t happen (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it hahaha). I can do all the things listed above, go to bed at 8:30pm, wake up at 6:30am and still be a grumpy slowpoke until 12pm. Who knows! I’ve found that I am a “10 hours of sleep per night” person and I really don’t function well before 10am. Unfortunately I have to work, so I seldom sleep in past 6am. boooo. I feel your pain! Just don’t feel bad if you never feel good in the mornings, regardless of what you try or don’t try. I let myself feel a lot of guilt because I couldn’t adapt, even though I was doing all the right things!

 

[dk168]

Get a puppy!

Before I got mine, I was getting up at about 09:00.

Nowadays, I get up at about 06:30 to let him out in the garden to avoid any accident inside the house.

DK

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Get up even earlier
I used to get up at least 1 1/2 before i had to leave to catch the 6.10 train
i had had time to not just shower and dress, make lunch, feed kitty, but to enjoy plenty of me time* with no one else around
I was a box of fluffy ducks by the time i got to work which may gave annoyed those who had only just rolled out of bed and were still drinking coffee

*while listening to Bruce and talking on the internet about Bruce

 

[Mreader]

I have no suggestions as I am not a morning person! I don’t care what anyone says, if it’s not in your DNA it won’t happen (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it hahaha). I can do all the things listed above, go to bed at 8:30pm, wake up at 6:30am and still be a grumpy slowpoke until 12pm. Who knows! I’ve found that I am a “10 hours of sleep per night” person and I really don’t function well before 10am. Unfortunately I have to work, so I seldom sleep in past 6am. boooo. I feel your pain! Just don’t feel bad if you never feel good in the mornings, regardless of what you try or don’t try. I let myself feel a lot of guilt because I couldn’t adapt, even though I was doing all the right things!

Hahaha I fear that is how I will be. I also need lots of sleep but I think it's bc I was deprived for years - it's like having a giant sleep debt and trying to catch up. I need 8 hours to feel good I have found.

 

[Mreader]

Get a puppy!

Before I got mine, I was getting up at about 09:00.

Nowadays, I get up at about 06:30 to let him out in the garden to avoid any accident inside the house.

DK

That must have been a change! I have two geriatric cats (14 and 1 who sleep the day away.

 

[elizat]

I think it's very difficult if that's not the way your body clock is set.

My mind does not really turn on until after 9:00 a.m. I prefer that all meetings and things where I really have to think happen after 10:00. I usually do really well as far as productivity between 10:00 and 2:30 and then from essentially 3:00 to sometimes 4:00, I'm not very good. But I usually get a burst at the end of the day from basically four to seven where I get a lot of stuff done.

I have tried to go in early throughout the years. I have tried to be at work at 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning. Doesn't work for me. If I show up that early, I basically get nothing done until 10:00 anyway.

I'm exhausted after it even after doing it for a while. It never got easier.

So while I definitely can get up early, it is not my body's natural rhythm.

 

[Mreader]

I think it's very difficult if that's not the way your body clock is set.

My mind does not really turn on until after 9:00 a.m. I prefer that all meetings and things where I really have to think happen after 10:00. I usually do really well as far as productivity between 10:00 and 2:30 and then from essentially 3:00 to sometimes 4:00, I'm not very good. But I usually get a burst at the end of the day from basically four to seven where I get a lot of stuff done.

I have tried to go in early throughout the years. I have tried to be at work at 7:00 or 8:00 in the morning. Doesn't work for me. If I show up that early, I basically get nothing done until 10:00 anyway.

I'm exhausted after it even after doing it for a while. It never got easier.

So while I definitely can get up early, it is not my body's natural rhythm.

I am with you @elizat ! I teach at a university, and usually my classes begin after 10am. But I have to drop my kid at school at 7:30 now, and my first class is at 8:30. I wish I had been scheduled later, because then I could "wake up" after getting kid to school and before my classes. So I feel really sorry for my future students.

 

[elizat]

I am with you @elizat ! I teach at a university, and usually my classes begin after 10am. But I have to drop my kid at school at 7:30 now, and my first class is at 8:30. I wish I had been scheduled later, because then I could "wake up" after getting kid to school and before my classes. So I feel really sorry for my future students.

Oy. That's rough!

I never set things that early. The only time I ever have things set that early is when the court unilaterally sets a hearing for an event to occur at that time! I can deal with 9. I don't like it, but I can do 9. Before 9 feels just wrong!

 

[Mreader]

Oy. That's rough!

I never set things that early. The only time I ever have things set that early is when the court unilaterally sets a hearing for an event to occur at that time! I can deal with 9. I don't like it, but I can do 9. Before 9 feels just wrong!

Totally. I’m still mad at my chair for scheduling me at that time.

 

[maryjane04]

I am not a morning person either. The only time I get up early (5am) is to go to the gym at 6am If I wasn't so tired and easing back on the gym I would probably be doing it more often lol. But I only get up at 5am on Monday and Fridays... every other day I revert back to around 8am hahaha. So I am really not a morning person either!

