How to Become a Morning Person: 7 tips
If you’re tired in the morning but full of energy at night, you might feel a bit frustrated. You might consider yourself as a nocturnal individual, and even though this could be good, often times it’s also stressful.
On the positive side, being nocturnal does have its benefits. According to studies, those people that tend to feel more active at night could be more productive than individuals that work better during the day. On the other hand, this could also affect your work performance if your work activity is concentrated in the morning.
Circadian Clock
Everyone has an internal clock that works, and adheres to, 24 hours a day. Genetic factors have been shown to play a role in this clock, and therefore some people are more active at night while others tend to wake up early easier. However, you can make adjustments by making certain habit changes because you can regulate your circadian clock with just a few habits.
Sleeping and Staying Up
If your sleeping schedule has gotten off track over time, in spite of the fact that you still get up at the same time, you need to know about certain habits that are affecting you.
Sleep is regulated primarily by the secretion of certain hormones. Cortisol, for example, makes us feel more active, while melatonin helps create a deep sleep. But habits, like staying up late on the weekend and getting up later, do affect this and they could be causing alterations in your sleep patterns.
How to Restart Your Circadian Clock
It hard to know how many hours of sleep you need a day, and according to studies, each person could require more or less hours of sleep depending on genetics and even more so, hormone levels. It was found that those individuals that sleep more produce more melatonin. 5 hours of sleep a day has been established as the minimum required amount, but 8 hours a day is the recommended optimum, but of course, this depends on the individual.
1.Strict Schedules
One of the main reasons that you could be experiencing alterations in your sleeping patterns is due to changing your schedule when you got to bed and wake up. If you want to wake up earlier, you will definitely need to go to bed earlier.
It’s important that you follow a schedule that respects that amount of sleep that you need. This means getting at least 8 hours a day and sticking to that schedule every day of the week. Avoid getting up later or going to bed later on the weekend.
2. Make Your Room a Comfortable Place
Comfort is a key point for getting to sleep. Some factors, like light, noise, and uncomfortable surface, could cause you to sleep poorly, which is why it is recommendable to try to avoid these things in your room.
If you can’t control these external factors, like car noise in the street, for example, or a street light in front of your window, you could always use curtains, masks for your eyes and earplugs for your ears. Even the temperature is important, try to keep it cool.
3. Relax Before Going to Bed
A relaxation routine before going to bed could be a good idea considering that after work and the day’s tension, deep sleep can sometimes be impossible.
Before going to bed avoid using your electronic devices like cell phones, computers, and other things. These could distract you and affect your sleep. Also, avoid tension, especially when thinking about work related issues.
Another way of relaxing is to take a warm bath before going to bed. Use a few drops of lavender essential oil in your body wash to promote relaxation.
4. Eat and Light Dinner
Heavy meals could make it difficult to go to sleep, which is why we recommend eating a light dinner at least 2 hours before it’s time for you to go to bed. This will prevent it from interfering with your rest.
5. Choose an Appropriate Alarm
Although a lot of people choose an intense, unpleasant alarm sound, a gentler alarm, or one that has increasing tones, could wake you up in a better mood. Fortunately, there are lots of cell phone alternatives today.
6. Helpful Accompaniments
Some people say that warm milk will help you get to sleep. You could also add a touch of cinnamon to improve the effect, but there are also other teas, like chamomile or valerian, that could be perfect for drinking half an hour before going to bed. You’ll notice a relaxing effect that will promote a healing rest.
7. Exercise Regularly
Physical activity aids relaxation because it helps eliminate stress from the day and also uses energy. This could help you have deeper and better sleep.