Getting up (earlier) is possible, here's how.
Set your alarm clock not too far away to hear it ring, but far enough to have to get up, if only to turn it off. Leave the shutters ajar to ask for some help in the sun (less effective in winter). Count on your half, your roommates, your cat to wake up, and cross your fingers so that they avoid pillow failure. Effective techniques to get out of bed, but perhaps not to become morning. That is, getting up early every day without too much effort and thinking that if you had known, you would have tried long before. The good news? It is possible to adopt a new rhythm when you wake up, as long as you prepare for it the day before.
GO TO BED ON TIME (THAT MEANS EARLIER)
This seems obvious but the implementation is not really obvious. Between the long working day, the call from the terrace and the series that would let you watch a few more minutes (hours?), you often fall asleep later than expected. It's the opposite of the button snoozewhich we have a good chance of pressing the next morning.
However, the National Sleep Foundation of America believes that an adult needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night.(1). When GETTING UP EARLIER means getting less sleep, every hour of wakefulness gained pays off with a sleep debt that needs to be made up. To stay up in the morning for more than a week in a row, it is therefore essential to get enough sleep.
If you don't know your ideal sleep time, you can start by scheduling an 8-hour night and go back in time from the time you want to get up. For example, if the alarm clock rings at 6:00 a. m., it is at 10:00 p. m. that you should go to bed.
LEARNING TO FALL ASLEEP
We hesitated to write "relearning" but did we really learn to do it? During the first phase of the sleep cycle, the body and mind calm down to prepare for falling asleep. The watchword? Slow down. And when closing your eyes and turning off the light is not enough to get you to sleep, there are other ways to get the message across to your body.
Within 3 hours before bedtime, avoid intense physical activity. They increase body temperature and the production of cortisol, the hormone that helps the body wake up. On the other hand, stretching helps to release tension.Dinner at least 2 hours before going to bed to have time to digest. And it is better not to consume stimulants such as tea, coffee or alcohol. Not easy, but not necessary to do it every night (it will remain between us).
To fall asleep, the body cools down by about 1°C. We help her with a cool shower (not too cold for the body to have to produce heat), or by opening the window of her room a few moments before going to bed. In hot weather, these few ideas should help you get to sleep.
Calm the senses by limiting external stimuli: less noise, less agitation, and especially less lightespecially the blue light that promotes awakening. To do this, we say good night to the screens at least half an hour before going to bed. Why not read a book instead?
And calm the mind as much as possible to let go and fall asleep. If the to do list scrolls by without stopping, we keep enough writing to carry to hand to put on paper what is going on in our heads. Meditate (with an app, it helps a lot!). Paying attention to your breathing, or concentrating on soothing sounds also makes room for sleep.
AVOID THE JET LAG EFFECT
Going to bed early is not always enough to fall asleep early. Indeed, the body prefers the regularity of its internal clock to last-minute program changes. Many biological processes are organized around the circadian rhythm, a 24-hour cycle, including the alternation between waking and sleeping. Going to bed and getting up 2 hours earlier without transition is a bit like switching to daylight saving time or CHANGE TIME ZONE A sudden change of pace, often a source of fatigue. Instead, it is recommended that you...Advance your bedtime and wake-up time by 5 minutes each day until you reach the desired time.. To be a morning person and to stay that way, it's better to take your time.
MAKE YOURSELF WANT TO WAKE UP
Watch the sun rise, take advantage of a few hours to move forward on a project that is close to our hearts, adapt to new work schedules or regain the feeling of having time? After the motivation of the first few weeks, it is easier to go to bed and get up early if you know why you are doing it.
And to make this new rhythm a way of life, we can also program something every night that will make us want to get up, dedicate the first few hours of the day to doing good for each other. A yoga class at dawn (with two people, it's better not to be tempted to cancel)the breakfast you book on weekends, an hour of reading before everything else... Starting by giving yourself a moment to yourself, or to share with those who matter, it changes a whole day.
(1)According to the National Sleep Foundation, 2015
