For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a morning person. Not necessarily in a “5 a.m. club” sort of way; I simply wished to start my day with enough time to eat a well-rounded breakfast, workout, and do my makeup before heading to work. But for reasons that felt somewhat out of my control, I would find myself hitting snooze for 10 extra minutes of sleep again and again.
One morning, I came into the office groaning about how difficult I was finding it to get up in the morning, when a colleague found that I had in fact written a piece in 2019 titled “How To Become A Morning Person When You’re Not.” As we laughed away at the irony of it all, I decided it was high time I took action to turn things around once and for all.
Though I’m admittedly still a night owl at heart, there have been a number of things that have made waking up in the morning significantly easier and, at times, a delight. First, I read this story about changes I could make in my sleep hygiene for some advice.
Here’s everything I’ve done over the past few months that have actually helped me become more of a morning person.
Shift your mindset
“You need to have a clear why when making a shift like this,” says life coach Mhairi Todd. “Ask yourself, ‘What am I going to use this extra time for? What am I going to gain from this?’” She also cautions against underestimating how hard a change like this can be to make. “Easy choices, hard life, hard choices, easy life,” is a quote she lives by. “Anything that is going to be beneficial for you long-term will likely be difficult at first–including shifting your wake-up time half an hour earlier.” To help get you started, she recommends setting yourself tiny challenges–think managing to leave the house without looking at your phone in the morning, or counting to 10 under a cold shower–and relishing the sense of accomplishment you feel when you achieve them.
Transform your bedroom
Being able to wake up early is only possible if you’ve slept well. “Create bedroom ‘indoor-phins’ at nighttime by getting the temperature and ambiance right,” says wellness expert and author of Energy Rules, Alla Svirinskaya. “You should also set a digital ‘sundown’ two hours before bed to prime yourself to drift into a quality sleep.” To set a nighttime mood in my room, I’ve lit candles like the autumnal Neom Hibernate Scented Candle and used This Works Sleep+ Pillow Spray on my pillow to help me drift off. If I have time, I’ll take a relaxing bath as well; Olverum Bath Oil relaxes my muscles like no other.
Sleep before midnight
As a night owl with combined ADHD, quieting my mind and drifting off to sleep can be difficult at the best of times–but getting to bed before the stroke of midnight really is key, as our production of melatonin peaks before midnight. As Margo Marrone, co-founder of The Organic Pharmacy, puts it, “If you go to bed earlier, you wake up earlier, so make this a habit. Sleep is so important for the immune system, performance and pretty much everything else.” Try incorporating something like Alo’s Magnesium Reset Body Spray for Muscle Tension or a sleep supplement to give your routine a boost.
Get moving
“The satisfaction of getting in some movement at the beginning of the day is unparalleled,” says Alana Murrin, head of ride at Psycle. “Not only does it kickstart your metabolism, but it gives you a sense of mental clarity and increases your productivity.” She recommends low-impact, high-intensity workouts in the mornings to help boost “focus and cognition” and foster “a sense of elation and euphoria”.
Send positive energy out
“Send positive energy to your office, meeting rooms, gym and to your colleagues before you actually arrive at work, meetings and fitness classes,” Svirinskaya advises. “Prime all places and engagements you are intending to visit or attend with good energy before your actual arrival. Look at your diary and visualize the best outcome for each meeting, discussion, class and project.” As esoteric as it may sound, my overall attitude towards starting the day early has changed immensely after incorporating this into my routine.