Tips on becoming a Morning Person

Many people ask me why I love waking up early in the morning and how to become a morning person.

Well, mornings to me are my “me” time. Those are the times where I am able to spend time on myself before I start my day. I have always been a lover of mornings. High school me would wake up at 5:30 in the morning to get ready for my day and College me would wake up around 5 am (mainly because I took 7am classes or to go to the gym once it opened).

Mornings are a time of self reflections and a time to see what I truly want to accomplish for the day. It also gives me time to work on something that I need/want to get done before my day actually starts.

When I was attending college I would always wake up 5 in the morning. Mainly because I enjoy doing work and always found myself to be extremely productive first thing in the morning. Yes, I would study, write essays, read papers, edit work or even do homework that would be done in 3 weeks. I was an overachiever and I will proudly admit that.

The questions, “How do I become a morning person?” gets asked to me quite often. Many times people just want to try it and see what it is like to be a morning or some actually want to change up their routine to become a productive morning person. Well, I’m here to help with that!

Speaking about how to wake up in the mornings is a topic that I thoroughly enjoy because it can really be eye opening and change someone's perspective on mornings.

So let’s get started!

Tip #1: Do it gradually

This is a big part that people will immediately mess up. Don’t automatically think that you will wake up every day at 5am with no problem, because here is the truth…

At some point during that week, you will sleep past your alarm. You might not even hear it go off. Or you will constantly be pressing that snooze button to avoid getting up. Don’t just hop right into waking up early. Gradually do it. If your goal is to start to wake up at 5:30 and your normal wake up time is 6:45, then slowly start to bring your normal wake up time down. So if you normally wake up at 6:45 try setting an alarm for 6:43 and see what you do. Notice your actions when you start to slowly decrease your normal wake up time.

This is a typical mistake that many people will make. Do it gradually and don’t force it right away because if you force it, then it will become difficult to stick with.

Tip #2: Avoid your phone

We are all guilty of this (even me sometime). The first thing we all grab in the mornings is our phone to check social media, text messages, emails, phone calls, our schedule and we’ll sit there for hours scrolling mindlessly. Then we realize that we have been sitting on our phones in our bed for about 2 hours doing nothing.

This is the biggest tip that has helped me to really become a morning person. I avoid going on my phone first thing in the morning. Yes, I do use my phone as an alarm, but I know in the mornings that it is only for alarms not for me to scroll aimlessly on.

If you don’t feel ready to get right out of bed first thing when your alarm goes off, then start to journal how you are feeling in the mornings. You can start a dream journal. Or even grab a book and read for a little. Doing this in the beginning of wanting to wake up early can help to eventually lead to actually getting out of bed when your alarm goes off. Another tip is to splash some cold water on your face and brush your teeth. The effect of the cold will wake up a little bit better and a minty fresh mouth will also help you wake up to start to take on your day.

This is something that I have done over time and finds that it really helps.

Tip #3: Workout in the morning

This is for all those who want to start to work out in the morning. Of course I said to avoid going on your phone first thing in the morning, but you plan on working out when you wake up, you can make an exception for your music app.

Working out first thing in the morning can be helpful to get some fresh air and for you to feel more awake and alive. Having a solid morning workout routine can be something that is a part of your daily practice. This can be yoga, mediation, going for a run or weight training. Doing simple stretches in the morning can be helpful getting you up.

For me, I have found that either going to the gym or going on a run during the weekdays has helped me to be not only productive throughout my day, but it also makes me appreciate my mornings. On the weekends, usually I’ll stick with some stretching, yoga and body weight exercises in the morning. Again if I do anything workout related in the mornings, I will make sure the music is the only thing that I turn on.

Working out can really change your mornings and there are so many studies that show that working out in the morning can be beneficial to your days. But if working out in the morning isn’t for you, then don’t worry.

Tip #4: Start the night before

This is another basic or typical one that people will say on how to become a morning person is to start the night before. And honestly it is true to start your morning the night before. Almost every night make a deal with yourself that you will start to do better for yourself. You start to take action and wake up early and have a productive day (if you haven’t read my Tip on Productivity and Motivation I highly suggest it). Start each night by preparing your breakfast. If you love cold foods in the morning, try making overnight oats so when you wake up in the morning you have one less thing you have to worry about. Clean up your room before you go to sleep so it’s another thing you won’t have to stress over to do in the morning. Figure out what the weather will be like the next more and always have 1 or 2 outfits picked. I say 1 or 2 because weather changes and you should always be prepared just in case.

