During the school year, it is sometimes simply impossible to wake up in the morning.  Maybe that was just this morning for you; but if you’re anything like the majority of night owls, waking up to Marimba blaring on your iPhone at 6:00 A.M., any morning equates to getting ten teeth pulled or tripping down a staircase. Depending on how many times you’re tempted to press snooze, it could be like getting ten teeth pulled while tripping down a staircase. This exhaustion epidemic hits millions of students every school year, which is why we’ve compiled a list of tricks scientifically proven to brighten your mornings.  

1.  Why wake up?

Michelle Segar, a healthy living and motivation scientist for Michigan State, revealed in her research that in order to begin making lifestyle changes, people must clearly distinguish what motivates them and have others hold them accountable to make that change. In response to these findings, if your goal is waking up earlier, your reason can be anything from de-stressing your mornings to having quiet time to getting in that morning workout.  Overall, actually getting out of bed in the mornings makes you happier, healthier, and more productive.   Before you decide to revamp your mornings, ask yourself why you’re making that decision and what you will gain from it.  The result will be the motivation you need to stick with these healthy habits.

2.  Set up so you can set out

On rushed mornings, you may find yourself with ten minutes to throw on mismatched socks and barely remember the paper you stayed up until midnight writing.  There is a simple and effective solution, however, that is scientifically proven to nearly eliminate this morning forgetfulness:  to set everything out the night before.  You’ve probably heard this one before, but that’s because it works.  Make sure your outfit is picked out, your room tidied, and your backpack packed before you hit the hay and you will enjoy a half as stressful morning, guaranteed.  It’s a worthwhile habit to make for yourself, even if you’ve had a late night.

3.  Agua and B-fast

Water. H2O.  Whatever you call it, drinking a refreshing glass of water right when you wake up gives your digestive system the boost it needs to make sure your body performs at it’s best.  The surest way to achieve this stupidly simple energy kick is to set a water bottle on your nightstand before you go to sleep so that you can chug it as soon as you enthusiastically jump out of bed in the morning.  Don’t forget those honey nut cheerios, either.  You need breakfast after 7 hours of being comatose, even if it means grabbing a handful of cereal and eating it on the way to school.

4.  Goals before sleep

As cheesy as you might feel setting them, taking a second every night to jot down what you envision for tomorrow helps streamline your morning and redirect your mind.  Even if it means staying up an extra 5 minutes at night to do so, setting out your plans for the next day before the morning grogginess clouds your go-getter vision can jolt you into action before the caffeine even kicks in.

5.  Say no to snooze

Research proves that pressing your snooze button even once resets your body back into its sleep cycle.  The result is your body perceiving it’s first wake up call as a false alarm, so that when you wake up to the second or third alarm you’re shocked into consciousness and set into the confused, groggy feeling known as sleep inertia.  Moreover, pressing snooze throws off your sleep schedule and makes it nearly impossible to adjust to a consistent, internal alarm.  Waking up the first time and getting out of bed right away actually warms up your body more efficiently than staying under your cozy covers, and will give you the time you need for your brain to be firing on all cylinders.

You’ve got some important things to do tomorrow, so consider following these guidelines for a brighter morning.  Having a perfect morning every morning is humanly impossible, but with these tips under your belt, you’ll start noticing a ripple effect throughout the overall productivity of your day. Inevitably, it will also lead to an overall happier you.  Who knows, maybe you’ll meet the love of your life or finally accomplish that one thing you just can’t get done, and all because you let yourself wake up and be prepared.  You can do it; you can win this battle against your pesky alarm clock.

Citations:

Vann, Madeline. “11 Tricks to Waking Up in the Morning.” Weblog post.EverydayHealth.com. Ed. Medically Reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin. MD, MPH. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.