How To Start Having Early Mornings

If you are someone who has been thinking about trying to wake up earlier than your usual wake up time, or has already attempted a few times, then the first step to achieving this goal is understanding your internal clock, otherwise known as the biological clock. Sleep researcher Leon C. Lack, PhD, former professor in the School of Psychology at Flinders University in Adelaide of Australia, says, “An important factor in being able to wake up easily at the desired time in the morning is the timing of one’s circadian rhythm, or ‘body clock’.”

According to the National Institutes of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), the body’s clock, located in the brain, produces and regulates our circadian rhythms, which helps regulate sleep patterns over the course of a 24-hour period. There are many signals that affect this system, such as environmental changes, daylight, and darkness; our sleep and wake cycles, hormone levels, metabolism, and body temperature are all affected by our circadian rhythms too. “When incoming light hits the optic nerves, information is passed along from the eyes to the brain. When there is little or no light, such as at night-time, your clock tells the brain to make more melatonin, a hormone which makes you sleepy.”

It is not always easy to get a complete good night’s rest but using tips from a previous article called ‘Science of Sleep: How Much Do We Really Need’ can be a helpful start in the path to waking up earlier after a good amount of sleep.

Here are some tips you can follow for healthy wake-up techniques and routines:

• Know why you want to wake up early and make it important ­­– the body listens to the mind more often than you think
• Make sure you do not have a long morning routine, as that can lead to waking up and feeling unmotivated to do a long list of things
• Spend time on working out how your internal body clock works and how you can adjust to your preferred timing
• Try a melatonin supplement to start off
• Switch off your electric devices an hour or two before you sleep the night before
• Make sure you sleep somewhere where the morning light hits you first thing in the morning
• Make a good bedtime routine and sleep at the same time every single day
• After some mornings, evaluate what could be affecting you and what thoughts go through your mind when you try to wake up
• Make it more challenging to turn off your alarm clock – such as leaving it across the room
• Keep this sleeping and waking schedule even in the weekends

Keep track of your progress and soon enough you will find yourself in a good position where you sleep and wake up at the time you chose! This will not only improve your daily schedule but it can also improve your mood greatly, so take advantage and work towards your new goal!