We’ve all heard the saying ‘the early bird catches the worm’, but how much truth is there to this statement? In fact, it does appear that there are a lot of benefits to leaving your warm cocoon and embracing the sunrise.
Waking up early has been said to improve individuals’ cognitive function, have a better quality of sleep, increase levels of organisation and productivity and even improve our mood and mental health (1).
So, great, we’ve established the many benefits of waking up early, but the next step is how we can actually embrace this new lifestyle, so here’s some tips to support you in getting out of bed.
- Tip One – Invest in an alarm clock:
We’ve all been there. Our phone alarm goes off and through hazy eyes we click straight on Instagram and the endless scrolling begins, keeping us in bed for at least another 20 minutes, and that’s if we don’t fall back to sleep.
Having an alarm clock immediately removes that temptation and you can even put it on the other side of the room, forcing you to get up to stop the incessant ringing. This also prevents the automatic pushing of the snooze button.
If you want to go one step further, something that made a huge difference to me was investing in a sunrise alarm clock. For half an hour before your alarm goes off, the clock will gradually get brighter and brighter, simulating the sunrise and this can enhance your cognitive performance, immediately after waking up (2).
- Tip Two – Water, water, water:
Cameron Diaz once said:
“Once I drink the water, I feel it immediately. I go from being a wilted plant to one that has been rejuvenated by the rain” (3).
If you get the recommended 6-8 hours of sleep per night, that is a very long time to deprive your body of water. So, my next top tip would be to drink as much water as you can, as soon as you wake up.
There are so many benefits to drinking water first thing in the morning such as weight loss, clearing your skin and improving bodily functions, however, the reason drinking water can help you get up early is because it boosts your mood and improves mental performance (4), giving you that extra motivation to start your day.
- Tip Three – Airplane mode:
We touched on the topic of endless, cosy, morning scrolling earlier and how we could eliminate the initial temptation with an alarm clock, but what if there was an even better way to increase productivity and the rise and shine mentality.
Once you wake up, even a quick tap on your phone to check the time (if that’s what you’re telling yourself), can highlight the influx of emails, messages, likes and comments, sending you spiralling down the rabbit hole and into a reactive state.
The solution: every night before going to sleep pop your phone on airplane mode and look forward to a night, and morning, free from distractions.
You can set your own limits, maybe it’s no screen time until you are out the shower, or even until you’re completely ready and sat down to breakfast. Either way, it will help you make more of your mornings and get you up and out with nothing to distract you and risk making you fall back to sleep.
- Tip Four – Avoiding blue light:
Blue light. We’ve all heard the term, but do any of us really know what it means? According to The Sleep Chairty (5), it is a light found in lots of digital devices to stimulate sensors in the eyes, convincing your brain into thinking it is daytime.
Scientists believe that blue light may have an impact on sleep because of how it interferes with our circadian rhythm, so using a digital device in the evening means the blue light you are exposed to interferes with these signals and can delay your production of melatonin (the sleep controlling hormone, (5).
So maybe switch out your 30-minute scroll on Instagram, the night-time reality show or answering those pesky emails, for a couple of chapters of a good book and see if you notice any difference.
These tips will all help you wake up early, eventually leading you to have a productive morning routine and helping you to seize the day.