Get off your phone before you go to bed. I say at least 20-30 minutes before you go to sleep. Staying off your phone and grabbing a book or a journal can help make a difference. It also helps you to stay on your phone for hours scrolling through social media. Plan your day on the things you want to complete or start. Simple tasks can make a difference in helping you wake up in the mornings and help you feel more put together.

Things that I usually do the night before is, limit my phone time and make my breakfast. I plan out how I envision my morning and how I envision my day to go. I spend quite a bit of time reading because it takes me to a different world and helps to ease my mind on all of the craziness that I have seen on social media through that day.

Tip #5: Understand your sleep schedule

Everyday and every night we have a different sleep pattern and we have a different sleep schedule that we go through. Know what time you go to bed at, around what time you fall asleep and what time you wake up to know how much sleep you got that night. This task can be kind a lot, but once you figure out and understand your sleeping patterns and schedule you start to adjust it to work on waking up earlier. As well as working on how you can make a change to schedule. Figure out how much sleep you truly need for your body. EveryBODY has its own sleep schedule and trying to figure out how much sleep is best for you can be difficult, but over time it can become simple.

For me, I function well on 5-6 hours of sleep. If I get more I am extremely tired throughout the day and if I get less I feel sick to my stomach. I didn’t discover this by just sleeping one night, this took time for me to realize how much sleep works well for my body. If you function well on 7-8 hours of sleep then maintain that and all you have to do is change the time you actually fall asleep and go to bed. This might mean you’ll go to bed earlier which is okay. I always suggest getting a fitbit to monitor your sleep. It will calculate how much sleep you got as well as a breakdown of the different sleep cycles. This helped me to find out what my sleep pattern is and what helps me.

Understanding your sleep schedule is important when it comes to working on being a morning person. Not many more people will talk about sleep schedules but it does have a factor on how to grow and enjoy mornings.

Tip #6: Believe in yourself

Everyone can become a morning person if they truly want to be. If you have the right mindset to achieve it. The idea of being a morning person is to know that you can do it. It will be difficult if you make it difficult. Knowing that you can wake up early is a big step. We always say we will do it, but really acting and sticking to it can help to increase you on being a morning person. Every morning won’t always be sunshine and rainbows and does take work, but putting in the time and wanting to be a morning person makes a mind shift change that can be everlasting.

Yes, there are days where I want to sleep in and sometimes I’ll allow myself to do so and that is okay, but trying not to be so reliant or consistent when it comes to sleep in. Your body might need rest and it’s good to do so, but make yourself aware that to become a morning person you should act on it. Believe that you can do it and know that it is a trial and error situation but that is the best part of learning and understanding your mind-body connection.

Tip#7: Reward yourself

Yes, you can reward yourself for getting up early in the morning. No not by eating cookies or cake first thing in the morning (unless you made breakfast cookies). I’m speaking about all my coffee drinkers out there. We all know morning coffee hits differently when you wake up. As someone who loves coffee (a little too much), morning coffee can make a day even better. Every morning, I treat myself to coffee. No I don’t go out and get coffee, I prefer to make myself my coffee. If you want to go out and get coffee you do it. I prefer to make my own because let’s face it the smell of freshly brewed coffee in the morning is one of the best smells.

Now just imagine, you wake up at 5 in the morning, you start brewing your morning coffee and you smell that sweet aroma. You pour it into your favorite mug while you sit outside watching the sunrise and with a book.

You can’t tell me that doesn’t sound lovely. That’s because it is and we all at some point want that. So now it is your time to act on it. See your morning coffee as a reward to start your day. You woke up with the sun with a coffee in your hands.

You can even reward yourself with a big breakfast or surprise your family members with a nice breakfast. This gives you family time and you were up early enough to experience the wonders of what the day has to bring to you.

I get mornings can be difficult. Some days are easier and some not so much, but the true way to become a morning person is to try it out. It might not be for everyone and that is okay. As long as you try it and see how you feel or how your body reaction can be helpful. I continuously love my mornings and waking up with the sunrise.It proves that each day is a fresh new start. It doesn’t matter if it is cloudy, rainy, sunny or any form of weather you experience, mornings are such a gift and I think that people should experience what it is like to be a morning at least once in their lifetime.

Don’t take mornings or even your day for granted. Start your day with a powerful beginning and end your day with relaxing moments.