Finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning? According to a survey conducted by OnePoll for Mattress Nerd, it takes two alarms and a total of 24 minutes for the average American to get out of bed after waking up.
Maybe it's just too cozy. Or perhaps you're left feeling tired after a supposed good night's rest, wishing you could hit snooze once more without repercussions. Maybe you're a night owl, and getting up before 8 AM never really got stuck into your routine.
Regardless of the reason, you're probably well aware of your ideal wake-up time. You know, the one you establish to accommodate your daily schedule. It goes without saying that you should craft a sleep schedule based on your daily activities and not the other way around.
Still, no matter how hard you seemed to try, you couldn't get around that alarm snooze button.
The good news is that you don't have to be stuck in an overwhelming urge to remain in bed every morning. This article lays down a few simple strategies you can implement right away to help you establish a morning routine that starts with you tumbling out of bed as soon as the first alarm goes off, steering you clear of overstay guilt.
Why is It So Hard to Get Out of Bed in the First Place?
There might be a lot of factors contributing to your groggy and lazy mornings. And these factors that keep us in bed longer fall into either of these two simple categories: those you can avoid and those you can't.
Factors We Can't Avoid That Keeps Us in Bed Longer
Chances are, poor sleep quality is the main culprit for your trouble getting out of bed immediately. If it were up to you, you'd probably opt for better sleep, regardless if you're a morning person or a night owl.
Knowing that you need to recharge your mind and body for the next day should be enough for you to feel motivated to enter deep slumber.
But, like it or not, some things affecting quality sleep are out of your control. For instance, there's probably little you can do to prevent an infant from waking up every two hours early in the morning. Or maybe you've developed a sleep disorder, and you may need to consult with a professional to move forward.
Remember that even though we can't remedy these issues at once, we can directly lessen their negative impact. We'll talk more about this in a little while.
Factors We Can Resolve Right Away
That coffee at 6 PM could've been avoided had you stood firm and stuck to your caffeine consumption schedule. Now you have to postpone resetting your body clock until the next day. Your brain may have gotten used to excess screen time as you lay in bed, and now it's taking a toll on your good night's sleep.
If you think about it, we can directly influence most of the factors affecting our sleep schedules. We can actually take the necessary steps to stop them from impacting our optimal wake-up time.
On most occasions, it's only a matter of building the proper habits throughout the day and establishing a sound sleep routine.
Below are seven tips that can help you build the right sleep habits and manage factors that negatively impact your motivation to get out of bed.
7 Tips for Getting Out of Bed In the Morning
#1 Figure out a Sleep Schedule That's Right for You
So, what's your ideal sleep schedule? When would be the optimal hours that let you get those 7 - 9 hours going? Of course, there's no cut-and-dried rule for sleep and wake-up time. And there are a lot of factors that determine a person's optimal sleep hours.
Consider your daily schedule
Perhaps the biggest factor for most is their daily schedule. For many people, obligations and passionate pursuits determine their daily to-do's. And to get the most out of each day, it's only practical to craft a sleep routine tailored to these specific activities.
Get in touch with your circadian rhythm
Another thing to consider is your sleep-wake circadian rhythm - your body's internal clock regulating your sleep cycle. It induces specific psychological and behavioral cues, telling you exactly when it's time to sleep and when it's time to wake up.
This internal clock going awry is why some people have a hard time waking up early, or during the moment they're supposed to. So it's best to get in touch with your own circadian rhythm before working out an ideal sleep schedule.
It's also worth mentioning that resetting this internal clock takes a while. But it's doable, leading us to our next point.
#2 Wake Up at the Same Time Everyday
One of the most common reasons for poor sleep quality (and duration) is a disruption in the circadian rhythm. You've probably gotten used to sleeping and waking up at the same hours every day. But now, something requires you to promptly adjust that schedule. Perhaps you've recently taken a job requiring you to work late nights.
Any drastic change in your daily schedule can potentially disturb your internal clock, leading to lost sleep hours and reduced sleep quality. It's no wonder why you're having a hard time getting up.
Of course, you're now working towards resetting this internal clock so it can work in your favor, which includes doing your best to sleep at that same time every day. But have you ever considered adjusting sleep hours by focusing on wake-up time instead?
