Mind Over Mattress: How to Wake Earlier When All You Want to Do is Sleep
I normally wake at 5am, and have been doing so for some time. In fact, if I didn’t wake early you probably wouldn’t be reading this right now as I simply wouldn’t have the time to write for this blog. This past week, however, I have struggled to wake early and have been hitting the snooze button for the first time in a long time… what’s going on???
One thing I have learned over the past year and a half is that waking early is not just about setting your alarm clock for a particular time and getting up. For example, it is pointless to force yourself to wake early if it leaves you feeling like a zombie for the rest of the day. If you are interested in waking earlier, the following are a few things I have learned that may be of help. And hopefully we can work out why I have been bashing the snooze button so much….
The Evening Before
Avoid caffeine/ alcohol/ sugar. All these things can potentially affect your quality of sleep and make it incredibly hard to wake when your alarm goes off. When it comes to something like sugar, for example, I indulge my sweet tooth during the day. Then in the evening I avoid it because I know it makes me restless during the night.
Wind down. Don’t go to bed with your mind still active. This is one reason I have been struggling to wake early the past week - I have gotten into the bad habit of shutting down the computer and heading straight to bed. I need to get back into the habit of turning off the computer earlier and instead reading a fictional book followed by some meditation.
Visualize. Just before falling asleep, visualize yourself waking at a particular time. It’s amazing how effectively this works.
Sleep
Get enough. Different people need different amounts of sleep. So the key is to experiment and be aware what amount works well for you. I need at least 6 and a half to 7 hours. When I sleep less than this (such as I did a night or two last week), I always regret it because I am tired all the next day. There is nothing productive about that.
Better quality. I sleep less than I did 2 years ago, but I generally find it easier to wake up. One major reason for this is my quality of sleep is much better (although I am conveniently forgetting the first few months after our son was born). Apart from avoiding the things I mentioned earlier, I usually wear a sleep mask to make things completely dark. Kathryn has nicknamed me Zorro because of this, but it is worth it. Also, I might even look at getting myself a posturpedic pillow (as suggested awhile back by my friend Todd in 24 Powerful Relaxation Techniques).
Waking Earlier
Have a purpose. I usually find it relatively easy to wake at 5am because I have a clear purpose of what I want to do in the morning. Typically I will spend a few minutes the night before making a list of what I want to do. Then in the morning I am able to quickly focus on these.
Find a morning routine you love. Over the past 1-2 years my mornings have changed from waking up and rushing to get ready and out the door, to waking earlier and incorporating some activities/ habits I enjoy into my mornings. To get some ideas, I highly recommend my articles 24 Daily Habits and 10 Ways to Give Your Morning a Makeover. I obviously don’t do everything in the preceding articles each morning, but once you have some ideas to make your morning more enjoyable it is easy to incorporate at least one or two.
Be sneaky. A very effective trick I do is to place my alarm on the other side of the room, effectively forcing me to get out of bed to turn it off.
Be disciplined. Of course the above trick is no guarantee that I won’t go back and curl up in bed (as I have done a few times over the past week). I don’t think my problem has been discipline so much as the other things I have discussed in this article. But certainly waking earlier does require you to put “mind over mattress”. Remember: “the price of discipline is always less than the pain of regret”.
Small steps. It took me a number of months to go from waking at 7am to 5am. The key was to take it slowly by chipping away at 15 minutes at a time. Take small steps and be patient.
* * *
Now waking earlier may not be for everyone, but it has been a life changing habit for me. What are your thoughts??
Image by Ricky David.
41 Comments
March 4th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Over the past few weeks I’ve pushed my waking time back to 4 a.m. I live with and care for (on a full-time basis) an elderly stroke survivor. Without going into a long story, it’s hard for me to work during the day because she feels neglected, which can lead to depression, which leads to little old lady fits [think black spiral of a day leading to the level of hell Dante left out.]
Anyway, the first thing I do when I get up is hop on the exercise bike and do 20 miles. By the time I’m done with that, about 72 minutes, I’m wide awake and ready to hit my freelance “to do” list and it’s still the crack of dawn. While I’m on the bike I use my iPod Touch to read news and blogs, so the time is very much “me” oriented.
I’ve never been an early riser, but this new routine has solved so many problems in my life that I’m dedicated to keeping it up. Only rarely do I have issues, and generally a deliberate thought about the consequences of not getting my backside out from under the covers takes care of that. It seems to me it’s all about what you’re trying to accomplish and staying in bed, at least at this point in my life, does me more harm than good.
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March 4th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
Great thoughts Peter! I attended a military academy for my college so I had to quickly learn to get up early everyday. For me the key was doing some push ups and sit ups followed immediately by a shower. This may not be for everyone, but for me I’ve found that some exercise and a shower not only wakes me up, but the feeling of being clean seems to help start my day off much better.
