Advice On Rising Early: Becoming An Early Bird

by SuzyQ

posted on 09/21/2009

They say, "The early bird catches the worm." They also say, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise." But what if you're not one of those people who likes to get up early? What if your idea of a perfect night's sleep is getting up at noon? Well, if this describes you, then at some point, you might need to adjust your habits, especially if you have a typical nine-to-five job.

Here are some tips for becoming an early riser.

Begin by adjusting your bedtime.
It's always easier to get up earlier if you get enough sleep the night before. But that may mean you have to adjust your bedtime to one or two hours earlier than you've been used to. Of course, this isn't going to work by trying to change your bedtime cold turkey, but it will work if you adjust your bedtime by 15 minutes a week and your wake-up time by 15 minutes a week until you reach the optimum time to allow you between seven and nine hours of quality sleep. NOTE: Go to bed earlier even if you don't think you can fall asleep. Try reading until you're drowsy. You may be more tired than you think!

Move your alarm clock to the other side of the room.
If the alarm clock is on your bed stand, you'll be tempted to either hit the snooze button, or turn it off. You don't want to do either -- you want to get up! And yes, get yourself out of bed immediately after the alarm goes off, because otherwise, you may be tempted to crawl back under the covers.

Reward yourself!
If you're a coffee drinker, I suggest you get yourself a coffee maker with a timer and have it set to begin brewing at the same time you get out of bed. This way, by the time you brush your teeth, shower and get dressed, the aroma of your coffee will be wafting through the house and you'll be looking forward to that steaming cup to get your motor revving.

Get everything prepared the night before.
To eliminate rushing around in the morning, get your clothes ready the night before and hang them up in a convenient location. Make your sandwich or snacks and leave them in the refrigerator, so all you'll have to do is put them in your cooler or lunch sack. The less you have to do in the morning, the more conducive it will be to wake up earlier.

Make exercise part of your routine.
Try to incorporate some sort of exercise into your routine. This will help you sleep better, so when you do try to get to bed earlier, your body will be ready for the rest it knows it needs.

Avoid caffeine after 4 p.m.
Caffeine can make you edgy, jumpy and jittery and prevent you from getting a good night's sleep. Avoid it after 4 p.m., and if that still gives you a buzz, then cut it out completely after noon. It may take some trial and error to figure out when to stop drinking the caffeine, but eventually you will reach a good compromise time.

Obviously, if you work the night shift or have an otherwise rotating schedule, this type of routine won't work for you. But getting a good night's sleep (an average of seven to nine hours a night) has been provedn to be the most helpful in terms of health benefits. Keep these tips in mind and give them a whirl next time you need to get on an early bird routine!

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