Morning Blues

I wanted to prove to everyone once and for all that you do not have to be a morning person to get up early every morning. If I had my way, I would probably wake up no later than noon everyday and stay up until well past midnight. In fact, that's what I did for the first several years after high school. However, I soon realized that it was indeed beneficial for me to get up early each morning and by golly I was going to figure out how to do it. So I did :) After a week or so of sleep deprivation and a strict cardio regiment, I was able to figure out what I needed to be an early riser. Here are some pretty universal tips to get you started.

1. Get up at the same time, every day, no matter what. This gets your body used to a schedule, sets your body's internal clock, so to speak. After your pretty set in your schedule, it's not so important, I let myself sleep in on weekends, though that's still rarely past 7, and never past 8.

2. Realize that your body is just waking up. Of course you're tired. The only way you're going to get the energy to start your day is to start your day. Get moving. Doing something, anything. I personally needed some extra energy so I opted for a 5 minute jog. That 5 minutes changed my entire daily schedule. It had taken me an hour and a half to get out of bed and shower. The day I added a 5 minute jog I had jogged, showered, eaten two breakfasts, made my lunch and processed my entire inbox in that same time.

3. It helps to go to bed at the same time each night. It's not entirely necessary for me. I can go about two weeks with a messed up sleep schedule before I need to really buckle down and get my body back into shape.

4. Figure out how much sleep you need each night, and schedule for it. I work best on 8 hours of sleep. As soon as I get that much, I tend to wake right up. I can go about a week on 7 nightly, a few days on 6 nightly, and can squeak by on 5 hours if I make sure to catch up the next day. Everyone is different though, and you won't be able to know what you can handle, until you adjust yourself to the right amount.

Honestly, it's not hard. It's certainly work, but it's not hard. As long as you realize that the human body will adapt to anything you give it, you'll be fine. Sure, some people function better in the morning than others, but that doesn't mean it's not possible for you to wake up at a decent hour. Take hope :)