Be the First One in Your House to Wake Up

Be the First One in Your House to Wake Up More in Self-Improvement Happiness Meditation Stress Management Spirituality Holistic Health Inspiration Brain Health Technology Relationships Waking up before anyone else in your family is a peaceful way to start your day. No one pulls you away from your hot cup of tea. There are no demands to comply with or questions to answer, just silence. The tough part is actually getting out of bed to enjoy this experience. Here are six things you can do to get out of bed early and enjoy your morning. Go to Bed on Time You will feel horrible if you go to bed at 1 AM and try to wake up at 5 AM. If you need seven to eight hours of sleep plan to be in bed by 9 PM or 10 PM. If your kids tend to wake you at night, factor this into your bedtime. Then make it a goal to be in your bed at  this time every night (including the weekend) for a month to make this a habit. No Screen Time Before Bed Second, don’t look at any type of screen 30 minutes to an hour before bed. Screens act like coffeeâ€"they stimulate your brain instead of relaxing it. Get a jump start on your nightly cleanup instead. Focus your thoughts on the things you are grateful that happened that day. Follow a Self-Care Bedtime Routine Third, follow a self-care bedtime routine while you envision what you’ll do when you wake up early the next morning. Brush and floss your teeth, wash and moisturize your face, and maybe take a hot shower or bath. The hot water raises your body temperature and when it drops it makes you feel drowsy. Get Into Bed and Prepare for Sleep Last, when you get into bed, write about anything that’s worrying you. If you feel you have a lot to do the next day write it out to stop worrying about it. To help with sleep read a few pages of a book or wear an eye mask. You can also imagine yourself waking up early in the morning to get excited about the experience. Get a New Alarm Clock or Set a New Ring Tone   If you’ve had the same alarm sound for a while it may be time for a change! Your new ringtone or alarm sound can help break the old habit of sleeping through your alarm. Find a tone that sounds good to you and perhaps a bit chipper. If you use your phone, name the alarm something funny like “Go enjoy your coffee!” or “Get up, Mama!”? Do you feel guilty that your new wake-up time will irritate your spouse? Use this as motivation! Set a soft alarm near your bedside to rouse you out of bed. Then set another loud alarm across the room which will wake everyone in the room if you don’t get up in time. This motivation is sure to jolt you out of bed! Create a Morning Routine You’ll Look Forward To When you do wake up before everyone else, what will you do with this precious time other than having a hot cup of coffee in silence? If you don’t have a plan you’ll be less likely to get up. Use this time to go after the personal goals you’ve set. If you don’t have goals, use this time to set some! Here are a few routines you could follow. You could write in your journal about your career goals, what you’re grateful for, or any problems you’re trying to figure out. You could plan out your work day and your personal to-do list to feel more prepared for the day. You could work on a passion project as a personal blog or learn something new from a book or online course. Last, but not least, you could follow an exercise plan that you could dive right into. Avoid Conflict With Your Spouse Before Bedtime Night time is when you finally get to connect with your spouse without interruptions (hopefully). But make a pact to not talk about stressful situations right before bedtime. Save these conversations for right when the kids go to bed or the weekend. Going to bed angry or stressed can ruin your chances for a good night’s rest.   When you start getting into the habit of waking up earlier before everyone else youll cherish this time. If you oversleep you may feel irritated because instead of waking up in silence youre rushing around in chaos. Be easy on yourself because theres always tomorrow!