Think about it; you may not always have control over when your body tells you to drift away. And adjusting to a fixed bedtime doesn't happen overnight. But what you can control right now is your wake-up time.
Yes, you're going to feel groggy, and you'd rather go back to sleep than face the day ahead. But forcing yourself to wake up every day at the same time can be your ticket to speed up your body's adjustment to this new sleep rhythm. But here's one trick to remember before setting up that alarm clock.
#3 Keep Your Alarm Clock Across The Room
Alarm clocks are great tools for keeping sleep schedules regular. But an alarm clock seldom helps those who just can't break out of their snooze button habit. It doesn't take much to hit snooze once it goes off on your bedside table, even if you're half conscious.
There's a straightforward trick to avoid hitting snooze while prompting you to actually get up, which is what you're supposed to be doing in the first place. Ready for it? Keep your alarm clock or your phone (if you're using it as your alarm) away from your bed. That buzzing sound should be enough to motivate you to GET OUT of bed earlier than you would if the snooze button is within tapping reach.
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#4 Drink Water
Now that you're out of bed, the last thing you'd want is to go back. Doing so keeps you stuck in the same cycle, making it harder to break out. But after getting up, you're probably going to struggle a lot with sleep inertia, which is only natural for the body.
So what do you do once you're out of bed? Well, now's your chance to start practicing some routines that are going to increase the quality of your mornings. Since you're still amid sleep inertia, you can start with something simple - like drinking a glass of cold water.
#5 Craft a Healthy Morning Routine and Stick to It
To recap, here's what our would-be morning routine has been so far: get up and turn off the alarm, drink a cup of water. But morning routines that contribute to better sleep go far beyond what we've covered. Here are some fine routine additions that can prompt you to get out of bed feeling excited.
Get moving
Exercise is a guaranteed way to get endorphins flowing, giving you that much-needed energy boost to fight sleep inertia. It can also improve sleep quality at night. According to this study, aerobic morning exercise can help you fall asleep much faster.
Try meditation
Another worthy addition to the routine you're trying to build is meditation. Meditation can help you manage stress and anxiety, putting you in a better mood. Research also suggests that it can win you nights of better sleep and improve your insomnia.
#6 Optimize Your Bedtime
Getting out of bed at the same time every day doesn't necessarily mean you're getting your healthy eight hours in. Sleep deprivation can make staying in your bed a lot more tempting than it should be. So you'll likely remain struggling even if you continue your commitment to waking up at the same time.
To ensure you're getting enough sleep, start optimizing your bedtime. Your bedtime routine should actually start hours long before sleep. How long? Well, about as long as your caffeine's half-life, which is about 6 hours. Residual caffeine in your bloodstream will make your sleep efforts a lot harder. So it might be best to steer clear during late afternoons.
You'd also want to associate your bedroom with sleep. And a good start would be cutting out screen time like bedtime TV or phone scrolling. A bed might be the perfect place to watch TV or scroll through social media, but these activities negatively impact your sleep quality. Studies show that the blue light from LED screens reduces the melatonin production needed to fall asleep.
#7 Practice Daily Accountability
Waking up early isn't the same as being an early riser. You probably know that all too well. But sticking to a healthy wake-up routine may not be easy at first. You'll have to fight a lot of urges, and you probably have to fight them hard.
You'll feel tired and unmotivated, wishing you had more energy to think better. When all else fails - and yes, I'm talking about motivation and drive, there's always one thing you can rely on: accountability.
Being accountable means taking full responsibility for your decisions, actions, and results. And unlike motivation that comes and goes, practiced accountability sticks because it has nothing to do with how you "feel." It's more about what needs to be done regardless of your circumstances.
So when you've committed to a particular wake-up schedule, accountability will remind you that you need to stick to it, even if it seems like the universe is doing all it can to get you to enter another round of snooze.
Practicing accountability doesn't have to be lonesome. You've probably heard it takes two to remain accountable. So it might be best to find someone to join you in your accountability journey and help keep you on track.
This is where accountability relationships come in. And you can be in one either with an accountability partner or a coach. While there's no telling when you can find your perfect accountability partner, an accountability coach is always within reach.
We've always strived to offer accountability to anyone, whatever their situation. So when you're ready to start your accountability journey, feel free to check out GoalsWon's unique take on providing accountability to anyone, anywhere.