 

[Mreader]

I am not a morning person either. The only time I get up early (5am) is to go to the gym at 6am If I wasn't so tired and easing back on the gym I would probably be doing it more often lol. But I only get up at 5am on Monday and Fridays... every other day I revert back to around 8am hahaha. So I am really not a morning person either!

I’m sending good vibes your way since bébé will be waking you

 

[maryjane04]

I’m sending good vibes your way since bébé will be waking you

Thank you @Mreader
Also like DK said.. a puppy will make you wake up early too!! But yeah I am not looking forward to being sleep deprived

 

[MRBXXXFVVS1]

I am not a morning person either, but I get up when I have to. Once I'm up, I seem to be OK...it's the getting up part that is hard!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Don't go to bed early in the morning like I do (2:30-3 am). Try to be in bed by 10:00 pm.

 

[erislynn]

There’s an in-depth book written about this called Why We Sleep. Everyone has a genetic tendency to fall asleep in a certain range of hours in the night, even with all the best practices for going to bed earlier. I agree with above posters about not feeling bad that you’re groggy or in a brain fog when you don’t get to follow your natural biorhythms. I find bright light therapy helps me to be more awake, still does nothing for my mood though.

What we should be getting behind is lobbying for a later start to school. School hours are set with adult work schedules in mind and not so much what is good for brain function ironically. The American Pediatric Association recommends that children start school at 8:30am at the earliest but there’s a ways to go before that’s changed. Next thing you know adults will have work schedules that match their biorhythms. Wouldn’t that be smart! Anyway, good luck with the adjusting!

 

[Lookinagain]

I am not a morning person either. No matter what time I go to bed, and fall asleep, my body doesn't like getting up in the dark, winter or summer. I will wake up naturally when daylight comes. In the summer, where I live, that's too early for me as it can be around 5:20 a.m. I have no need to get up that early. So I use a sleep mask then and get up around 7ish. But generally if I get up in the dark I fell lousy for the day but if it's daylight I feel fine. So I do agree our natural body rhythms have a lot to do with it. Some people are able to adjust them but others really cannot. Even if they get up early, the don't feel as good as when they wake up naturally.

 

[lilmosun]

Some of you "not morning people" are morning people compared to me, lol.

I am a major night owl. No matter how tired I am during the day, I would suddenly get find myself energized in the evening. If I listen to my body's clock, I would go to bed at 2:00 am and get up at 10:00 am. Living in the East Coast, I used to joke that I was a California girl - living their time zone.

Working an office job, I used get by on 4-5 hours/sleep during the week and sleep in on weekends. Once I hit my 50's, I noticed that I was getting crankier when I was tired. So I did what others said - started forcing myself to go to bed earlier (for me earlier still means between 11:00 - 11:30 pm lol) and no caffeine in the evening.

The trick for me was to stick to the schedule - even on weekends. I might let myself sleep in an extra hour but any more than that, I find myself not being able to get to sleep Monday night.

I also made sure I spend the last hour doing something relaxing/mindless. Otherwise my brain is still wide awake. I also read my e-book for 30 minutes in bed - usually something non-fiction. (If I get too engrossed in a book, I have been known to stay up all night reading it). If I wake up in the middle of the night, I pick up the book and read the same.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

Find things to look forward to
Make it about somethung else rather than just having to get up for work or do get the family off for the day*
i love hearing the birds wake up
i love having the house to myself
I loved commuting on the train becsuse i commuted aganist the flow and usually had a whole train to myself
i loved walking in the dark with the stars out and the frost and just me and Bruce Springsteen in my ears
All me time !

*this may involve getting up even earlier but IMO its well worth it

of course it means going to bed between 8 and 9

 

[Elizabeth35]

My understanding is that light is a critical factor in your body changing sleep schedules. When we travel and change multiple time zones, the most important thing is daylight.

Would leaving your bedroom blinds or curtains open help--or would you sleep right through natural daylight? Or depending on where you live--will the birds wake you up with the pre-dawn chirping? What about one of those alarm clocks that mimics sunrise.

 

[Mreader]

My understanding is that light is a critical factor in your body changing sleep schedules. When we travel and change multiple time zones, the most important thing is daylight.

Would leaving your bedroom blinds or curtains open help--or would you sleep right through natural daylight? Or depending on where you live--will the birds wake you up with the pre-dawn chirping? What about one of those alarm clocks that mimics sunrise.

Light will wake me and most of the year I'm in an area with strong sunlight. It's not the waking up; it is the feeling "off" for a big part of the day when I haven't had enough sleep!

 

[stracci2000]

Several years ago I discovered that I need 8 hours of sleep.
And that I will wake up after exactly 8 hours, pretty much like clockwork.
So I looked at when need to get up(6 am) and so I go to bed at 10pm.
It works so well for me, that I don't set an alarm anymore.
The ringing alarm clock is a dreadful thing to hear, and so stressful.
I'm so glad I don't need it anymore.

And now I can't keep my eyes open after 10pm anyway, so I keep this schedule on weekends, too.