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March 4th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Hello Peter
I read your posts for some time and I find it great. You say so much with simple words and not big amount of text and that is what i like about your posts. Reason why i did not leave comment up to now is because my english is bad
, but this post about sleeping and wakeing habit is effecting me right now. I am stil a student and i have finished exams and took little break. I really had a habit of waking at 7 and it was great. Now when I should start again with studing after a week of break it is really hard i just do not wake early, I turn of my alarm and keep on sleeping more (even there is no need for that because I go to bed on time).
When I wake early I feel I do to so much things dureing day and on the end of my day I can say to miself well done. And I think that it is really true as u say that when u get up early first you should have time for yourself, and that will make us get up on time, but also make us feel happy. I like to smile when I get up and look out of my window( I have nice view) and that is where my day truly star. Waking earlier may not be for everyone as you say, but I think that is sentence that people say just to make excuse from themselves. Waking up early can really be a life changing habit. Now that I wrote this I think it will be easier for me to get back to my habit.
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March 4th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Peter, since coming back from vacation, I really needed to read this article. It has been TOUGH for me to get up earlier, and Ive had so much work to do. “Winding down” has been key for me…and I read at least 20 pages of fiction before I go to bed!
Todd
ps, thx for the link love!
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March 4th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
Peter,
Your sleep methods are good. Most people don’t pay enough attention on how to improve their sleep, then wonder why they are so tired. I suggest you look at the Dreamhelmet. Its triple sensory blocking system has great advantages over simple sleep masks - and they now come with a free alarm watch which fits in a secret pocket in the mask. It will wake you up and save you a trip across the room. dreamhelmet.com
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March 4th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
I really have a problem to get up at a given time. The result is that I have to rush and also get late to school. Of course, I feel really bad about it. Instead of having peaceful morning, I go through a lot of stress and it definitely affects my whole day.
Hopefully I’ll make it and write an article with some helpful tips on my own blog.
So I’m gonna improve that. I want to make a commitment, thats why I’m writing here
Thanks for motivation, Peter.
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March 4th, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Yeah, it sure is a tough one, I find it hard to respect myself when I can’t make myself get up at the time I set the night before, getting up 30 minutes later than I intended ruins my mood for the rest of the day and I’m less productive as a result.
We humans are such strange creatures, we need routine, we get bored with routine, we need a change, maybe its all about balance, so we need balance with variety, omg how?
Gav
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March 5th, 2008 at 12:41 am
I’ve done the “put the alarm on the other side of the room” trick for a while. If it worked at the beginning, I’ve forgotten. I’d love to know if it actually works for some people.
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March 5th, 2008 at 1:20 am
i love that girls piercing!!! really hot. where’d you find the photo?
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March 5th, 2008 at 1:45 am
My tips: lose the alarm clock. take an afternoon nap (under 20 minutes). sleep in multiples of 90 minutes. avoid all prescription and otc drugs. exercise hard.
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March 5th, 2008 at 1:48 am
You know you’re getting old when…
You find yourself nodding and interested in a post like this that breaks down sleep into precise objects, schedules and habits…
…and then you think back on a decade ago when you used to stumble into your room at 3am, crash on your bed fully clothed because you’d partied too much and then passed out for exactly 4 hours of sleep before you had to get up to go to work.
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March 5th, 2008 at 2:43 am
I liked in particular the suggestions on how to sleep better at night by shutting down the computer earlier and reading a book. That’s what I’ve been doing lately and it works great.
Another suggestion would be to light some candles and watch them flicker until you get sleepy. It has a hypnotic effect on me. Also reminds me of the time when I used to go camping with my family and we watched a campfire until it died down. That was always fun.
The other thing I liked about this article is finding a morning routine that you like. I have one myself. I love making coffee, reading through my emails, checking the stats of my blog and then responding back to the emails. It’s become a favorite routine for years - I love it! I often feel lost without having access to the internet upon waking up. I guess I’m an internet addict but I enjoy it!
Thanks for a great article of practical tips.
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March 5th, 2008 at 5:54 am
The funny thing is, I used to be able to get out of bed. I wake up pretty easily and early, too! Unfortunately, ever since I re-arranged my bedroom and even moved my bed, I have started to fail at getting up in the morning. Somehow, I feel much more relaxed and am tempted to sleep again. I guess the change was positive for my sleeping habits but I would need to work on getting out of bed again!
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March 5th, 2008 at 6:29 am
[…] Mind Over Mattress: How to Wake Earlier When All You Want to Do is Sleep Posted on March 5, 2008 by meter down source : http://www.thechangeblog.com/2.....e-earlier/ […]
March 5th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Turning off the computer and going to sleep right away didn’t work for me either
I have been struggling to get up this past weeks because the quality of my sleep is not really good… I think it’s related to my mind being active (full speed), thinking about what to do tomorrow…
Fortunately today I could wake up earlier, it’s 7 am here in Argentina, and given that I usually wake up at 10 or 10 o’clock this is a huge improvement!
Thanks for the tips Peter, always welcomed!
