For the longest time, I have been a night owl. My brain functions better at night and that's when my creativity is booming with so many ideas. I've tried my hand at the early hours' thing and trust me, once I'm awake, it's like my mind is functioning in slow-mo. Also, I love sleeping in and just wouldn't want to wake up (you feel me?). Those extra minutes of sleep tasted like sweet heaven.
So, I did some research and wanted to find out if I was doing something wrong because the world's most successful people started their day early and swore by its benefits. It is said that sleeping and waking up at the right time helps to keep our Circadian rhythms in check. Now, what's that?!
Circadian rhythms are 24-hour cycles broken down into our sleep and wake cycles. Usually, it is a 16-hour wake cycle and an 8-hour sleep cycle. During this period, the body takes care of our internal processes and coordinates the physical and mental systems. Apparently, this is very important to stay healthy.
Our generation has totally messed this up with going to sleep late, working night shifts, and not getting enough downtime. The effects of sleep deprivation and messing up our Circadian rhythms are not immediate, however, they are very damaging in the long term.
Now, coming to our point that is becoming a morning person, the reason why you're not able to wake up early is that your sleep cycle needs some work. Our ancestors went to sleep 2-3 hours after sunset and woke up as the sun rose. And this is supposed to be our natural wake and sleep cycle. Getting to the root of the problem, once you fix your sleep timings, it will be much easier to wake up early.
If you're a night person and feel perfectly fine and healthy with your routine, you do you!
Hit the sack early
We all know the saying that goes - 'Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise'. I couldn't agree more.
Going to bed early means wrapping up your night as soon as possible and lights out by 10 pm. I know that may sound a bit too early for some of you and it doesn't matter what time you go to bed - maybe 11 pm or even later. The question is - 'Are you getting your 7-8 hours of sleep?
Some ways to get your body ready are drinking a calming tea like chamomile tea or reading a book. Try to stay away from any kind of electronic device or screens. They literally kill your sleep cells!
Resist scrolling on your phone
All of us are tempted to take our phones to bed after a long, tiring day. It has become a habit of endless scrolling until our eyes hurt or realize it's 3 am.
You need to stop. Social media platforms are designed in such a way that you get to see new content with every scroll. Especially, that infinity scroll feature in apps like Facebook, Instagram & Twitter.
Don't get stuck in these infinity pools and resist the urge to look at your phone right before bedtime. As we've all heard, the blue light does no good to our sleep.
Create a morning routine
Spend some time to create a morning routine that would excite you to get out of bed early. Just think, with all that extra time in the morning, you could get a LOT done.
It isn't about how much you do in a day, but how satisfied are you with the things you got done. Maybe you can do a 15-min workout, read for 30 mins, go for a jog, take your dog for a walk, do yoga, work on your small business, or just anything that gets you excited and rolling.
The possibilities are endless. Once I started creating a routine that I looked forward to, I knew exactly what I wanted to do as soon as I woke up. This made everything so much easier and tbh, I felt energetic throughout the day whenever I made an early start.
Related: How to set up an ideal routine
How you wake up is important
I'm sure most of us wake up with an alarm after pressing that snooze button way too many times. Gone are the days when people rose with the sun. How do you feel when your alarm goes off? Anxious? Irritated? Well, a lot of us are disappointed that the night went by too soon.
Well, there is something that worked for me and took away my urge to throw my phone against a wall. Set your alarm tone to a song that you like. Something subtle and easy on your ears. Not your default tone that goes off like a siren.
Next, keep your phone or alarm clock out of reach from bed. You don't want it right next to you because hitting the snooze button will become second nature. Keep it in a place such that you need to get out of bed to turn it off.
Test your sleeping schedule
I'm not gonna promise you that as soon as you follow everything I've said, you'll become a morning person. There's going to be a lot of trial and error.
First, start by going to sleep at a particular time every night. In the beginning, you're going to find it difficult to fall asleep that early but as time goes, it'll become easier. Try waking up at 7 am for a few days before you take that big leap to 6 am.
For some people, afternoon naps can be really tempting and it is going to be difficult to fall asleep on time at night. A power nap ranging from 30 mins to 1 hour is fine. Anything more than that is going to affect your night's sleeping schedule.
Check out: 10 Habits/Things That Improved My Life
Takeaway
Personally, I felt refreshed and energetic throughout the day on the days I woke up early. Although I don't wake up early every single day, it's a good start.
I'm not telling you to become a morning person starting now. That's your choice. You can sleep and wake up whenever you want as long as you're staying healthy. Just thought it would be cool to try something out & see if it was worth the hype. I would highly recommend you try it out!
Take care!