I know that you too are tired of living a life where you get up late in the morning then have breakfast in a hurry and after that, you go to your office/ school with laziness, tension, and headache. I wish there exists magic so that you would wake up whenever you want, but bitterly there is not. However, here are some medically proven tips that can be followed to become a regular early riser. So let’s begin.
Benefits of waking early
Do you know? If you get used to waking up just 2 hours earlier than before, then shockingly you’ll get 730 extra hours in a year.
You can adore the most productive hours of the day as well. No one will interrupt you while working and your health improvement will be undeniable. Your energy and time will be boosted. You can stay stress-free and will feel happier than before. Isn’t that what you want?
Sleep timetable for all ages
Before discussing tips to wake up early, knowing about the sleeping timetable is crucial.
Medical researchers of Sleep Foundation state the following timetable sleep according to different ages.
. Age
Sleeping time
0-3 months old
14-17 hours
4-11 months old
12-15 hours
1-2 years old
11-14 hours
3-5 years old
10-13 hours
6-13 years old
9-11 hours
14-17 years old
8-10 hours
18-25 years old
7-9 hours
26-64 years old
7-9 hours
65 or more years old
7-8 hours
1. See what’s affecting your sleep
Firstly, you should know that what’s affecting your sleep; for example, some people face sleep disorders and some can’t sleep because of stress. If you want to wake up early then you should pay great importance to your sleep. Taking a healthy sleep is incredibly necessary to boost productivity therefore always try to take a good and healthy sleep. If you want some tips in this regard then read this article. You can also try Melatonin. It can be proved best for treating sleeping diseases like sleeplessness.
Pro tip: Use beds only for sleeping not for eating or working.
2. Give a proper reason
The mistake that many of us make is that we don’t convince our minds to wake up early. You’ve noticed that when your alarm rings you click on snooze unconsciously and so, it goes on. The proper way to come out of this irritating cycle is that you should give yourself some proper reasons (positive/ negative) to get up early. For example, you can say, if I’ll not get up early, I’ll not be able to complete my work with focus and productivity. Or a positive reason like if I’ll get up early I’ll complete this task with more focus and productivity. Yes, you got the point.
This is the basic step for waking up early because once your brain is ready to get up early then nothing can become a hurdle in your way.
3. Make a timetable
Making a timetable about performing tasks before going to bed & after waking up, plays a vital role in this regard. Now, before going to bed take a notebook and pen and start writing answers to the following questions:
· What’ll I do before going to bed?
· When should I wake up?
· What’ll I do after waking up?
Making a timetable can not only boost your focus on becoming an early riser but it’ll also train your mind.
4. Food
Eating healthy food, before going to bed and after waking up, matters a lot. Researchers of Healthline found that taking products having caffeine (before going to bed) can lead to sleeplessness, anxiety, and worst sleep quality. Always avoid junk food before bedtime.
Dry fruits like almonds and walnuts will fabulously boost your sleep quality and prove helpful to get up early without an alarm. Fatty fish like tuna and trout which are rich in vitamin-D and Omega-3 fatty acids are friendly in getting a sleepy night and early day. White rice can also prove highly effective for you to wake up naturally.
Foods that are best before a sound sleep:
· Milk
· Kiwi
· Tarragon
· Noodle soup
· Cherries
· Lettuce
Foods that shouldn’t be taken before bed:
· Ice cream
· Chocolate
· Black coffee
· Alcohol
· Acidic food
· Sugary drinks
5. Take a warm bath
According to Healthline researchers, a lukewarm shower for about 60-80 minutes before going to bed can not only refresh you but also help you to become an early bird. On the other hand, too hot or cold a shower will activate your body’s sympathetic nervous system (the reverse of our requirement).
Pro tip: If you want to take bath twice a day then it’s recommended to take a cold bath in the morning (to boost energy) and a warm one at the night.
6. Off your phone
This graph shows % of U.S people spending time on their phones before bed.
You must have noticed that we can’t sleep whilst using a phone or computer. This happens because mobile phones or other screens release blue light that can ultimately affect our sleep. When you’ll develop a habit of placing your phone away from the bed then you’ll ultimately feel a better routine. Dr. Walia recommends cutting off-screen time 1 hour before bed, but also says that there are even benefits to discontinuing it just 30 minutes before bed.
Pro tip: Off your phone only 10 minutes before bed for first day. Add 10 minutes more for the second and 10 more for the third day and, so on.
