Early to bed and early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise. Well, that’s what Benjamin Franklin wrote, but is it true? Seems it is. When you go to bed at a regular time, get enough sleep, and get up by at least 6 a.m. you are at less risk of depression, sleep strengthens your immune system and cognition, and you will be more productive. So, yes, healthy, wealthy and wise.
But, is it really possible to get up early every morning and not feel tired? Of course. Gradually start getting up earlier every day and then follow these 5 hacks to get better sleep so you can rise early, ready to go.
1. Make Your Bedroom a Place of Rest
When we started working remotely, wasn’t it great? You didn’t have to get dressed and drive in to work. But, the division between work life and home life became blurred, even in the bedroom. If you want to wake up early and refreshed, then your bedroom needs to be a place of rest and serenity.
To make your bedroom a place of comfort and peace, get rid of clutter and anything that reaks of work. This is a place to sleep and shut out the rest of the world. So, use black-out curtains to create a dark space with no distractions. Make sure to turn off all lights and screens (TV, phone, and tablet). And, if this will truly be a place of rest, make sure your bed is comfortable. My wife and I recently purchased a Lucid mattress topper, and we are definitely sleeping better.
Bonus tip: My wife sleeps with an oscillating fan running to create some white noise to help her sleep. However, others have had success with a sound machine to create a relaxing atmosphere as you doze off into a deep slumber.
2. Get on a Sleep Schedule
It’s been driven into our skulls over the years to get 8 hours of sleep a night. While the number of hours is important, especially to help our mood, immune system, and mental ability, could there be something even more critical than the volume of sleep? Yes, there is.
Our bodies behave like machines. They need to be refueled every day. Sleep does that, in part, but researchers discovered hours are not enough [source]. We need to be on a regular sleep schedule. That means not sleeping in on days off (we promise it’s worth a try).
Maintaining a regular sleep schedule contributes to health benefits just as much as getting those 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night. When our schedules are all over the place, it can be difficult for our bodies to get into a rhythm. This can lead to problems falling asleep or staying asleep. So, work on going to bed around the same time each night, ideally before 10 p.m. if you want to be up at 6 a.m. ready to go.
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3. Start a New Morning Routine
Are you like most and set your alarm for 5 minutes earlier than you want to wake up only so you can hit the snooze button before getting out of bed? Don’t do it. Productivity gurus say it’s easy for those 5 minutes to turn into half an hour or more. It’s important to get continuous sleep, so hitting the snooze button and catching extended ZZZs can be harmful.
If you want to get up early and be productive, you will need to change things up. Perhaps move your alarm clock across the room so you have to get up to silence it. Maybe you need to switch alarm clocks and get an obnoxious-sounding one with a bed shaker (yes, a bed shaker!).
One blogger changed up his morning routine by taking cold showers. What he discovered after only one week was that he felt amazingly refreshed, became worry-free, and ready to approach the new day.
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4. Get Plenty of Mental and Physical Exercise
When getting into a new morning routine of waking up earlier, exercise can play an important role. One of the best exercises for you, no matter your level of physical activity, is walking. When you walk, you will improve your cardiovascular fitness, strengthen bones and muscles, improve your balance, mood, cognition, memory, and … wait for it … sleep! [source] On top of all that, walking is low-impact and you’ll be outside getting fresh air and natural vitamin D from the sun. But, if you cannot go outdoors to walk because of the weather, you can always pop in Leslie Sanson’s Walk-Away the Pounds and exercise indoors.
We need to exercise our minds, too. Many discovered meditation helps in getting to sleep because it reduces our stress, a leading cause of insomnia. Meditation helps reduce your heart rate and blood pressure, so, clear your mind, relax, get a restful sleep, and wake up refreshed.
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5. Watch Your Diet
As you immerse yourself into a new routine to wake up refreshed and ready to go at 6 a.m., all of your new healthy habits can be undone with a poor diet. While we’re not exactly what we eat, if we choose to fill our tank with junk, we will not be at our best. We have heard about how terrible sugar is for our waistline, but it can also affect our memory and cognitive abilities. [source].
Even if it doesn’t, the crash from too much sugar can ruin our day. Keeping hydrated (with water and not sugar-flavored drinks) helps flush the gunk out of our system, so start each day by drinking at least one glass of water. You don’t have to give up coffee, but don’t make that your main source of fluids during the day.
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Bobby Warren is a former award-winning journalist who founded Wooster Media Group LLC, an SEO/content creation company. He lives in Northeast Ohio with his wife, Wendi, and their pets.
