early rising and sunshine

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alarm, early rising, getting up, mornings, sleep, sleep cycle, stages of sleep, sunshine

It is so much easier to get up when you are woken by sunny skies. This morning the sun tickled my nose before the alarm went off and I enjoyed a few minutes stretching in bed.

Being woken in this gentle way is not only much better for us but seems to be the way nature intended it to be. Loud ringing, buzzing or screeching alarms are not only really annoying they are also not good for us as they often interrupt us during our deep sleep and REM phases. Since our bodies are designed to wake up in our light phases of sleep, either before or after an REM, if we are pulled out of our deep sleep we feel groggy and tired. It also means that we start the day with or bodies already feeling stressed.

There are actually five stages of sleep in a cycle, and each sleep cycle is about 90 minutes long. The first two stages are considered light , the next two (three and four) are deep and the final stage is REM ((rapid eye movement), in which you dream. It is fine when you are woken up out of the first two stages of sleep, you feel rested and  good – that is why short naps work – but once you are pulled out of one of the last three stages it’s a different story. You will feel more tempted to press the snooze button and long for more time in bed.

That is why it is always better to allow your body to wake up naturally – even if it is early – you will feel more rested for the rest of the day and you won’t feel drained or stressed before you’ve had your breakfast. And of course everything is better when the sun is shining!

getting up is hard to do

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early rising, getting up, morning routines, mornings, routines, sleep, waking-up

Being more like an owl than a lark, early rising doesn’t come naturally to me. I’d rather stay up until well after the sun has set than get up with the sun rise. But since I don’t really have a choice I try and make the most of getting up early in the morning.

So when I recently read a few interesting tips (thejournal.ie) that are meant to help you get up easily I decided to give a few of them a go:

• Don’t hit snooze – now I like those few extra minutes huddled up under the duvet before I have to get up but sleep expert Timothy Morgenthaler says that’s not a good idea. By hitting snooze we are in risk of falling back asleep and since we won’t be able to finish that sleep cycle we end up feeling more groggy and less rested.
• Stretch, don’t curl up – I don’t know about you but when the alarm goes off my instinct is to curl up tight but, according to psychologists, that is counter productive. If you stretch as wide as you build up confidence making your start to the day happier, less stressed.
• Put the light on – I know it can hurt to flick the switch and let the glare hit your sleepy eyes, but by getting up and ready in the dark our bodies still think it’s nighttime and put up a  fight. A bright light suggests daytime and helps us wake up.
• Make your bed – now I have always done this and now studies have shown that people who make their bed in the morning tend to be more productive throughout the day. The presumed reason behind this is, that making your bed is a ‘keyhole habit’. According to author Charles Duhigg these keyhole habits spake chain reactions of productive habits, so by making your bed your more like to do more throughout the day.
• Stick to a routine – scientists say we only have  a limited amount of willpower per day and we spend by making decisions. So if we have to make up our minds what to do next early in the morning we have less of it for later on in the day. However if we stick to a routine we don’t waste willpower but save it up for more important tasks throughout the day.

Now I only hope by sticking to these rules, as best I can, my early morning starts will be that bit easier and my days maybe more productive and happier.