So, you might not be a morning person, but that doesn’t mean you sometimes don’t have to wake up early. Whether you have an early meeting or just trying to get a head start on the day, there are ways to wake up early and not feel tired.
Sleep is one of those things that is often taken for granted. We know we need it but don’t always get enough of it. And when we don’t get enough sleep, we can feel it. As a result, we’re tired, groggy, and cranky.
But there are ways to wake up early and not feel tired. With some preparation and know-how, you can wake up early and feel great.
- What to Do the Day Before To Wake Up and not Feel Tired
- What to Do in the Morning to Avoid that Sleepy Feeling
- Let’s Recap
What to Do the Day Before To Wake Up and not Feel Tired
Get More Sleep
This might seem obvious, but it’s worth repeating often. You must get enough sleep to wake up early and not feel tired. Most people need seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Use a sleep tracker to figure out how much sleep you’re getting and try increasing it if you’re always feeling tired.
If you’re not getting enough sleep, your body is not getting the rest it needs. This can lead to fatigue and make it difficult to wake up in the morning.
To ensure you’re getting enough sleep, stick to a bedtime routine. Go to bed at the same time every night and get up at the same time every morning to stabilize your circadian rhythms. This will help your body get into a better sleep pattern and make it easier to wake up in the morning.
Avoid caffeine after lunch
Drinking caffeine in the afternoon or evening is one surefire way to ruin your sleep and leave you feeling like you never slept.
Caffeine has a half-life of about five hours which means after five hours half of the caffeine you drank is still active in your bloodstream. If you drink a cup of coffee at 2 pm, a quarter of the caffeine is still in your blood at midnight.
Would you want to drink a quarter cup of coffee right before bed? Thought not.
Eat Better to Wake Up Early and Not Feel Tired
What you eat can have a significant impact on how you feel. For example, if you’re eating unhealthy foods, especially highly processed food, the glucose spikes, and crashes can make you feel tired and sluggish. But if you’re eating mostly whole healthy foods, it will make you feel more energetic and help you wake up more easily.
To wake up early and not feel tired, try eating a healthy diet with plenty of real foods: meats, fruits, nuts, and vegetables. You could try starting the ketogenic diet. Also, stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water throughout the day.
Exercise Hard
One way to guarantee a great night’s sleep is to work out hard. Either in the gym, at home, or on the road, strenuous exercise will make you want to rest which will help you sleep, and it will let you sleep deeper so you’ll feel more rested the next day.
Don’t push yourself too far though, as you may need more than one night to recover from a new deadlift PR or your first marathon. But an appropriately hard workout will ensure you wake up the next day full of life.
Improve Your Awareness of Your Internal Body Clock
Get to know your internal body clock better. Our bodies have an internal clock that tells us when to sleep and wake up.
Your internal body clock is controlled by hormones, one of which is melatonin. Melatonin levels start to rise in the evening, making us sleepy. Then, melatonin levels drop in the morning, which makes us feel more awake.
Learn how to listen to your body and pay attention to the cues it’s giving you to help wake up in the morning and not feel tired.
Some people find that taking a melatonin supplement in the evening can help them wake up more quickly in the morning. You can talk to your doctor to see if this is right for you.
Don’t Drink Alcohol Before Bed.
Some people think that alcohol can help them sleep better. But the truth is that alcohol can make it harder to wake up in the morning.
Alcohol disrupts your sleep cycle and prevents you from getting deep, restful sleep. So, if you’re trying to wake up early and not feel tired, avoid drinking alcohol before bed.
Don’t Eat a Heavy Meal Before Bed.
Eating a big, heavy meal before bed can make it harder to wake up in the morning. When you eat a big meal, your body has to work harder to digest it. That work takes its toll and can make you feel more tired in the morning.
The best way to wake up early and not feel tired is to eat a light meal or snack before bed. Avoid eating heavy, greasy foods that make you feel sluggish in the morning.
Don’t Stay Up Late Watching TV or Working.
Staying up late watching TV or working, is a recipe for feeling tired in the morning because you’re not giving your body the chance to rest and recover. The blue light emitted from the screen tells your brain it’s still daytime and will make your body produce cortisol, the stress hormone to keep you awake.
There’s a time and place for work, and it’s not late at night. You’ll be more productive during the day if you go to bed at a reasonable time and get a good night’s sleep.
Don’t Exercise Too Close to Bedtime.
