Yes, you can become a morning person — here’s how
The early bird catches the worm!
Societies schedule seems to expect you to be an early bird.
Whether it’s getting up at 9am for work, getting to an exam on time, or needing to be up early for a busy day ahead, if you like rising up at the crack of dawn, you’re definitely at an advantage.
In fact, you can’t scroll through social media without yet another influencer showing you their fabulous morning routine. If you don’t get up at 6am, meditate, journal, make a protein shake and work out at the gym, how could you possibly expect to ever be productive!
For the night owls out there, the morning routine trend can be quite alienating. You probably feel inspired to join the 5am club, but when the time comes you can’t seem to drag yourself out of bed. Then you feel bad that you didn’t get up early, go to bed grumpy and saying that you need to get up at 5am, but the cycle continues.
You aren’t seeing long lasting results because you aren’t being realistic with yourself.
We aren’t robots, we are human.
Due to different lifestyle factors we don’t all have the same 24 hours in a day, so everyone's morning will look drastically different. Secondly, there’s actually some science which explains why you may struggle to get up early…
The science behind early birds and night owls
Humans naturally have an internal body clock called a circadian rhythm. It follows a 24 hour cycle which controls when our body feels awake or when it wants to go to sleep. Generally speaking, when the sun rises we feel more alert, but the night time makes our body release melatonin which is a hormone that makes us sleepy.
However, the internal body clock varies from person to person. This variability is called a chronotype. According to the Sleep Foundation:
“Morning people, or early birds, have an early chronotype. They like waking up early and they tend to feel at their best earlier in the day. Night owls, on the other hand, have a late chronotype. They prefer to wake up later and they feel most motivated and active at night.”
In fact chronotypes are largely genetic, so you can’t suddenly become an early bird if you’ve been born a night owl. However, whilst you may be relieved to know that your hardwired to wake up late, research suggests your chronotype can be influenced by outside factors such as lifestyle, age and environment.
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with being a night owl. It’s simply your biology. However, you probably clicked on this article because you’ve realised that getting up earlier makes life a lot easier, especially in terms of time management.
You can become more of a morning person if you really want to — you just need an effective strategy.
So, here are some realistic tips below to help you night owls like the morning a little more.
1. Set a bed time and wake up time
Firstly, try to decide what time you want to get up and go to bed. Setting these goals will give you something to work towards.
Perhaps your job starts at 9am so you’d like to get up at 7am to have enough time to get ready and commute. Also, think about what time you want to go to bed. The NHS suggests young adults need between 7–9 hours of sleep, so count back 7–9 hours from your wake up time to work out your bed time. Additionally, research shows that the best time to go to bed is between 10pm–11pm.
Remember to be realistic! Take things slow and set times that will be manageable for you.
2. Improve your sleep hygiene so you wind down before bed
A key factor in being able to get up early is getting high quality sleep. This is because you may be in bed for the recommended times but, if you took hours to fall asleep and kept waking up, then your body and brain haven’t had the chance to recharge by the time the sun comes up.
In some cases, this can be due to an underlying disorder such as sleep apnea or insomnia. If you are worried about ongoing sleep issues, then see your GP as soon as possible. The NHS sleep self assessment can also help you identify the problem.
However, sometimes getting high quality sleep can simply be a case of improving your sleep hygiene. The Sleep Foundation defines what this means in the following quote:
“Strong sleep hygiene means having both a bedroom environment and daily routines that promote consistent, uninterrupted sleep. Keeping a stable sleep schedule, making your bedroom comfortable and free of disruptions, following a relaxing pre-bed routine, and building healthy habits during the day can all contribute to ideal sleep hygiene”.
So, what does this look like in practice? A good rule to follow is the 10–3–2–1–0 rule . This means:
- Don’t drink caffeine 10 hours before bed — coffee is a stimulant that keeps you awake and alert, so it’s important to limit it to be able to fall asleep.
- Stop eating 3 hours before bed — when you eat, your energy is centred towards your digestive system which keeps your body awake, so be sure to eat your last meal so your body can rest.
- Stop working at least two hours before bed — this will allow your mind to switch off and relax.
- Unplug from electronic devices one hour before bed — blue light can interrupt our sleep due to melatonin production, so try not to bring any devices into the bedroom.
- Hit the snooze button 0 times — when your alarm goes off make sure you get up!
4. Exercise daily
Exercise can go a long way in improving your sleep. This is because physical activity increases the time spent in deep sleep. Vigorous exercise tires you out which increases your body’s drive to get some sleep and recharge at the end of the day.
So, try to exercise a little bit everyday to help you get a better sleep and wake up earlier. The recommended time is about 30 minutes per day and, for better sleep, try to leave the more intense workouts for the morning. More low intensity exercises like cycling or yoga are great for the evening.
For more information, the NHS has a great guide on physical activity.
5. Create a morning routine you actually enjoy
Like I said at the beginning of this article, it’s very important to be realistic to get results. So, when creating a morning routine, there’s no need to copy and paste what someone else does. Try to fill your morning with activities that you genuinely enjoy so that you’ll actually want get up in the morning.
Perhaps reading a good book and having some chilled out ‘me time’ is what you’d like. Or maybe you’d like to get a high intensity workout in. Your routine doesn’t have to be perfect, just something that makes you feel energised, ready for the day and fits into your lifestyle.
6. Stay consistent
Make sure your hard work pays off by staying consistent with your sleep habits! Once you find what works for you, stick to it so that you can see the results. If you give up too quickly then you’ll be back to the drawing board.
The take home?
There’s nothing wrong with being a night owl, in fact it’s largely down to genetics! However, since getting up early can make our lives a lot easier, it’s important to make some small lifestyle changes. You don’t have to be an early bird, but these tips will help you like the morning a little more.