7. Stay stress-free
40% of people can’t wake up early because of stress. Stress can cause sleep deprivation.
To release stress, inhale and exhale deeply for 1-2 minutes. Make a good sleep environment. Write cause of stress in a notebook. Read an article, book, journal, magazine, or novel of your interest. Set your mobiles off. Think of some good incident of your life. Motivate yourself. Try meditation. Take some relaxing food/ drinks.
Pro tip: Don’t force yourself to sleep, because in this way, you are staying focused and it’s not possible to sleep with a crowded mind.
8. Full darkness
Whenever we are in the dark, our brain tells our bodies that it’s time to sleep. Our body also releases a hormone in the dark named melatonin. It regulates our sleep. By regulating melatonin levels, we stay away from depression. It’ll also positively impact our productivity. Once we sleep early, we’ll wake up early naturally.
9. Stay oxygenated
In this modern era, everybody sleeps under air conditioners. By continuously sleeping under A.C with closed doors and windows, you’ll lack oxygen. If the blood oxygen level is too low, the body may not work properly and can even become home to diseases. Hypoxemia (lack of oxygen) can cause severe problems like annoying headaches and shortness of breath. In severe cases, it can interfere with heart and brain function.
Hypoxemia can be avoided by deep breathing exercises, walking, eating fruits, drinking water, avoiding drugs/ smoking.
10. Place alarm out of your reach
If you are a night owl or a heavy sleeper, you have noticed that clocks can’t awake you because of hitting the snooze button unconsciously. There is a simple & useful method of getting out of this, you can simply place the clock out of your reach, on a table away from your bed, or in a cupboard. So that, when the alarm will ring you’ll have to go out of your warm & comfortable bed to off the alarm. This process will take away your sleep. If you’ve other people sleeping around you who’ll be disturbed by an alarm then you can use two clocks/ phones with alarms. Set the second alarm for 1-2 minutes late than the first one. Place one near the bed with a low voice and a second away from you with a loud voice. When you wake up with a low voice alarm then you can off the second alarm. Thus, no one else will be disturbed.
Pro tip: Use smashing ringtone such as “favorite song”.
11. Talk to yourself
Rise isn't about making you feel jangled in the morning. After waking up, talk to yourself that if I woke up once, I would not sleep again. After waking up remind yourself that what’ll happen if I’ll sleep again and how can my day become healthy by waking up early.
Talking to yourself will motivate you to stay awake.
12. Look at natural light
After waking up, let the sunlight enter your room by opening curtains and doors. Or go into light yourself like a terrace or first/ second floor. This’ll boost your motivation and energy.
13. Enjoy morning
Instead of starting any boring work, after waking up, enjoy yourself and your morning for a short time. Go for a walk. Look at natural green deep trees, exquisite birds, shining Sun, elegant sky, and fresh dew drops. Feel the cold and soothing air. Listen to the beautiful chirping of birds. Walk on short, cold, and green grass.
Take coffee. Read an interesting book. Do yoga. That’ll make your brain agree on getting up early on daily basis.
14. Apps
Now, it comes the turn of apps that will eventually wake you up. I’m talking about alarm apps. The apps that I’ll show you will not spare you easily and will surely wake you up. Let’s talk about those apps.
- Alarmy: (IOS and android)
Alarmy is a characteristic-packed app that offers the entirety from loud alarms to wake-up assessments. It is also known as the “world’s most annoying app”. Its alarm is loud and very annoying. The most unique one, it can only be turned off when you take a photo of some specific object like a chair, pillow, or even shoes. It’ll also give you a math problem to solve or the alarm will not stop ringing.
- Snap me up: (Android)
It’s also an alarm clock app that would not turn off until you take a selfie. Is it not a mind-blowing, higher-level idea? More is that your every sleepy selfie is saved to a custom album titled, “My sleepy snaps”.
Spin me alarm clock: (IOS and Android).
Yes, you are right. The only way to turn the alarm off is if you get out of bed and start spinning around until it decides you’re awake enough—or you smash your phone against the wall. Either way, you won’t be sleeping through this annoying alarm.
Pro tip: You can download the Timetable app to make a waking up timetable.
The main points are to take proper sleep. Place alarm away. Take a warm bath before sleeping. Eat healthy food.
Now you understand that how and why “early to bed and early to rise can make you healthy, wealthy and wise.” I did my best to provide you best results.
You can further express your views in the comment section below.