If you like to hit the gym or go for a run before bed, you might be surprised to learn that it can make it harder to wake up in the morning.
Exercise gives you a burst of energy, mainly in the form of adrenaline, making it difficult to fall asleep at night. So skip the late-night gym trip and work out earlier in the day instead.
Don’t Engage in Arguments in the Evening
Some people say they never go to bed angry, and that’s a good rule to live by because arguing with your partner before bed can make it impossible to fall asleep.
Arguing raises your stress levels and makes it harder to relax at night and you know that you’ll only lie there thinking about it. So you’re better off kissing and making up than going to bed angry.
Bury the hatchet and live to argue another day. You can rehash the details in the morning when you’re both well-rested. That will give you even more energy and perspective for a productive discussion in the morning.
What to Do in the Morning to Avoid that Sleepy Feeling
Don’t Snooze
Most people keep their alarm clock right next to their beds. Unfortunately, this can make it too easy to hit the snooze button and go back to sleep.
Moving your alarm clock away from your bed will make it easier to wake up in the morning. It will force you to get out of bed to turn it off, which can help you wake up. A Bluetooth speaker next to your bed connected to your phone in another room works even better.
You can also try setting your alarm clock to a radio station, a song you like, or a motivational speech to get you out of bed and start your day.
Make sure you have the best alarm app for you. Some will fade in, shine a light or force you to do a certain activity to turn it off.
Eat Breakfast Soon After You Wake Up
Depending on your goals, eating breakfast can be a vital part of your morning routine. It’s an excellent way to start your day and gives you the energy you need to shake off the cobwebs of tiredness.
When you eat breakfast soon after you wake up, it helps to regulate your blood sugar levels. This can give you a boost of energy and wake you up more quickly.
So, if you’re trying to wake up early and not feel tired, be sure to eat breakfast soon after you wake up.
What types of foods should you eat for breakfast? A healthy breakfast should include protein, healthy fats, or complex carbohydrates.
Fats and proteins take longer to digest and enter the bloodstream and are less likely to spike your blood sugar which will cause your energy to crash rapidly. If you do eat carbs, avoid the sweet cereals and pancakes drenched in syrup, instead choose something with a lower glycemic index
Some good options include eggs, bacon, oatmeal, greek yogurt, and whole-grain toast.
Take a Cold Shower in the Morning
You may have heard that all you need to do is splash cold water on your face, but taking a cold shower is not only more effective to shock you awake when you’re sleep-deprived but it has other benefits too.
Taking a cold shower in the morning takes a small amount of fortitude, but it will help you wake up and feel more alert. The cold water helps to stimulate your senses and wake your body.
Splashing cold water on your face may have a similar effect but an ice-cold shower will shock your system and wake you up more quickly.
A cold shower in the morning does more than wake you up early without feeling tired, it can also increase circulation and may even boost weight loss.
Take your cold shower as soon as you wake up. If you roll out of bed and go directly to the shower, you’ll be more likely to follow through with it. Stand under the shower head when you turn on the water, don’t fear it!
Caffeine in the Morning
Caffeine is the perfect thing to stimulate your senses and wake up your body. So, if you’re trying to wake up early and not feel tired, you need to drink a cup of coffee in the morning.
If you don’t like the taste of coffee, using milk or cream will soften the bitterness, avoid adding sugar but a sugar-free sugar replacement is a good idea.
A strong cup of tea also contains a good amount of caffeine but few teas will give you as strong a boost as a cup of joe.
You don’t want to overdo it on the caffeine, though. Too much caffeine can make you feel more tired. So, stick to one or two cups of coffee in the morning.
Let’s Recap
How you feel in the morning will play a significant role in how productive your day is. So if you want to wake up early and not feel tired, the things listed above are a great place to start.
- Get enough sleep
- Eat light at night
- Use caffeine and alcohol at the right times
- exercise earlier in the day
. These simple tips can make a big difference in how you feel when you wake up.
If you do all the right things and you’re still feeling tired when you wake up, it might be time to see a doctor. You could have a sleep disorder or medical condition preventing you from getting the rest you need.
If you’re having trouble waking up in the morning, talk to your doctor about it. They can help you determine what’s causing your fatigue and recommend the best treatment options. For example, you may need to change your bedtime routine or your diet. Either way, your doctor can help you get on the path to feeling well-rested and energized each morning.
Put some of these tips into practice and you’ll have the most well-rested day ever tomorrow!