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March 5th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
For me, avoiding caffeine and winding down seem to be the two most important things I need to do to get a good night’s sleep and be ready to get up early and face the next day. I ride an exercise bike shortly before bedtime to release the tension in my body from a day of work. It works wonders for me. I don’t know what I’d do without the exercise!
I agree that having a good purpose for getting out of bed helps a lot. Since I’ve started blogging, when my alarm goes off, my mind immediately starts thinking about my writing for the day which wakes me up and gets me going!
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March 5th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Peter.
Re Dreamhelmet:
“Who was that masked man?!” She needs one too - you could trade nicknames.
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March 5th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
I also wake around 5, but I walk out the door heading to work after a quick shower. I have thought about trying to get up earlier and earlier, but cannot seem to mustard up the courage. I get plenty of sleep, but have been thinking about extending my day. Any ideas on how to extend your day in the evening without loosing the needed rest and sleep? A lot of your ideas are correct though and I practice a few of them and will try the rest soon.
http://www.JuiceofChampions.com
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March 6th, 2008 at 3:48 am
I completely know what you mean, especially about the visualization part. I just tried that yesterday and normally I hit the snooze button 10+ times. Yesterday night I visualized and intended myself getting up at 7am feeling refreshed and ready to start the day. I set my alarm for 6:30 and pressed snooze 3 times. Lo and behold I finally woke up at 7am. I know this might not sound too impressive for some, but it’s a drastic improvement for me. Thanks for the tips Peter. =)
ps. Dugg
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March 6th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
I just stumbled on your blog, and read through 10 or so of your old posts–I immediately clicked over to Word and wrote my teenage self a nice long letter, and I’m pondering my mission statement, too.
I usually find sites about self-improvement to be sappy, esoteric and cliched, but your blog is written in a way that’s accessible to the kind of every day slob who can actually benefit from this stuff.
Just wanted to say thanks for making me think, and keep up the good work!
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March 7th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
[…] now if you want to know how to get up more effectively, read the wonderful article Mind Over Mattress: How To Wake Earlier When All You Want to do is Sleep by Peter over the I Will Change Your […]
March 8th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Well, I prefer to have a job I can sleep in to a reasonably hour no matter what.
Nothing comes before sleep as far as I’m concerned. Nothing else is so healthy AND so deliciously enjoyable at the same time (except one other thing I can think of.)
Probably that’s even why cats have nine lives–because they sleep so much. Sleeping keeps me young.
xoxo
iza
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March 9th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Hello Peter,
I visit your blog very often, your blog is great. Everyday while I travel by train from college back home, I check your blog on my mobile phone. Keep on going like this, It’s great.
Thanks,
Arjen
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March 10th, 2008 at 4:40 am
I made it a rule many years ago to only get up when I felt like it, and for a long time I got up at 11 or 12 most days. Now I’m finding I naturally want to get up reasonably early, and it never feels like a strain (if it is, I stay in bed!)
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March 10th, 2008 at 4:54 am
Excellent sleep ideas, and great comments, too. I’ve been a night owl forever. My doctor thinks I may simply be genetically predisposed to work at night and sleep during the day. Whenever I try to get back to a normal schedule so I can be with everyone else on the planet while they’re awake, my system gets really messed up. So… I could be a night time police dispatcher, a night nurse, a newspaper writer on swing shift….
Anyway, thanks for your wealth of great ideas!
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March 12th, 2008 at 7:56 am
Great blog, I have subcribed my Google… I enjoyed your refreshing and informative posts. Check out my travel blog sometime, I think you would enjoy it.
Pura Vida
J
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March 16th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I loved this post. I love getting up early, but sadly don’t get the sleep for it. Thanks for the ideas
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March 29th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Excellent post on sleep. Quality of sleep is by far more important than quantity of sleep. This is such an insightful post… I’ve had sleep problems my entire life and found the answers I needed from Dr. Barry Krakow. He’s written a book called “Sound Sleep, Sound Mind,” and it’s excellent. I highly recommend it.
Thanks again for the great post.
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April 6th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
[…] Visualise. The tool of visualisation can be applied to numerous situations, from job interviews to public speaking. It is even possible to use visualisation to help you get out of bed in the morning. […]
April 28th, 2008 at 8:27 am
[…] night if I’ve had a coffee or a cola any time after 12pm. I got the sugar tip from Peter at TheChangeBlog , and having started watching the patterns of my body, I wake up far more refreshed if I’ve […]
May 5th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Thanks for the article. I come back to your site on occasion to read an article here and there, as I’ve been in a bit of a slump at times lately. I’ve been finding it difficult to wake up early for the past few years, mostly because I have a hard time forcing myself to go to bed at a decent hour. Rarely am I in bed before 1am–that’s my main problem.
I made a new year’s commitment to get to bed earlier and it worked for a couple of weeks. It felt good too, but then I fell back out of it. Your site inspires me to refocus on that goal.
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