It is no secret that waking up earlier in the morning gives you a head start on the rest of your day. If your job or schedule does not already require you to wake up early, you might be looking for ways to kick your sleep habit in and wasting the day. If you are thinking that you have got bad sleeping habits, you are not alone. Being an early riser or a night owl is not set in stone- you can regulate these habits.
Becoming an early riser means you want to get some high-quality sleep, develop a regular routine, set clear goals, similarly take steps to optimize your energy throughout the day. It takes a great amount of labor from your end. With better sleep, a uniform routine, and energy, you will end up living a happy and healthy lifestyle, procrastinating less, and solving problems better.
How do you change your sleep?
If the stress of your job, your school schedule, your family’s needs, or your personal goals require you to be more active and productive during morning hours, you will be able to alter your sleep and wake cycles. Here are some recommended tips for aligning your sleep schedule together with your current needs:
Gradually change your bedtime and be a early bird
Whether you’re a lark or an owl, a decent night’s sleep is vital for your health. Simply start by hitting the pillows anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours earlier each night. Over a period of weeks, move your nighttime routine earlier and earlier until your bedtime allows you to sleep enough before your morning alarm rings.
Change your light settings for better early morning
Your circadian clock regulates the body’s functions including sleep. That clock is very sensitive to changes in light. In fact, your body releases the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin even in artificial sunset-colored lighting. Dawn-like blue light, in contrast, stimulates a wake-up response in your body.
You can this light sensitivity to your benefit. Limit your exposure to devices that emit blue light, such as phones and tablets, near bedtime, and choose nightlights and bedside lamps with amber or red bulbs that mimic sleepy-time sunset colors.
Develop a soothing night time routine
Going to sleep is not as easy as switching off the lights. If you are trying to override a lifelong habit of nighttime activity, it is going to help to form routines that send a bedtime signal to your brain. Gentle stretches, meditation, deep breathing, aromatherapy, reading books, journaling, and other calming rituals help you to phase out to sleep better in the night.
Track the positive impacts
As your sleep cycle begins to transition, you will notice changes in your energy levels, productivity, and/or mood. Make a note of those changes as you experience them because reviewing the positive impacts will let you stay motivated on days when you are feeling a little bit disoriented and push you towards a healthy lifestyle.
Rewards for small goals
Studies show that when people pursue long-term goals, they are more likely to remain motivated if they recognize and reward smaller accomplishments along the way. As you propose and plan your strategy for becoming more of a morning person, give some thought to ways to reward yourself once you accomplish some steps.
Keep an eye on the long-term goal
When you are feeling discouraged or just not motivated enough to continue with your strive to become an early riser, along with small rewards, keep an eye out on the goal. Think about why you even began to start thinking about reaching that goal. Thinking of writing about relationships, personal values, hopes, aspirations, and therefore the characteristics of your own identity can empower you to beat difficulties and obstacles when other methods fail.
Change your eating habits
Evening people tend to eat their dinner much later within the day than morning people do. Evening people, on the entire, tend to skip breakfast, eat fewer vegetables, and consume more caffeine and alcohol than morning types. If your goal is to go to hit the pillows early and rise early, you would want to adapt your eating habits in order that they promote better sleep. Sleep researchers recommend that you should limit caffeine and alcohol near bedtime and eat your largest meal earlier within the day, preferably breakfast.
Exercise
Daily moderate exercise like jogging or stretching can relieve you of the stress built up over the day. But see that you are not doing too much vigorous exercise, like running or the gym, too close to bedtime, because it may keep you awake but you can do Yoga for sleep.
Give it time
Becoming a morning person literally won’t happen overnight. The more odd your sleep patterns are, the longer it is going to take time to correct them. While it is perfectly fine to let yourself hit the snooze button on a weekend morning or when you are on vacation, attempt to honor your new schedule the maximum amount of time possible. Only consistency will let you push yourself towards a healthy lifestyle.
Make Your Bedroom Sleep-Friendly
Your bedroom is where you’ll spend approximately a third of your life. Making it sleep-friendly is one of the most important steps of building good sleep hygiene, and yet it’s something rarely taken into consideration.
Invest in a very good foam mattress and pillows. Your bed should feel as comfortable as possible. Want to know where you can get the most comfortable sleeping products for your bedroom? Livpure Sleep offers a wide range of mattresses, pillows, and other sleep products for all your sleeping needs. Say bye to all your worries and body aches with a Livpure foam mattress and pillow.
Install blackout curtains from Livpure, which blocks 95% of light, so that no light gets in during early mornings. If this isn’t possible, try getting a sleep mask instead. Make your room a screen-free zone: phones, computers, and tablets don’t get a place where your bed is. Keep the area cool – a temperature of 15.5 to 19.5 degrees Celsius is best for sleep.
Conclusion
Changing a habit is not a one-day game. Only with long and consistent effort, you can change a long-term habit successfully. A healthy lifestyle and a healthy bedtime routine will not only push you to hit the pillows early and wake up early but also will keep you healthy and energetic throughout the day. Enjoy the benefits of being an early riser by following some simple tricks to change your sleep cycle.
