Silentnight’s sleep expert Dr Nerina Ramlakhan said: ‘Not everyone is naturally a morning person but you can encourage your mind and body to be more alert and optimistic in the morning by practising the following techniques:
Eat Breakfast
This is an absolute non-negotiable if you want to become a bright-eyed morning person. People who eat breakfast have less difficulty falling asleep, make up with more energy and are less inclined to hit the snooze button. Eating breakfast within 30-45 minutes of waking up stabilizes your blood sugar levels and speeds up your metabolism. If you can, try to include some protein and vary your breakfasts to keep you motivated.
Have some early morning you time
Gradually start to get up a little earlier. Allow yourself more time to get ready and prepare for the day. This isn’t about getting up and getting into work earlier, it’s about waking up and giving yourself peaceful, quiet time to prepare mentally for the day ahead. Use this time to think about what you have to look forward to that day. Smile and count your blessings. You’ll soon realise how valuable this early morning you time is. You might even start to look forward to it!
Avoid checking your phone first thing
Try to avoid reaching for your phone first thing to check emails. While looking at your bright phone screen will certainly wake you up, it’s stressful for the brain and doesn’t allow you to wake up gradually. If you go to bed knowing you’re going to be straight up and into work mode, you’ll be far more inclined to roll over when the alarm goes off.
Don’t rely on caffeine
Many people who struggle to get up in the morning rely on caffeine to give themselves a boost. This isn’t ideal and will get you into a vicious cycle. Caffeine blocks the action of melatonin which helps us sleep and increases the number of times you wake up during the night. Try to avoid any caffeine after 3 pm, never have caffeine before your breakfast and if you’re really serious about becoming a bright-eyed morning person cut it out completely.
Wind down in the evening
To wake up feeling refreshed and ready for the day ahead you need to put the groundwork in at bedtime. This doesn’t necessarily mean going to sleep earlier, but it does mean starting to wind down earlier in the evening. A perfect way to do this is with a hot bicarbonate of soda bath 60-90 minutes before bed. Add two big mugs of bicarbonate of soda to comfortably hot water. Immerse yourself completely for 20 minutes. The bicarbonate neutralises the skin’s acidity, softens dry skin and is a good aid in detoxification. Don't use soap or shampoo as the chemicals will reduce the effect. Rinse off and go to bed soon afterwards. You will feel very tired, sleep well and find it much easier to get up in the morning.
