I get asked a lot how (and WHY!) we wake up so early, so I thought I’d share our routine and how we became the couple that wakes up at 4:30 am every day.
Honestly, waking up is hard to do. Some of you are night owls and don’t believe the early bird gets the worm. Others of us live for our cup of hot coffee in the dark, quiet house and get our morning run in before dawn. Wherever you fall, we can all agree waking up can feel difficult, but below are 7 tips on how to wake up earlier while still feeling rested and ready for the day.
Actually, before I get started, I feel compelled to say I know this isn’t for everyone. You might be in a season of life where this isn’t possible. When our kids were little, it was impossible — with them waking up during the night — for us to have a consistent sleep/wake schedule. We just focused on trying to get enough sleep because we knew how important that was for our mental and physical well-being. But, now that our kids are older (3 and 5), we can focus on our sleep consistency and wake time again. Life is full of seasons, and if this isn’t the season where you can focus on this, that’s okay; soften into your current season and focus your energy on trying to enjoy it because it won’t last forever.
7 Ways To Wake Up Earlier and Still Feel Refreshed
1. Set Your Bedtime And Make It a Routine
Wind-down time is as important to your night as sleep. It helps you unwind from your day and signals to your brain it’s time to transition from your daily activities to sleep. So, set an alarm that tells you when to stop working/turn off the tv. Once this alarm goes off, it’s time to begin your pre-bed routine. If you don’t have a pre-bed routine, start one. Focus on doing whatever you need to unwind — for me, this means no technology, a hot shower, getting in my cozy pajamas, my quick skincare routine, flossing and brushing my teeth, and reading a book in bed.
Note — To figure out when to set your alarm, decide your ideal wake time and subtract 7/8 hours. This will give you your ideal bedtime. Then, from that bedtime, subtract 30-45 minutes. This is when you should set your alarm to ensure you have enough time for your bedtime routine.
2. Focus on Sleep Consistency
Sleep consistency— or the hours you go to bed and wake up every day is MORE important than the amount of sleep you get. If you focus on your sleep consistency, studies have shown you will get deeper sleep and wake feeling more rested. Harvard University published a paper that reported a significant positive correlation between this metric and academic performance in healthy college students. In fact, students in the study with regular sleep and wake times had an average GPA of 3.72, while those students deemed irregular sleepers averaged only 3.24 on the 4-point scale; that’s the difference between an A and a B+ average. To quote the study’s lead, Dr. Amndrew Phillips, the most interesting part of this finding was: “Sleep regularity was uncorrelated with sleep duration, suggesting that regularity captures another informative dimension of sleep.” So, if you get the recommended amount of sleep every night, you could still be missing out on potential sleep-related benefits if you get this sleep at inconsistent times!!
3. Get Up At The Same Time Every Day
Again, focusing on sleep consistency helps you reset your internal clock, so you aren’t sleep-deprived every morning. I know this sounds insane, but it truly works. If you sleep during the same window every night, your body will naturally wake up right before your alarm, ready to get up.
4. Let The Light In
Open your blinds and let the sunlight in. If you’re waking up before the sun rises, mimic this sunshine. KCD’s boss gave him THIS CASPER WAKE LIGHT, and it’s genuinely the most life-changing product in our house. At night it slowly dims, so you naturally get sleepy and fall asleep. Then, in the morning, it gradually (30 minutes before your “alarm”) brightens the room so you gently wake up. I love that it avoids the “shock” of waking up, and we never have to hear that horrible alarm sound again. It’s also nice not to have to turn on a harsh/bright light — it makes it feel totally normal to wake up when it’s still pitch dark outside, haha!
5. Don’t Hit Snooze
Avoid hitting the snooze button on your phone. Pressing snooze and falling back asleep tells your body it’s okay to begin another sleep cycle — making you feel even groggier than you would be if you’d gotten up with the alarm in the first place. Just do it — even if you don’t feel like it. You can’t control your feelings, but you can control your actions.
6. Have a Morning Routine
Knowing what you will do when you get up is essential, so you use the time productively. I have the same routine every morning, giving me a purpose for waking up. I never check my phone first thing in the morning — it’s such a time suck and can quickly derail my headspace. My morning time is sacred, so I do everything I can to protect that time and start the day on the right foot. In addition to a routine, I also strongly believe in writing your to-do list for the next day as the last thing you do in your workday — so you know exactly where to start/focus your time/energy.
7. Get Exercise
Go for a run, do a pilates workout, go to the gym, or go for a walk. You will increase your endorphins, making you happier and ensuring you sleep better that night. Our goal every day is for our kids and us to feel tired at the end of the day. So get outside, move your body, and everyone will have a better night’s sleep!
Conclusion
Finally, one more habit that KCD and I swear by in our Sunday night reset. This could be an entire post, but the cliff notes version is we put the kids to bed, take a hot shower, and jump into bed ourselves. This sets the tone for the entire week and sets us up to start the week on a strong note. If you start the week with good momentum, you’re way more likely to keep it going (and feel good about yourself!) versus feeling like you’re playing catch-up all week.
Overall, everyone can be a morning person. But, just like anything in life — it requires some discipline and consistency.
Imagine if you spent the next three months focusing on waking up earlier. Before you know it, it will be second nature. You’ll have gotten more time in your day, started the day on your own terms, and proven to yourself that when you put in the effort — consistently — anything is possible!
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