Do You Have What It Takes to Become a Morning Person?
The early bird does indeed get the worm. Whether you like it or not, it is a morning person's world and we are all living in it. Unfortunately, only one out of ten people is a real morning person.
Whether it’s summer vacations, travel, or just your day-to-day routine that messed up your sleep schedule, it is crucial to your health, work, and social life that you become a morning person. According to Elizabeth Petty, our minds are not able to operate to their full potential when we are sleep deprived.
If you are a night owl characterized by having to snooze the alarm multiple times in the morning, then this article is for you. Although your genes have some influence over your preference to sleeping and rising, you can become a morning person with a few changes to your routine.
Get enough sleep
If you intend to switch from a night owl to a morning person, the bottom line is you need to get enough sleep. Lack of sleep gives you the general feeling of being tired, sad, irritable, and even stressed.
The average adult requires seven to nine hours of sleep per day. To achieve this, you will have to sleep earlier than your standard time. You can start by heading to bed 15 minutes earlier each day until you reach your intended target.
Let the light in
Becoming a morning person is not only about adjusting your alarm clock but also to reset your body's internal clock. To do this, you need to expose your eyes to the bright morning light. The reason: Your internal clock produces melatonin, which makes you sleepy.
Therefore, when you open all the blinds and expose yourself to light first thing in the morning, this helps reduce the melatonin production. At the same time, this trick sets your internal clock to wake up at the right time.
No tech before bedtime
Long ago, people went to bed solely because the sun went down. That is not the case these days with the innovation of electricity and electronic gadgets. Research has shown that the blue light emitted by electronics like laptops, TVs, and smartphones can shift circadian rhythms making it hard to sleep at night. This is because blue light reduces the amount of melatonin (that good, sleepy hormone) that our body produces, making our brains more active and feel less tired.
So - keep off any electronic devices at least one hour before you finally hit the sack to ensure that you will fall asleep easily and wake up ready to take on the day.
Use mornings to enjoy something you like
Becoming a morning person might come down to how you enjoy your mornings. For instance, you can start by setting your alarm tone to something you want. After waking up, you can watch your favorite show while making breakfast.
If TV is not your thing, motivational podcasts might be a good option to try out. A gentle yoga session might also be an excellent way to start the day. In the end, it all boils down to doing something fun and enjoyable when you wake up. This tactic leaves you full of energy and happiness to face the day.
Watch what you eat
Finally, the food you eat can help or hinder your sleep. If you want an evening snack, foods rich in magnesium and tryptophan increase the melatonin levels making you sleep better. Such foods include walnuts, cherries, avocadoes, salmon, and even spinach, to name a few.
For the morning routine, it is better to eat proteins. This is because proteins increase your dopamine levels, making you ready for the day.
Conclusion
Backsliding is inevitable when it comes to maintaining a proper morning routine. So do not beat yourself up on those when the bed gets the better of you. Becoming a morning person is more robust than it seems. Achieving a proper sleeping cycle gradual process that requires patience and time. However, once you begin to reap the benefits of being a morning person, it will become a habit in your daily routine.
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Elise Morgan is a freelance writer located in North Carolina who has recently found her passion writing about everything relating to health and wellness. This came about as she studied exercise science in school and hasn’t been able to let it go since!
For more information on discorded sleep, healthy nighttime yoga routines, and Yoga Nidra and meditation for sleep, please see Program Director Dana Slamp's series Nighttime Yoga on YogaAnytime. PYI Blog readers get a free month of Nighttime Yoga using this link or the code word "SLAMP"."
